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GLORIOUS ART DECO It’s the ’20s again!

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CRE DI T S

EDITORIAL Editor Angela Young ayoung@umco.com.au Editor-at-Large Peter Maddison Deputy Editor Cassie Haywood Contributors Carrol Baker, Pete Colquhoun, Chris Knierim, Louise Smithers, Donnay Torr Art Director Kate Podger Plans Anthony Allars Sub-Editor Michelle Segal COVER IMAGE Kelvin View House Rhiannon Slatter

PETER MADDISON ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PLUS TV HOUSE EXCLUSIVE DEE WHY HOUSE

TOP FLOORED Never underestimate what’s underfoot

10 staircases with the swoon factor

45 interior ideas for your own project GO WITH THE FLOW Seamless transitions from inside to out

WINNING KITCHENS Pick of the crop

Issue 8 5

OOZING GLASS No throwing stones in this sunlight-filled dream house

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES AND BOOKINGS NSW Advertising Team Leader Anthea Hamilton P: (02) 9887 0311 M: 0414 319 271 E: ahamilton@umco.com.au Advertising Manager Chris Williams P: (02) 9887 0369 M: 0411 424 072 E: cwilliams@umco.com.au Vic, SA & Tas Advertising Manager Natalie Grosso M: 0420 477 422 E: ngrosso@umco.com.au Vic Kitchens, Bathrooms & Heating Specialist John Oliver P: (03) 9694 6430 M: 0417 316 820 Qld Business Development Consultant Lynn Hill P: (07) 3351 8725 M: 0488 424 232 E: lhill@umco.com.au Advertising Production Brendan Alder Advertising Art Director Martha Rubazewicz

Chairman/CEO Prema Perera Publisher Janice Williams Chief Financial Officer Vicky Mahadeva Associate Publisher Emma Perera Finance & Administration Manager James Perera Circulation Business Development Manager Mark McTaggart Creative Director Kate Podger Marketing & Acquisitions Manager Chelsea Peters This magazine is printed on paper produced in a mill that meets Environmental Management System ISO14001. Grand Designs Australia issue 9.1 is published by Universal Magazines, Unit 5, 6-8 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113. Phone: (02) 9805 0399, Fax: (02) 9805 0714. Melbourne office, Level 1, 150 Albert Street, South Melbourne Vic 3205. Phone: (03) 9694 6444, Fax: (03) 9699 7890. Printed in Singapore by Times Printers, timesprinters.com. Retail distribution: Gordon and Gotch, Australia. Distributed in Singapore and Malaysia by CARKIT (FE), Singapore, Phone: 65 62821 960. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers. The publishers believe all the information supplied in this book to be correct at the time of printing. They are not, however, in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. Prices, addresses and phone numbers were, after investigation, and to the best of our knowledge and belief, up to date at the time of printing, but the shifting sands of time may change them in some cases. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements which appear in this publication comply with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law. The responsibility must therefore be on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisements for publication. While every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. * Recommended retail price ISSN 2200 – 2197 Copyright © Universal Magazines MMXX ACN 003 026 944 umco.com.au Please pass on or recycle this magazine.

Grand Designs® is a trademark of, and is licensed by, FremantleMedia Australia. All rights reserved.

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by FremantleMedia Australia. All rights reserved.

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GRAND DESIGNS

Discover the Next Level of Cooling Technology – Monolith.

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CO NTENT S

122

38 REGULARS 16 Credits 20 Editor’s letter 22 Editor-at-large 184 Hot products

CREATIVE EDIT 25 Book club 26 Design forum 28 Architecture snapshot 30 What’s hot 32 Favourite 5 42 Travel inspo IN PROFILE 34 Kevin McCloud 38 Justin Hutchinson 40 Ian Burden FEATURES 46 A sustainable life 162 How to… media rooms 176 Around the world in 18 styles EXPERT ADVICE 188 Architecture 190 Building 194 Ask the architect

Inside

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ISSUE #9.1

30 77 18

GRAND DESIGNS

44

66

101 HOUSES 56 TV House Kelvin View Go big, deep in bushranger country 68 House for a Stationer Exposed beams in the heart of London 82 Concrete Shell House An imposing home that’s in great shape 92 Roundhouse Radiating grid lines and sloping roofs 102 Hunters Hill House The 1960s gets a dazzling update

56

112

124

136

Osborne House A beach house with a taste of industry Coolum Beach House An integrated pool?

Eau yes!

Nedlands Residence Bachelor pad update

KITCHENS & BATHROOMS 150 The sky’s the limit in this kitchen 158 Throwing shapes in a curvy ensuite

101

150

E DITOR’S LE T T E R

From the Editor Mentionables Carolyn fan art deco mirror. shinemirrors.com.au ‘Cloth’ reception seat. Picture courtesy of Denton Corker Marshall LOFT lounge chair, Scott van Tuil.

