Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Whimsical Wonderland for a Family of Art Lovers
This Sydney house is an imaginative adventure in art and architecture and forms part of the family's life journey
When Alice followed the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) she embarked on a wondrous journey of discovery and adventure. Indeed, the process of designing and building this house in Clovelly, Sydney, was much the same – as is the result.
Designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects and shortlisted for the 2017 Australian Interior Design Awards, this family home has imaginative spaces, fantastical transitions and a wonderland of art and furniture. “The idea was to create a home that became a part of their life journey; one that was whimsical, calm, inspiring, slightly quirky and deeply personal,” says Madeleine Blanchfield. So, let’s go down the rabbit hole.
Designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects and shortlisted for the 2017 Australian Interior Design Awards, this family home has imaginative spaces, fantastical transitions and a wonderland of art and furniture. “The idea was to create a home that became a part of their life journey; one that was whimsical, calm, inspiring, slightly quirky and deeply personal,” says Madeleine Blanchfield. So, let’s go down the rabbit hole.
The house is on a steep site with views to the south, and only the existing front wall and garage can be seen from the street. The alteration required a large portion of the centre of the house to be removed to allow sun and light to penetrate the interior spaces.
“We gutted the existing house, leaving only the structural columns and beams, and we removed most of the walls to flood the spaces with light,” says Blanchfield. “Then we created huge windows onto new external courtyards.” This only marginally changed the building envelope and the existing structure was retained wherever possible.
“We gutted the existing house, leaving only the structural columns and beams, and we removed most of the walls to flood the spaces with light,” says Blanchfield. “Then we created huge windows onto new external courtyards.” This only marginally changed the building envelope and the existing structure was retained wherever possible.
The arched front door opens to the entry room with an antique lighting fitting set against the rendered wall. And so begins the adventure through the house.
Custom marble table designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects and made by Skheme
Custom marble table designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects and made by Skheme
“The clients wanted to fix the dark, disconnected parts of the south-facing house and create a home that embodied their unique character,” Blanchfield says. And the result can certainly be seen in the spacious living area that consumes the middle floor of the three-storey house.
The kitchen is in the centre of the space, with the casual living area to the north and the dining area and more formal living area to the south.
The kitchen is in the centre of the space, with the casual living area to the north and the dining area and more formal living area to the south.
The residents nominate the kitchen as their favourite space in their new house. As one of the owners says: “It is the heart of the home, where the boys can sit at the bench and we can all be together.” Blanchfield frequently custom designs features for her project and this was no exception. She designed the concrete kitchen island and the bronze trough light above. The grey is then picked up in the splashback swirling through the Calacatta marble.
About a Stool by Hay: Cult Design; kitchen island and light: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects; Calacatta marble: Artedomus
About a Stool by Hay: Cult Design; kitchen island and light: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects; Calacatta marble: Artedomus
“The problem with removing walls is that there is nowhere to hang art,” says Blanchfield. “Bringing art into the architecture therefore became the driving concept and approach behind the design.”
Exploring new ways of accommodating art within the architecture helped Blanchfield forge the connection between the owners and their house and its contents. “The spaces embody the family’s character, belongings, ideas, gatherings, stories and memories, and create a stage for more to be formed.”
Gervasoni Gray 07 chairs and Gray 46 coffee table: Anibou; Cronz Moroccan Pure Dawn, 100 per cent New Zealand wool rug: Whitecliffe Imports
Exploring new ways of accommodating art within the architecture helped Blanchfield forge the connection between the owners and their house and its contents. “The spaces embody the family’s character, belongings, ideas, gatherings, stories and memories, and create a stage for more to be formed.”
Gervasoni Gray 07 chairs and Gray 46 coffee table: Anibou; Cronz Moroccan Pure Dawn, 100 per cent New Zealand wool rug: Whitecliffe Imports
In the living area, cushions are scattered along the eight-metre-long custom banquette with the colours picked up in the artworks by Eko Nugroho on the wall above.
La Rue Parle #7 2012 (The Streets that Talk) is a series of embroidered streetscapes captured by Nugroho, which lay just beyond the main boulevards in Paris. They represent his memories of his interaction with the city and its people, much like the living space represents the interactions the family has with each other and the space.
Custom banquette with American-oak base and grey linen upholstery: Madden Interiors
La Rue Parle #7 2012 (The Streets that Talk) is a series of embroidered streetscapes captured by Nugroho, which lay just beyond the main boulevards in Paris. They represent his memories of his interaction with the city and its people, much like the living space represents the interactions the family has with each other and the space.
Custom banquette with American-oak base and grey linen upholstery: Madden Interiors
A music/study room is adjacent to the living room, with custom mirror and timber bifold doors partitioning the space.
Must-know chair: the Safari
Must-know chair: the Safari
And it is as whimsical and personal as the other living spaces, with a vintage Safari chair and Peter Aitken’s Skull-Rack (1993) painted on wooden doors.
