My Houzz: Family Beach Shack for a New Generation
A run-down beach shack becomes the home and studio for the young designers behind The Salted Chair
Lisa Atkinson
25 September 2016
Houzz Contributor. I am an interiors, commercial lifestyle, and fine art photographer based in Frankston South, just out of Melbourne on the stunning Mornington Peninsula. I have been professionally photographing for over 25 years, and have worked with many talented interior designers and builders, both residentially and commercially.
Houzz Contributor. I am an interiors, commercial lifestyle, and fine art photographer... More
From the outside, this 1950s fibro beach shack in Rosebud on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula looks like many others in the area, which get used as holiday homes by Melbournians. During the summer months they’re buzzing with action, and then are virtually abandoned over winter. Beyond the unassuming exterior, however, lies a bright, fresh, Cinque Terre-inspired abode, which serves as a year-round home and design studio for Joshua Reitano and Adriana Vujovic, the young couple behind interior design company, The Salted Chair.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Joshua Reitano and his partner Adriana Vujovic
Location: Rosebud, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Size: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
The home was originally bought in 1996 by Joshua’s grandparents and is only two blocks’ walk from the beach. “It has been like a family heirloom, passed down,” says Reitano. “My grandparents, Giuseppe and Caterina loved the beach and my grandfather particularly loved gardening, so it was his garden home and it was Caterina’s home where she was at the beach and visited her local friends. It’s been a happy place for as long as I can remember.”
Who lives here: Joshua Reitano and his partner Adriana Vujovic
Location: Rosebud, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Size: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
The home was originally bought in 1996 by Joshua’s grandparents and is only two blocks’ walk from the beach. “It has been like a family heirloom, passed down,” says Reitano. “My grandparents, Giuseppe and Caterina loved the beach and my grandfather particularly loved gardening, so it was his garden home and it was Caterina’s home where she was at the beach and visited her local friends. It’s been a happy place for as long as I can remember.”
In 2014 Reitano and Vujovic chose to move from Melbourne and make this house their home, as well as the base for their design business. “It was the next chapter. It was a challenge both Adriana and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on,” says Reitano, recalling the massive undertaking ahead of them to bring the shack out of the ’50s. “We always wanted to keep the charming elements of the house, but also add some contemporary properties to it.”
Much of the interior is inspired by Reitano and Vujovic’s trip to the Cinque Terre in Italy last year. “From the watery hues of the dyed Turkish beach towels hanging in the hallway to the selection of punchy coloured cushions and homewares, the home is a real reflection of what inspired us during our trip,” says Vujovic. “Our decorating style is a contemporary take on an eclectic beach home.”
Plants: Glasshaus; ‘Inside’ artwork: Norsu; leather cushion: Jardan
Plants: Glasshaus; ‘Inside’ artwork: Norsu; leather cushion: Jardan
There are also French influences, including their Acqua Di Parma candle the couple stumbled across during a trip to Bordeaux. “We instantly fell in love with the wax cubes and we needed to buy them,” says Vujovic. “We purchased three at the time, we’ve completely finished the ‘Clove White’, we have half of the ‘Colonia Yellow’ candle but we promised each other we’d keep the ‘Amber Black’ candle as a reminder of our trip. It now lives in our studio.”
The couple had only aimed to do light cosmetic changes to the house when they moved in, but as an older house, they found structural issues that needed repair. Then the ball was rolling to renovate; “Let’s just say, once we started we couldn’t stop,” says Reitano. “Before any aesthetic brainstorming began, we had a thorough check throughout the home for things that needed to be repaired or changed to suit the home and our lifestyle.”
One of these issues was a roof leak in the entrance hall which trickled onto the ceiling sheet from above. The plaster sheet had some significant damage and needed to be repaired.
One of the more major changes included getting rid of the old carpet that was laid throughout the home, save the wet areas where there was linoleum glued to the timber floors underneath. The original floorboards were then treated with a white satin floor plaint by Feast Watson.