Photography by Peter Whyte Angela chats to Kevin McCloud.

Photography by Chris Walsh

ake a seat and make you urself comfortable because we have a fantastic issue forr you, not least our exclusive interview with the Master of Grand Designs himself, Kevin McCloud, on pagee 34. I sat down with the beloved UK TV presenter, here for his nation nal stage tour, to compare and contrast design on his side of the world with ours.

On top of that, the mag’s bulging g with amazing home design projects (be wowed from page 56, wh here we kick things off with the Kelvin View House from series 8) and even a round-the-globe trip with no need to move an inch!

That’s right, “Around the world in 18 8 styles” (we didn’t have room for 80, sorry) on pa age 176 seeks inspiration from all corners of the ea arth, Mexico to Scandinavia, Monaco to Sri Lanka a.

Back to seating, if you want something extraspecial, how about this awesome be espoke metal “cloth” reception seat, commissioned by Denton Corker Marshall for its architecture and design offices in Melbourne. Unique and practical, it’s the perfect grand design for the company’s reception. A bit more home-suitable, perhaps, is the awardwinning LOFT lounge chair by Scottt van Tuil, a divine sculptural addition to the Design Tasmania Wood W Collection that combines, in Scott’s words, “layers of design th hinking, process and practice beneath the Tasmanian veneer skin n”. Yum. Equally delicious were the tastess of the flapper era and, considering we’re now well into the e modern-day roaring ’20s, it would be remiss of us not to reassesss art deco goodness, p30.

Another era we’re looking into iss “the future”, as we dive into sustainability and how to make ourr homes as eco-friendly as possible, plus we give future-lookin ng media rooms a once-over.

Spectacular kitchens and bathro oom designs await your eager eyes from p150, and our experts are e eyeing up the small homes revolution. All that, plus a little infl fluence from our capital, as Canberra provides our travel inspo.. Enjoy the issue and be inspired.

Angela

ANGELA YOUNG EDITOR

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GRAND DESIGNS

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ED ITO R-AT- LAR GE

From Peter Maddison

t the very end of last year, my family and I evacuated from our holiday home in Metung, Victoria, on advice from the CFA. The property has water frontage on the Gippsland lakes so we’d always considered it safe, but as fire swept down from The Great Dividing Range through Bruthen and towards Bairnsdale, everything changed.

Since then, our priorities in life have been reset. Family and respect for the land and Mother Nature matter more than anything. As the smoke haze affected Melbourne and Sydney and the temperature soared to 40º+, I reflected upon the value of house as a design aspiration and appreciated more the theatre of life rather than the receptacle. The rarefied atmosphere of architecture becomes somehow less relevant in a disaster such as our country’s summer bushfires.

Memory becomes the cherished ingredient that connects me deeply to the thing I call home.

Funnily enough, when we turned our backs on our holiday home, we were quite pragmatic, taking only one object from the home we left in our dust: a rare history book written by local relative Gay Halstead. It describes the deep and balanced connection to the land by the local Kurnai Aboriginal tribe and the devastating 200-year white history that has irreparably buggered up the largest inland lake system in Australia. The Gippsland paradise enjoyed for millennia is largely out of balance due to greed and a lack of

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GRAND DESIGNS

Callignee Bushfire House, Grand Designs Australia series 1, episode 1

respect for the natural world. The Story of Metung and its First Inhabitants is a text for us and future generations to learn from and reset.

I guess it’s that sense of connectedness to our past that now resides deeply in our family compared to the “stuff” of life — art, furniture, fishing rods, linen, etc. Rattling around in my head is a TED Talk I saw recently by two young blokes challenging the western mode of living. I strongly recommend you tap into it, by “The Minimalists” Joshua and Ryan. The Art of Letting Go tackles a basic consumer problem, an elephant in the house — too much stuff.

They point out that houses, and the stuff in them, are crippling our world and creating an environmental catastrophe. Joshua and Ryan argue that the average American home has about 300,000 items in it. That includes cutlery/ crockery for every occasion, old magazines, broken sporting equipment, workshops and basements full of things we rarely use. When faced with losing a house to fire, one really understands the respect the land deserves; the house is replaceable and a lot of the “stuff” inside is irrelevant.

Ten years ago the first episode of Grand Designs Australia was about Chris Clark, who’d just finished a house in Callignee (near Morwell, Victoria).

Within two weeks of completion he lost everything in the Black Saturday fires. It was a cathartic story. He rebuilt literally out of the ashes with a smaller, more fireproof building. It’s a story worth revisiting after this summer’s events.

Building standards were changed following Ash Wednesday (16 February, 1983) and Black Saturday (7 February, 2009). They’ll be adjusted again after this latest disaster. My hope is that climate change, consumerism, house size, tighter BAL controls, and learning from First Nations history will come into focus. Maybe we’ll even be forced to buy less stuff.

