Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Strong, Contemporary and Sophisticated Sydney Home
Bold and layered architectural volumes are balanced with warm tones, brass finishes and jewel-toned soft furnishings
Home to a young family who moved from Melbourne to Sydney’s Mosman, this house is designed for the Sydney lifestyle and landscape, making the most of indoor/outdoor living and celebrated harbour views.
The outcome is the result of a collaboration between South African architecture practice SAOTA, which designed the home, Sydney-based firm TKD Architects, which contributed local expertise, and Alexandra Kidd Design, the company that furnished the house. Strong, contemporary and sophisticated, the house provides vast spaces for entertaining guests and intimate areas for family to gather.
The outcome is the result of a collaboration between South African architecture practice SAOTA, which designed the home, Sydney-based firm TKD Architects, which contributed local expertise, and Alexandra Kidd Design, the company that furnished the house. Strong, contemporary and sophisticated, the house provides vast spaces for entertaining guests and intimate areas for family to gather.
The entrance to the house has a lofty and light-filled double-height volume that frames views of Sydney Harbour, and gives an indication of what’s in store in the rest of the house.
Water features on the middle and lower levels enhance the sense of connection to the Harbour. There is a pool in the rear garden and the middle floor has a shallow water feature that wraps around the exterior space, “creating a natural edge to the spacious main terrace”, Ratcliffe says.
Water features on the middle and lower levels enhance the sense of connection to the Harbour. There is a pool in the rear garden and the middle floor has a shallow water feature that wraps around the exterior space, “creating a natural edge to the spacious main terrace”, Ratcliffe says.
On the first floor, which sits at the top of the house, the bedrooms, bathrooms and a study are all spread across the entrance level.
When the homeowners aren’t making use of the space, Sky the cat tends to make their master bedroom her own. Behind the bed is the couple’s luxurious ensuite.
To navigate the larger architectural spaces and create more intimate and comfortable rooms, interior designer Alexandra Kidd used smaller-scale furniture and layers of texture, including soft curtains against solid-granite slabs, leather and linen upholstery, and silk rugs underfoot.
“Striking the perfect balance between strong architecture and softer, warmer finishes influenced everything from bathroom fittings to joinery details to soft furnishings,” Kidd says.
“Striking the perfect balance between strong architecture and softer, warmer finishes influenced everything from bathroom fittings to joinery details to soft furnishings,” Kidd says.
The master ensuite is positioned behind the master bedroom and glass panels at each side of the vanity offer views into the bedroom where the timber brings warmth and picks up on the golden tones. The double-bowls and the feature stone on the back wall are New York Marble.
Bathroom vanity: SAOTA & TKD Architects
Bathroom vanity: SAOTA & TKD Architects
The neutral design palette relied on textures and finishes rather than colours for warmth and personality, and it influenced everything from “bathroom fittings to joinery details to soft furnishings”, Kidd says. This aesthetic is carried through into the kids’ bedrooms.
Concrete, marble and pristine craftsmanship continues throughout the house, including in all six of the bathrooms. This long and narrow basin/wash plane is created from Super White Marble.
Bathroom vanity: SAOTA & TKD Architects; Prometheus III wall light: Christopher Boots
Bathroom vanity: SAOTA & TKD Architects; Prometheus III wall light: Christopher Boots
Formal and informal living areas and dining rooms are on the middle level, where there are wide views of the harbour.
SAOTA and TKD designed the hand-cut grey granite island bench, which exemplifies the exacting craftsmanship evident throughout the house. The rough character of the granite contrasts with the sleek joinery and smooth floor, and adds warmth through texture rather than colour. “The idea was to have an island bench that was a match for its surroundings. By chiselling out the island bench from a big boulder, we added an organic element that was a perfect contrast to the strong angular material palette,” Ratcliffe says.
Bespoke dining table: designed by Alexandra Kidd Design; Kekke dining chair: Piet Boon
Bespoke dining table: designed by Alexandra Kidd Design; Kekke dining chair: Piet Boon
Due to the size and weight of the island bench, it was craned inside in two pieces after the living room floor slab was poured and before the upstairs bedroom slab was poured. The island is hollowed from one side to accommodate dishwashers, cupboards and drawers. “This element required immaculate coordination between the architects, builders, stone masons, joiners, plumbers and electricians. It was monumental,” Ratcliffe says.
SAOTA and TKD also designed the kitchen cabinetry, which due to its dark colour recedes into the background, allowing the island bench to come to the fore. A glass splashback offers views of a secluded garden with an exposed rock feature.
SAOTA and TKD also designed the kitchen cabinetry, which due to its dark colour recedes into the background, allowing the island bench to come to the fore. A glass splashback offers views of a secluded garden with an exposed rock feature.
The challenge of such large architectural spaces is finding furniture that can hold its own in the space. In response, Kidd custom designed many of the key furniture pieces including both the formal and informal dining tables.
Kidd says that one of the clients’ main stipulations was to find the perfect place for the Christopher Boots Phasmida pendant light. It now hangs over the formal dining table, where its branch-like form can be viewed in the round: below from the dining table; across from the living area; and above as people enter the home.
Bespoke dining table: designed by Alexandra Kidd Design; Ginger dining chair: Poltrona Frau; Phasmida pendant light: Christopher Boots
Kidd says that one of the clients’ main stipulations was to find the perfect place for the Christopher Boots Phasmida pendant light. It now hangs over the formal dining table, where its branch-like form can be viewed in the round: below from the dining table; across from the living area; and above as people enter the home.