One of these issues was a roof leak in the entrance hall which trickled onto the ceiling sheet from above. The plaster sheet had some significant damage and needed to be repaired.
One of the more major changes included getting rid of the old carpet that was laid throughout the home, save the wet areas where there was linoleum glued to the timber floors underneath. The original floorboards were then treated with a white satin floor plaint by Feast Watson.
“The original carpet was a nightmare – as we’re a two-minute walk from the beach, we wanted a practical home that was easy to clean, particularly with salt water and sand, so this was a major consideration during the brainstorming aspect of the renovation,” says Reitano.
All areas except master bedroom painted in ‘White on White’: Dulux
All areas except master bedroom painted in ‘White on White’: Dulux
Reitano and Vujovic say the renovation was solely about further developing their knowledge within construction and exploring their creativity. Although the majority of the work was done with the help of family and close friends. “We used contractors for electrical work, plumbing and tiling. It was such a fun and great learning experience for all involved.” says Reitano. “We love transforming homes, whether a humble home like ours or a project with a larger scope of works, we’d do it over and over again.”
Cross: Ahoy Trader!
Cross: Ahoy Trader!
They recommend always keeping your overall budget in mind when renovating, and plan each room with a 10 per cent contingency for any unforeseen circumstances.
Their own home serves as an example of the work they can do through their design business, The Salted Chair. Much like working with clients, Reitano and Vujovic assessed how they wanted the home to suit their lifestyles.
“Our home was always a secondary home in our lives until recently,” says Reitano. “My grandparents loved entertaining here and they always had guests over whenever we’d visit as kids. We wanted to ensure that we kept the humble features and communal, inviting and social feel.”
One of the ways they did this was with the oversized dining area within the kitchen, accented by the low-hung pendant cluster over the table, which adds a sense of intimacy and warmth.
Industrial-style dining table: D’Bodhi
“Our home was always a secondary home in our lives until recently,” says Reitano. “My grandparents loved entertaining here and they always had guests over whenever we’d visit as kids. We wanted to ensure that we kept the humble features and communal, inviting and social feel.”
One of the ways they did this was with the oversized dining area within the kitchen, accented by the low-hung pendant cluster over the table, which adds a sense of intimacy and warmth.
Industrial-style dining table: D’Bodhi
Furniture choices were also influenced by the home’s location and their busy lifestyle, so they opted for high-quality, robust pieces.
The home came with ample amounts of storage with over 40 cupboards, all of which needed new handles. The couple needed a cost-effective way of adding the handles, and one that was in keeping with their overall design aesthetic. They also wanted a material that would age gracefully – they opted for leather.
“While studying, Josh developed a strong understanding of materials and one of his favourites was leather,” says Vujovic. “This is where we came up with the idea to use an Argentinean lamb hide, which has a butter-like softness that will develop a beautifully unique patina on each tab, all due to regular use and the natural oils in our hands.”
Sunlight also darkens the hide and there will be a slight stretch that will happen with pulling the leather over time.
“The home was always a casual, warm and humble environment. We wanted to play on the casual aspects with the implementation of patina leather handles,” says Vujovic.
Argentinean lamb-hide handles: NSW Leather Co
“While studying, Josh developed a strong understanding of materials and one of his favourites was leather,” says Vujovic. “This is where we came up with the idea to use an Argentinean lamb hide, which has a butter-like softness that will develop a beautifully unique patina on each tab, all due to regular use and the natural oils in our hands.”
Sunlight also darkens the hide and there will be a slight stretch that will happen with pulling the leather over time.
“The home was always a casual, warm and humble environment. We wanted to play on the casual aspects with the implementation of patina leather handles,” says Vujovic.
Argentinean lamb-hide handles: NSW Leather Co
More of the Cinque Terre influence can be seen in the hallway with an enlarged photograph the couple took while on holiday there for the Milan Furniture Fair.
“The casual, laid-back lifestyle of the locals was inspiring. They had a unique and effortless design style which is now our forefront with The Salted Chair,” says Reitano.