One thing’s for sure. As communities are suffering, as the loss to flora and fauna is assessed, as insurance companies are under siege and as politicians are scrambling, housing will change in response.

Architects Assist Architects across the country have united to help those whose homes were destroyed by the dreadful 2019/2020 bushfires and who are either uninsured or grossly underinsured. Architects Assist, set up by “Atelier for building and design” Jiri Lev, offers flexible pro bono building design services for people to rebuild their lives, across Australia. architectsassist.com.au

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Creative

Edit Take a look at what’s happening in the world of architecture and interior design 25 Book club 26 Design forum 28 Architecture snapshot 30 What’s hot 32 Favourite 5 34 In profile 42 Travel inspo

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GRAND DESIGNS

R E VI EWS

MODERN TROPICAL O RIERA OJEDA & B HAWES HARDIE GRANT BOOKS | $89.99 While Australia’s climate ranges from tropical to desert to temperate, one thing that’s certain is we love the heat.

With travel more accessible than ever before, exotic destinations such as Hawaii or the Maldives are more frontof-mind. Combining our passion for travel and warmth is modern tropical architecture. Lush foliage, colourful gardens, drool-worthy views and the house to suit each location, Modern Tropical presents some of the most outstanding interpretations of the genre. From the Caribbean to Africa, see the balance of indoors and out, rustic and refined, as well as nature and shelter in this book’s examination of tropical modern living.

Book club Expand your horizons with…

E D I T E D BY C A S S I E H AY WO O D & A N G E L A YO U N G

SMALL HOUSE LIVING AUSTRALIA CATHERINE FOSTER PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE | $39.99 Tiny homes are a hot trend popping up all over the world (check out p190). If you’re daunted by the prospect of maintaining a heavily minimalist lifestyle but want to reduce your floor plan, why not simply consider a small house? Peering into cleverly designed homes of 90sqm or less (tiny homes are considered 45sqm and smaller), Catherine Foster brings us 21 small but inspiring Australian homes. Whether in the midst of urban living or deep in the countryside, all the small houses featured showcase the power of good design in beautiful, fun-size homes. Be inspired to do more with less in your home.

BIBLIO-STYLE

THE BREEZE BLOCK BOOK

NINA FREUDENBERGER HARDIE GRANT BOOKS | $50 If you’re anything like us, a floor-to-ceiling library complete with a sliding ladder is your version of nirvana. Explored beautifully in the pages of Biblio-style, Nina takes us on a journey into the private libraries of passionate readers from around the world. Each page celebrates books and the style they bring into a home through a book itself, which just adds to the “book-ception” fun. Be inspired to do more with your treasured books and tell a story through the interior design of your space. Who knows, Biblio-style may end up becoming part of the artistry of your own book display.

ICONIC: MODERN AUSTRALIAN HOUSES 1950-2000 KAREN MCCARTNEY MURDOCH BOOKS | $59.99 A combination of two previous books (plus an extra decade), this is a modernist delight.

Encyclopaedic in its breadth, it’s still a seriously good-looking book. Peek inside some of Australia’s most extraordinary architecture, with houses from Harry Seidler, Robin Boyd and Bruce Rickard to name just a few. The revised intro is a highly informative (if lengthy) insight into Karen’s enduring fascination with the era, as well as a breakdown of the decades and styles. A must-have for lovers of both modernism and architecture generally.

URO PUBLICATIONS | $65 Guess what? The breeze block is back, baby!

Once reserved for hot-climate architecture as an avenue for ventilation, AKA breezes, this cinder block has made a revival as a feature of its own.

New forms and patterns are hitting the market to add a creative flair to a building. The right block will provide privacy, light and air flow to an area or add drama to the facade of a home. Inexpensive and robust, breeze blocks provide a different take on normative brick use while responding with sensitivity to a climate. The Breeze Block Book features incredible projects and explores this “simple” building material.

GRAND DESIGNS

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DE SI G N FO R U M

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Get social Click to explore the wonders of our architectural environment E D I T E D BY C A S S I E H AY WO O D

04

01/ 60 Years of Beaumont Tiles To help celebrate 60 years, we were taken back to the 1960s, when tiles were vastly different. Each decade heralded new looks, influenced by social and cultural change. Looking ahead, tile expert Christie Woods sees a few trends on the horizon.

“Referenced Life” highlights the luxury icons of eras such as Bauhaus, ’40s, ’70s and art deco with a “warm and progressive” look.