Bespoke dining table: designed by Alexandra Kidd Design; Ginger dining chair: Poltrona Frau; Phasmida pendant light: Christopher Boots
The formal dining area is adjacent to the living area. Here a wall of timber joinery brings warmth to the stone and concrete while defining the space that sits under the double-height atrium above.
Furnishings and finishes visually soften the concrete by adding layers of texture and tactility. “We played with the contrasts of raw architectural elements and luxurious finishes, juxtaposing concrete and brass, timber and stone, leather and linen, ever-increasing our client’s emotional response to the spaces,” Kidd says.
Furnishings and finishes visually soften the concrete by adding layers of texture and tactility. “We played with the contrasts of raw architectural elements and luxurious finishes, juxtaposing concrete and brass, timber and stone, leather and linen, ever-increasing our client’s emotional response to the spaces,” Kidd says.
These living and dining spaces open to the north and east for panoramic views across the harbour.
Throughout the house, off-form concrete walls seamlessly transition between inside and outside and between horizontal and vertical surfaces. They serve as a backdrop to the impressive volumes, views, furniture and jewel-toned colour palette. “Its subtle tone offers strength to architectural forms while providing a tactile backdrop to objects and artwork in both formal and informal spaces,” Ratcliffe says.
Flamed granite tile flooring also maintains this relationship of materials between inside and outside, and creates a sense of seamlessness. Large-format tiles have bullnose edges for a softer, more domestic feel, and they have been used in different forms throughout the house: as floor tiles, bathroom wall tiles and the kitchen island bench.
‘Wallflower’ sculpture on balcony: Camie Lyons
Throughout the house, off-form concrete walls seamlessly transition between inside and outside and between horizontal and vertical surfaces. They serve as a backdrop to the impressive volumes, views, furniture and jewel-toned colour palette. “Its subtle tone offers strength to architectural forms while providing a tactile backdrop to objects and artwork in both formal and informal spaces,” Ratcliffe says.
Flamed granite tile flooring also maintains this relationship of materials between inside and outside, and creates a sense of seamlessness. Large-format tiles have bullnose edges for a softer, more domestic feel, and they have been used in different forms throughout the house: as floor tiles, bathroom wall tiles and the kitchen island bench.
‘Wallflower’ sculpture on balcony: Camie Lyons
Kidd used softer, warmer finishes, furnishings and fittings to balance the large architectural volumes and concrete surfaces with the intimacy of family life. “Our brief was to soften the interiors of this very strong and masculine concrete structure by adding warmth to a family home that was to be nurturing and casual with sophisticated undertones, but not pretentious or intimidating,” Kidd says. “The masculine personality of the architecture called for this tension in the interiors, which gives it a feminine voice, allowing it to stand proudly beside – not above or beneath – the architecture.”
In the formal living area, the furniture appears to almost levitate above the floor, and shots of electric blue and gold add glamour while complementing the ocean vista.
Wing sofa: Flexform; Bell Table side table: Classicon; Magi ottoman: Flexform; Vintage Barrel armchairs: Milo Baughman
In the formal living area, the furniture appears to almost levitate above the floor, and shots of electric blue and gold add glamour while complementing the ocean vista.
Wing sofa: Flexform; Bell Table side table: Classicon; Magi ottoman: Flexform; Vintage Barrel armchairs: Milo Baughman
At the lowest level of the home sit a rumpus room and a guest bedroom, as well as a pool that looks out over the harbour.
“[This house] freely and confidently explores tactility. Guests are encouraged to remove their shoes and consciously press their bare feet into the natural stone foundation beneath them, and to run their hands across the mixed surfaces to truly feel the story of the finishes and furnishings, at once intimately connecting to the otherwise vast spaces around them,” Kidd says.
A considered and restrained use of colour also serves as a neutral palette for the more intense jewel tones of the blue and gold that are evocative of Sydney’s coastal landscape.
From the waterside, the facade is bold and sculptural, with large concrete overhangs and canopies. The layering of floors and rooms responds to the steep slope and panoramic views of North Head, Middle Head and Balmoral Bay, while bringing generous amounts of natural light into the interior spaces.
Nearly all exterior walls are clad in Mount White sandstone, which has minimal variation and veining throughout. “A very detailed ‘random’ pattern of varying lengths creates the interest in the walls and enhances the textural feel of the house,” Ratcliffe says.
Who lives here: Couple Kirsty and Peter, children Jacob and Tara, and Sky the cat
Location: Mosman, NSW
Year built: 2016
Size: 950 square metres; 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
Architecture and interior design: Tanner Kibble Denton Architects and SAOTA
Interior decor: Alexandra Kidd Design
Photographer: Justin Alexander
Awards: Mosman Council Design Awards 2017: Commendation Contribution to the Built Environment
The homeowners acquired a vacant site, comprising two blocks of land on a steep Balmoral hill in Sydney’s Lower North Shore. With a three-storey drop, the house is recessed into the hillside with the main living areas below street level for privacy. This approach allowed the design of the house to appear somewhat modest from the front, while being dramatic and monumental when viewed from the rear.
“From the street side, the tone and style is understated. Guests enter through a wooden entrance door and over a bridge that crosses the garden below,” says Renata Ratcliffe, project architect at TKD Architects.