‘Cliffs’ artwork: The Salted Chair
“The casual, laid-back lifestyle of the locals was inspiring. They had a unique and effortless design style which is now our forefront with The Salted Chair,” says Reitano.
‘Cliffs’ artwork: The Salted Chair
The second photograph is hanging in the main bedroom and influences the colours and relaxed vibe of the room. “It serves as a constant reminder of the way we felt while travelling through Italy,” says Reitano. “The blue walls were a literal reference to this photo of the Mediterranean sea.”
‘Atlantic Mystique’ wallpaint: Dulux; ‘Scenic Detour’ artwork: The Salted Chair
‘Atlantic Mystique’ wallpaint: Dulux; ‘Scenic Detour’ artwork: The Salted Chair
When it comes to using bold colours like the cobalt blue in this room, Reitano says to go bold and trust your instincts.
“Tradespeople in the house always had this look on their faces when they saw us painting the master bedroom blue and painting the hardwood floors white, it was a look of devastation!” says Reitano.
“Tradespeople in the house always had this look on their faces when they saw us painting the master bedroom blue and painting the hardwood floors white, it was a look of devastation!” says Reitano.
“If it is what you envisioned, don’t let anybody deter you from your vision. We knew we wanted to enhance the light and bright atmosphere and we knew what we needed to do to accomplish this,” he says.
Bedhead: Table of Contents; ‘Mystere Royal’ upholstery: Warwick Fabrics; candle: Bella Freud
Reitano says that one of the most beautiful aspects of the home is the natural light it gets, which they embrace wholeheartedly. The guest bedroom was painted in white and reflects the ample sunlight from the windows.
This room gets regular use from friends and family visiting from Melbourne and staying over for a night or two at a time.
The bathroom was also updated. Sticking to a simple white palette, the couple lashed out on quality tapware as their budget allowed.
Due to the age of the home, there was originally only an outdoor laundry in the backyard. They converted the existing mudroom connected to the back door into their new laundry.
Near the rear of the house is the space the couple use to run their interior design studio, which they started a year ago. It was formerly a third bedroom, but Reitano and Vujovic wanted to work together at home, so they converted it. They find their home and its surrounds inspiring and particularly love the paned windows and openness of the space.
They share their work time between their beachside home studio, and client visits back in Melbourne.
They share their work time between their beachside home studio, and client visits back in Melbourne.
“As designers, we are passionate and absolutely love what we do so we don’t tend to separate our work and life. Our favourite room in our house is our studio, it is a space where the most creating happens,” says Reitano.
Adriana’s passion for Scandinavian furniture directed the couple to the beautiful Parker sideboard that now lives in their studio. They came across it while online shopping and discovered a Danish importer who restores and sells the pieces.
On the sideboard sits an Eames House Bird from Vitra that the duo bought at Top3 by Design. They enjoy having design icons like this in their creative space for inspiration.
The black Aqua Di Palma candle bought in Bordeaux lives untouched in the studio as a constant reminder of the couple’s travels.
Small, smoked BIRD: ARCHITECTMADE
The clever clipboard wall in the studio gets regularly updated with inspirational images, client mood boards, and iconic furniture references.
“The studio provides us with ample storage and open space for working on large projects and of course, Marble – our British blue shorthair, and unofficial mascot – still has her space to lounge in the room and keep us company,” says Reitano.
As for the future, the couple plan to update the backyard, including the renovation of the separate self-contained two-bedroom bungalow which has sat unused for many years.
TELL US
What do you love about this updated beach house? Tell us in the Comments below.
TELL US
What do you love about this updated beach house? Tell us in the Comments below.
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Hate the sideboard, but I absolutely love this house and everything (else) in it. It is stunningly beautiful. I am very envious. lucky them.
Oh how lovely! I visit my friend on the Mornington Peninsula regularly (I am going today to weed his garden whilst he is away!) and his house would sure look wonderful if I stole all those ideas! His house was built tin the mid-late 1950's. I love all of the house in the photos!
Shack?? I think not....more like SHACK-TASTIC!!!!