Also “Foraged Life”, in which Scandinavian and Russian elements blend into an organic wood-like setting and, our favourite, “Life Kind” — mindful and slow design reflecting the broader movement towards sustainable living. tiles.com.au 02/ Nick & Nora’s, Sydney Sky-high in Parramatta, this Gatsby-like champagne and cocktail bar oozes mystery, decadence and art deco details. Inspired by The Thin Man’s sleuthing duo, the bar has woven a narrative within the dining experience, with the interior, props and drinks menu themed as one of their infamous parties.

Outfitted with velvet curtains, ’30s-style tiles and an 11m-long back bar, it packs a punch. On our visit we enjoyed flaming drinks and liquid nitrogen theatrics. For a night out with views and a classy drink (plus great service and design inspiration to boot), head here. nickandnoras.com.au 03/ Fenton & Fenton, Melbourne PSA for fans of stylish, eclectic furniture.

After 11 years of supplying the goods, this expansion of a north-side showroom is bound to get your design senses tingling.

Each area is styled to a tee, whether the sumptuous velvets of the all-green room or the bright blue and yellow wallpapered zone, where pops of orange electrify the tone. This place is not for those afraid of colour. If you’re looking to check out what’s hot in homes this year, this space is worth a wander. fentonandfenton.com.au 04/ ‘Invisible’ furniture series Dreamt of an invisibility cloak? How about furniture that aims to do the same? Brainchild of Seoul-based designer HyukJoon Choi, the “invisible” series comprises shelving and storage that make an object appear to levitate, as though the furniture doesn’t even exist. Thin layers of reflective stainless steel, screws and nuts create an optical illusion that disappears when viewed fronton. It’s a collection you need to not-see to believe. Instagram: @joonchoii

W: completehome.com.au N: completehome.com.au/e-news-signup F: facebook.com/granddesignsau I: instagram.com/granddesignsau P: pinterest.com.au/granddesignsau

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Truly b reathta king.

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CR E ATI VE EDIT 01

01

ARCHITECTURE

KALLISTA HOUSE

What’s your first thought when you see this home? Inspired by a charred fallen log, Maxa Design has created a single-level dwelling quite unlike a typical new build. The compact floor plan ensures easy accessibility to all areas, so no matter the age or mobility of the resident, this home is future-proof.

The distinctive curved structure serves two major purposes: meeting the homeowner’s request for a curved aesthetic, and meeting the strict bushfire regulations where leaf litter is not allowed to build up.

This home ticks all the sustainability boxes, employing passive design principles with a “magic box”, one of the first HVAC systems in Australia, as well as thoughtfully planned building shading and orientation.

Photography by Chris Neylon. maxadesign.com.au

snapshot Standout architecture that goes above and beyond E D I T E D BY C A S S I E H AY WO O D

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HOUSE AT OTAGO BAY

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All angles, corners and floor-to-ceiling windows, this home in Hobart, Tasmania, plays with shape and site. The river and rugged landscape are represented through the sandy design, with limed-oak ceilings, warm timber joinery and polished concrete floors fitting perfectly among the tussock-dotted hills.

Locally sourced masonry was custom-manufactured to complement the tones of the environment and create a solid, protected haven. The hardness of brick is softened by ledges and terraces that match the formation of the hills, while also providing additional spaces to enjoy the view. The creative use of brick won this project the Kevin Borland Masonry Award in the 2019 Think Brick Awards. Photography by Paul Hermes. topologystudio.com.au

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03

RAERAE HOUSE

Jutting out like an architectural mountain range, the RaeRae House is unconventional but surprisingly cohesive. This five-bedroom family home is made of two pre-existing terrace houses combined. Each room can be opened up for the kids to run between spaces and engage with the parents, or closed off to become a quiet retreat. At first glance many of the features appear decorative, but beneath the unique aesthetic are strong design principles that benefit the property. The pitches of the roof block neighbours’ views without shadowing the garden, while the brick and timber facade minimises more costly steel inclusions (brick is only used on those parts touching the ground). The rich heritage remains present in the building’s frontage, a beautiful reminder of the past. Photography by Peter Bennetts. maynardarchitects.com

04

WOOLLAHRA HOUSE 3

Located within Woollahra Council’s Heritage Conservation Area, this house was designed to complement the surrounding parkland and allow nature to grow close to home.

An understated material palette of natural concrete block, black timber boards and windows and dark zinc encourage the interplay of light and shadows in the dense bushland outside these walls.

The privacy of the ground floor was ideal for the bedrooms, while the first-floor living area feels as if it’s among the treetops, with direct views of the park. A raised clerestory-like roof maximises volume, daylight, and makes for a striking facade. Photography by Felix Forest. porebskiarchitects.com.au

04

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PADDINGTON RESIDENCE

A black house draws attention on any street, but the real showstopper stands to the rear of the property, where a unique ground-floor design meets an ingenious “birdcage” atop this heritage cottage’s extension. The living area is sunken to follow the natural undulations of the site, while jutting out to take in the views. Bi-fold doors allow the wall to the backyard to almost completely collapse for an easy flow between the spaces. The standout feature of the upper level’s external screened terrace is a translucent skin sheltering the area, while a timber screen protects from the sun. Openings on this facade offer different outlooks to the surrounding vistas — ideal for the homeowners to enjoy slow morning reflections. Photography by Christopher Frederick Jones. kierongait.com.au

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Art deco Love The Great Gatsby?