Stumpy side table and Dreamweaver light: Pop & Scott; Galaxy Rug in Champagne: BIC Carpets
Stumpy side table and Dreamweaver light: Pop & Scott; Galaxy Rug in Champagne: BIC Carpets
The room opens to a garden and out to the swimming pool. A concrete window seat integrates interior and exterior spaces and sliding glass doors retract into the wall. Eaves and awnings on all north-facing windows and vertical external sun-shading on the east and west provide protection from the sun.
Back inside, a casual dining nook is created with Eero Saarinen’s classic Tulip dining table and chairs.
Saarinen Tulip dining table and chairs by Knoll: De De Ce; BP.05.02 pendant light: Lindsay Adelman
Saarinen Tulip dining table and chairs by Knoll: De De Ce; BP.05.02 pendant light: Lindsay Adelman
At the other end of the kitchen, the dining room is light and spacious, opening onto a southeast balcony. The custom-made four-metre-long dining table extends to seat 14 people and has been handmade from a single piece of timber.
Custom dining table: Porter and Maple; In Between chair by &Tradition: Great Dane; Saarinen Executive armchair by Knoll: De De Ce; French antique brass and fabric pendant light
The dining area looks across to the more formal area, which is elegant and sophisticated while still feeling airy and beachy and at one with the rest of the house. “Every piece of art and furniture was designed or selected and placed in intense collaboration with the owners, artists, curators and craftspeople,” says Blanchfield. “The house has the cohesiveness and wholeness of something that belongs to its owners and whose contents belong to it.”
The architect created and found opportunities for art in every part of the house, including this print, Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest (2004) by Yang Fudong. Positioned above the fireplace, it is a central focus of the room while not detracting from the lightness of the space.
A great emphasis was also placed on beautiful detailing and surfaces, not only in the architecture but also the furnishings. This is evident in the combination of metal and glass in the occasional tables, which have sleek glossy surfaces that are perfectly combined with the Art Deco forms of the vintage armchairs.
B&B Italia Charles modular sofa: Space Furniture; vintage chairs: 1st Dibs; Classicon Bell Coffee Table and Bell Side Table: Anibou; Formikami JH3 & JH4 pendant lights by &Tradition: Great Dane; Galaxy Rug by BIC Carpets: Whitecliffe Imports
B&B Italia Charles modular sofa: Space Furniture; vintage chairs: 1st Dibs; Classicon Bell Coffee Table and Bell Side Table: Anibou; Formikami JH3 & JH4 pendant lights by &Tradition: Great Dane; Galaxy Rug by BIC Carpets: Whitecliffe Imports
From here, the house goes to the bedrooms above and ground floor below with a staircase inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Custom screen designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
Custom screen designed by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
The master bedroom and ensuite, three children’s bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as the den are upstairs. A skylight fills the stairwell with light, much like the start of Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole.
Facing southeast with expansive windows, it has magnificent views over the coastline and ocean.
The ensuite is pure luxury and has a freestanding bath. Like the bedroom, the bathroom looks over the ocean with a skylight filtering natural light from above.
Agape Ottocento bath
Agape Ottocento bath
The custom marble vanity extends into a seat for the shower, and mirrors and the glass door are trimmed with gold detail.
Scandi Ball wall sconce: Articolo
Scandi Ball wall sconce: Articolo
The walk-in robe is equally luxurious, with timber joinery, strip lighting and a custom-made stool and mirror.
10 questions to ask when designing a wardrobe
10 questions to ask when designing a wardrobe
Back on the middle level, the powder room adjacent to the entrance has a copper vanity and blue cactus-print wallpaper that turns the walls into an artwork in themselves.
Custom copper basin and tap;
Utzon Copper light: Great Dane
Custom copper basin and tap;
Utzon Copper light: Great Dane
The garden and courtyard catch the northern sun and have been “conceived as jewel boxes executed by different artists”, says Blanchfield.
The external fireplace, for example, designed by Blanchfield, is inspired by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, who was influenced by the materials and landscape of his native land.
“The project was a tour de force of collaboration,” Blanchfield says. “The very best artists, curators, joiners, metal workers, stylists, textile designers and stone masons were involved. As a result, the house personifies the brief for wonder and inspiration.”
“The project was a tour de force of collaboration,” Blanchfield says. “The very best artists, curators, joiners, metal workers, stylists, textile designers and stone masons were involved. As a result, the house personifies the brief for wonder and inspiration.”
Who lives here: A couple with their three boys and two dogs
Location: Clovelly, Sydney, NSW
Year built: 2016
Size: 390 square metres; 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, powder room, den, 2 living spaces, kitchen, 2 rumpus rooms
Architect: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
The project is the refurbishment of a 1950s suburban house that is now home to a family of five. “They are great art lovers and deeply creative people so their brief was a graphic one,” says Blanchfield.
“We wanted our home to feel serene, so for inspiration we gave Madeleine an Indian lithograph,” says one of the owners. That lithograph featured five fish with human faces and was a 17th-century illustration of the 13th-century Arabic cosmography Marvels Of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects Of Things Existing. “It’s quite whimsical and a bit quirky, which was our starting point for how we communicated what we wanted for the house. The result is a bright and airy jewel box.”