Bring the roaring ’20s into this century with art deco style — strong geometric forms, luxurious materials and striking colours

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E D I T E D BY C A S S I E H AY WO O D

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01/ Guff y bookshelf. hommes.studio 02/ Arcana bench. hommes.studio 03/ Casablanca pendant chandelier in brass. ivoryanddeene.com.au 04/ Kameo triple wall sconce. hamiltonconte.com 05/ Gold luxe round drinks trolley. audenza.com 06/ Lismore Essence champagne saucer pair. waterfordcrystal.com.au 07/ Carolyn fan Art Deco wall mirror. shinemirrors.com.au 08/ Archie jewel green velvet twoseater sofa. danetti.com 09/ Cloud sofa. circu.net 10/ Ines hammered oval table. hamiltonconte.com 11/ Iwatani floor lamp. hamiltonconte.com 12/ Sloane armchair. theinteriordesigner.com.au 13/ Slice wallpaper. hyggeandwest.com

W HAT ’S HOT

INSPO Gold starbursts, lavish furnishings and abundant details culminate in striking art deco style jamessaid.com.au

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FAVO U RI TE 5 01

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Stars of TV Entertainment units — to hide or to celebrate? That’s the burning question…

WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G

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Don’t forget living rooms aren’t the only entertainment zones, of course. Interior designer Kevin Dumais introduced a beautiful design into this Tribeca loft project’s dining area, concealing the television behind gorgeous bleached walnut panelling nestled between lacquered closets, bringing a whole new element of versatility to the space. The tactile qualities of walnut and maple add warmth to a practical yet stylish layout.

Photography Joshua McHugh

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The winning quality of the entertainment zone in this New York brownstone, designed

by BAAO, is its maximum use of space, providing not only floor-toceiling integrated cabinetry — some exposed for display shelving alongside beautifully formed cupboards — but also a good-size roaring fire and highly agreeable asymmetrical shelving display, all sequestered subtly behind seamless joinery. Photography Francis Dzikowski, OTTO

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Room-length custom joinery allows for streamlined storage in this narrow cottage, as well as space to showcase special pieces. The client requested concealed charging stations so cables could be hidden away, which Dieppe Design (and builder Glenstone) managed with aplomb. The use of a dark palette of materials grounds the lower unit and offsets the whites, while the timber features add warmth. LED strip lighting in the kickboards also produces a cool, floating effect. Photography Edward Dieppe

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You can always try DIY, as with the Frame Living System.

Select your choice of shelves, cupboards and drawers from a range of materials, finishes and colours to create a floating system with integrated technology that’s essentially unique to you. Image courtesy of coshliving.com.au

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Hiding the TV completely was the road Olga Khovanskaya and Maria Stepanova of MOPS Studio took in this three-storey Moscow dwelling. Central to the family-of-four’s living space is an impressive interactive fireplace, and it’s on here that giant fibre cement plates can be folded back to reveal a huge screen, which can then be easily tucked away again for entertaining purposes. Cunning.

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Kevin admires the Sydney Opera House’s architecture. Photography Daniel Boud, courtesy of the Sydney Opera House

Kevin McCloud In town for his The World According to Kevin McCloud tour, we sat down with the Grand Designs stalwart for a chat about the ‘a’ and ‘e’ words WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G

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fter 23 years following the UK’s most unusual and ambitious home projects, the presenter and international face of Grand Designs, Kevin McCloud, is as passionate as ever about design, if not quite so on board with the Aussie real estate obsession.

“Yeah, ‘How big is your plot? How much’d you pay for that?’,” he laughs. “It’s like asking how much people earn! I’m not very good on the ‘p’ word [property]. I quite like the ‘a’ word [architecture] and the ‘e’ word [engineering]. The ‘p’ word is so focused on one issue — money, value.”

Of course, every country has its own rules, he concedes, confiding he once asked a Sámi reindeer herder in Lapland how many reindeer he had. “He just looked at me and went silent.

The translator said to me, ‘you never ask that question’.” There’s a lesson for all of us.

Cultural differences aside, Kevin loves heading Down Under.

Very nearly Australian himself (his parents purchased £10 Pom tickets but didn’t use them), his uncle lived here when Kevin was growing up, and he fondly remembers receiving airmail letters with photos of Sydney Opera House tucked inside — a structure he describes as a “great, iconic thing”.

“I had a long, semi-abstract painting of the outback on my bedroom wall, painted by my uncle — pink and orange, ochrous,” he recalls. This strong connection is one of the reasons he brings this tour to these shores and these shores alone. “It’s great. I really enjoy it. It’s not a holiday at all, because it’s hard work, but it’s really inspiring and stimulating. It’s an engagement with another culture because of course architecturally and socially, and every other way, it’s a different country.”

Not that he doesn’t appreciate the huge similarities.

“Buildings are driven partly by people but also by place, and in a way more so by place here. In the UK everybody worries about the cost of heating their homes, nobody really worries about the cost of cooling them — the opposite problem to here.

“But what’s interesting is that the architectural solutions are sort of the same. I was reading about early 19th century homes built shortly after the first settlers came to Australia, and they were built from stone, had big verandahs and they made sure the buildings had cross ventilation. They were, because of this, relatively cool in summer and warmer in winter.”

A time-proven methodology, he says it’s a great solution on both sides of the planet to the problem of heat build-up. “If you can purge the heat from the top of the building, it sucks in cool air from below,” he explains.

“I went to see an amazing house by McGlashan and Everist, the Heide Museum in Melbourne (commissioned by John and Sunday Reed). At the moment the beautiful flat roof has these great big ugly air conditioning ducts. It’s a very open plan, open section building, so once you get a bit of air moving through, it’ll keep moving around. Outside two windows there were two ponds but they’re empty, haven’t had water in them for yonks.

If they had water, they could draw in air over the top, and that would cool the air. It’s a great detail, isn’t it, to have that? To humidify the air.”

Kevin’s enthusiasm for sustainable solutions is infectious.

He’s equally effusive about Robin Boyd’s home, another stop-off he made while in Melbourne. Designed with a central courtyard under a tent-like roof, its mature plants provide an evaporative cooling effect. “You sit there and it’s about 10 degrees cooler in that garden than it is on the street. You feel like you’re in air conditioning. It’s amazing.

“Air conditioning mimics what the plants do,” he says. “It does exactly what transpiration in a plant does. We stick this

I NT ERVI EW Photography Chris Walsh

really inefficient machinery all over buildings and actually, if we did it properly, we could use the odd pond and a lot of greenery and it would do it for us. You create a microclimate, you create lots of beneficial chemicals in the air from the plants, and it’s biodiverse.”

Anyone who watched Kevin build his shed in Man Made Home will know he has a predilection for the great outdoors (and sheds, of course — one of his favourite buildings is the huge Strathfield Airfield “shed” from the UK show that took a decade to complete). “My shed had a big stoop outside,” he says. “I really like that. That’s a very traditional Australian thing, a verandah, keeping the sun off the building, and it also keeps the weather off the occupants on the outside area.”

Handy for the storage of many of our possessions too, he points out. “You don’t need to keep your canoe inside your thermally insulated building, or your bicycle, or your pram — they can all go outside.”

Kevin thinks we all get too hung up on rooms. “I’ve always enjoyed that liminal space between the indoors and the outdoors, that bit which is private, and people feel as they walk up the steps to your stoop they have to knock on the post, you know, to be allowed onto it. Where you can keep your rocking chair or your bench or whatever.”

The Richard Murphy-designed Airfield Home. Photography David Barbour

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Glenn Murcutt’s Kempsey house.

Photography John Gollings

KEVIN SAYS “Great buildings are about the experience and the joy and the delight”

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This space can be at the front, the back, all around, whatever works. “Glenn Murcutt puts it into his homes. And he’s fond of liminal spaces,” Kevin adds.

A big fan of Glenn’s work, Kevin also appreciates Australia’s early modernists — Robin Boyd, Harry Seidler, Roy Grounds — who were doing “really great things”.

“I think they deserve to be loved and their work deserves to be respected. Harry Seidler designed the Rose Seidler House in the late 1940s, not the ’60s — it was so early. The war created this fermenting cauldron in Europe of terror and anxiety, which led to these emigre architects all bringing their culture over. I think Australia, because it was a relatively young culture at the time, really welcomed these people and their values and ideas.

Not for nothing did Utzon, a European architect who was part of that tradition, win the competition to design the Opera House. I think Australia was open to the idea of European cultural influx.”

Kevin shares our own Peter Maddison’s views on the confusion between size and space and that need to “fill the plot”. “I support him in that, I really do, and one of the questions I ask in this tour is ‘how much is just enough?’”

Heading out into the wilderness to build his own shed, Kevin was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, and he yearns for a return to those values. “Just trying to figure out, how much room do you need, how many sofas? How many toilets — most of us have more toilets than human beings in the building! How many sets of bifold doors do you really need?”

Bifolds, of course, are a great way for bringing the outside in, but Kevin’s only too aware of his show’s influence on their popularity. “There are ideas which we know our brand has been responsible for promoting and bifolds, curiously, is one of them,” he chuckles. “I love what they do, but you can achieve that sensation in other ways.”

The two hosts agree in many other ways, too.

“Like Peter, I bang on about how the size doesn’t equal space and the sense of space and connection is more important.

We’re saying the garden has an important engineering role in architecture — it keeps you cool, it provides you with biodiversity, it gives you a place to store water and a place for amenity, and for beauty and for pleasure. If you’ve got that connection out to sky and garden then you can still have a relatively small home that seems five times as big.”

While acknowledging the importance of costing a build, Kevin believes we shouldn’t be selling homes by the square metre: “That’s not what great buildings are about, they’re about the experience and the joy and the delight… it’s value in terms of experience that matters, not just square metres. Quality of life.

How much storage do you have? I’ve been in some really big, vacuous buildings with no storage at all. Pointless!”

It’s this down-to-earth logic that helps ensure Kevin’s enduring popularity on both sides of the globe. After all, he’s not immune to the lure of less structurally significant elements.

“Soft furnishings matter,” he admits. Good to know the ‘f’ word gets a look-in, too.

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Justin Hutchinson With a real flair for furniture, this designer aims to create pieces around which stories will be told WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G I M AG E S N I C O L E R E E D

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t was during his Industrial Design course at Swinburne University that Justin Hutchinson realised he had a passion for furniture design, along with an interest in the public realm.

“I love furniture as a segue between the artist and engineer; you can’t be a good designer without understanding humanity, and you can’t design a good chair if you don’t understand physics.”

Justin’s furniture passion led to a role working with Gordon and Susan Tait, mentors he says helped him understand that creativity could be profitable. His public realm passion led him to set up Urban Commons, a business supplying solutions to high-density living issues.

Through a mutual friend, Justin met Shane Sinnott and Colin Kupke, who invited him to help on their quest to introduce indoor furniture to the Cosh Living range.

“I set about learning the subtleties of the brands they represented and developed a ‘bridge’ to what’s known as ‘Kett’,” Justin explains. “As design director, I was able to work closely with Shane on a number of new ranges, developing the brand identity and strategy.” Kett has subsequently become the company’s second best-selling brand in less than four years.

The resourceful designer describes his style as “honest and without ostentation”. “I’ve always turned to drawing to resolve a problem. Whether it was a pair of shoes that I wanted but didn’t exist… or a specialised skateboard, for me drawing was the antidote to necessity.”

Aiming for something that’s a pleasure to both create and to own, Justin’s dream is to make furniture that’s loved for a long time and that “brings people together to share their stories”. One of his favourites to date, the Otway dining table, is a piece that he says will be passed down from one generation to the next. “It’s a stunning table to spend time around with family and friends.”

He also loves the Johanna occasional chair. “It sums up how something robust yet elegant is made with care and attention and is loved by so many who own it,” he says, adding, “it also stands up to the rigours of a young family!”

Justin adds that, in his opinion, Australian design is a reflection of the many cultures and the amazing wide-open spaces that we enjoy. “The light is of a special quality and you can see it in the way we live in our homes, always embracing the great outdoors.”

For Justin, the key to sustainability in design is timeless longevity. “To make sure something’s environmentally sound, ensure it’s without fad or fashion and that it’s fit for purpose,” he says. Believing demand for quality will help drive this, he predicts “people will want authenticity more than hype” in the future.

I N P RO F I LE

JUSTIN SAYS “Australian design is a reflection of the many cultures and the amazing wide-open spaces that we enjoy”

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Ian Burden Sitting at the helm of this reclaimed timber furniture empire is one very proud upcycler WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G P H O T O G R A P H Y M E L YAT E S

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t’s Ian Burden’s strong belief that trees, like so many things, are far more beneficial living than dead.

This belief, along with the increasing expense of FSC certification, was a key driver behind the turn garden furniture company Plantation Grown Timbers took to morph into PGT Reclaimed, a high-quality furniture company built around the use of reclaimed timber from such sources as pallets, shipping crates and even shipwrecks. Being foodgrade, the timber is all inherently bacteria-resistant, another simplification in the steps to end product.

Old English joinery has always been a huge influence for Ian — “the way they used to do it was the best,” he says, though there was a steep learning curve in the early days, with warping and splitting problems: “Timber has to be treated properly”. Tongue-and- groove design across the board means PGT Reclaimed not only avoids the use of glue, the furniture also has the capacity for slight movement (unavoidable with timber products) without splitting.

Queensland born and bred, Ian now spends most of his time in Vietnam, with his Vietnamese wife Yung, director at PGT Reclaimed. Yung’s influence has had a profound effect on the business, which prides itself on a culture of inclusivity for the workers (“they’ve all become like extended family”) and sustainability for the products and processes. “She’s thrown herself into this company,” Ian says fondly. “She has the capacity and she has the genuineness, the care. It’s not just a smokescreen.”

The introduction of water-based paints and finishes ensures a healthier work environment and production process in the factory outside Ho Chi Min City, as well as a greener end product, while polystyrene packaging is being phased out for more sustainable cardboard options. Even the water from the giant dipping pools on the factory floor is now redirected to flush the staff toilets.

For Ian, a blending of sustainability and design is key for the future. “The furniture industry has very much become a fashion industry,” he says. “It’s not enough just to be green, and it won’t be enough just to have the right shapes. It’ll all have to blend.”

He warns about Australians’ predilection for “knockoffs”, saying it can be dangerous to buy them in case they’re untreated, uncleaned, finished with nasty chemicals or simply very poor quality, prone to early breakage.

Despite copyright problems in the past, PGT Reclaimed still manages to stay ahead of the pack. “When the copies started, we lifted the bar and went to multi-step finishing,” Ian explains, recommending buyers always check products from mass producers for elements such as solid back panels and rustproof hardware. “At retail, you should really be looking at it. Look at what you’re buying and where it’s from.”

Inspiration for the diverse PGT Reclaimed ranges comes from various aspects of everyday life. “A designer we worked with drew pictures inspired by the door on our showroom… that range was picked up by West Elm and Pottery Barn,” Ian says, adding, “our Emerson range has influenced the market like you wouldn’t believe.”

Very proud of the furniture he produces, Ian has no regrets about embracing upcycling as a business model before it was fashionable. “The good thing is, the older it gets, the better it looks — just like me!”

I N P RO F I LE

IAN SAYS “Trees, like so many things, are far more beneficial living than dead”

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Ovolo Nishi IN ITS NICHE Eclectic, eccentric and extremely cosy — this Canberra design queen struts her heritage stuff with supreme style WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G P H O T O G R A P H Y DA N O ’ DAY

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mbarking on the very first Ovolo hotel in Hong Kong, founder and CEO Girish Jhunjhnuwala wanted to bring fun into his properties. It’s a policy he maintains across the chain and at Canberra’s Ovolo Nishi, in New Acton’s Nishi multipurpose cultural precinct, he’s certainly succeeded.

With this one, of course, the group had a huge head start. It’s little changed from its original incarnation as “Hotel Hotel” (built by Molonglo Group and designed by Fender-Katsalidis Architects to echo stories of traditional Australian landscapes and culture and reflect Australian ruggedness, both natural and manmade). Ovolo Nishi’s design credentials hit you at one of the two entrances, a foyer with more than 2000 pieces of recycled timber suspended enigmatically from the high ceiling and stacked underfoot. Reclaimed from various sources, the timber wears its vintage with pride, markings from a basketball court still clearly visible on random off-cuts.

Despite ascending a staircase, the hotel lobby and bar you reach still feels pleasantly subterranean, its ceiling’s funky cylindrical skylights offering glimpses of the Tasmanian ferns covering the atrium above. We stayed in the depths of winter, and the roaring fire ensconced by raw concrete beams — stacked strikingly throughout to form walls, seating and surfaces — served to offer a warmer welcome than any I’ve felt in a hotel. Already there’s a strong sense of the divine style originally introduced by filmmaker and set designer Don Cameron, in conjunction with vintage furniture collector Ken Neale, as you’re greeted with an array of beautiful aged seating, tables and lamps, with gorgeous retro-looking lampshades the standout. This lobby bar area feels just like your annoyingly stylish friend’s on-trend but completely unique living room.

The accommodation is split into “Sun” rooms, into which spills plentiful daylight (as well as views of Lake Burley Griffin), and “Atrium” rooms, which overlook the fern-filled atrium and provide a dark, moody tone that fits the decor to a tee. We loved our snug Atrium room’s vibe, particularly its upcycled fabric wall hanging and stool (reimagined by Edwin Odermatt from an early 1950s floral Axminster broadloom carpet), which inject a huge dollop of personality.

My favourite element of the room was the chunky ribbed concrete walls, though I’m torn as to whether this is a design element to ever include in a home; its raw authenticity excites, but those jagged, jutting edges sound alarm bells in my maternal/trip-prone side. Sat alongside the enormous (and very comfortable) custom-made Boyd Alternatives concrete bath, however, it absolutely works.

Eucalypt-oriented strand board joinery isn’t to my taste (a little too splintery to the touch) but certainly ticks the industrial box, and fits the eclectic/kitsch vibe, as do the clay walls, a natural earthen render that’s a mix of clay, aggregate and hemp. Custom-weave Berber carpet completes the cosiness circle.

Back on the lobby floor, an eye-grabbing wall of tiles in the Mosaic Room comprises segments of Dutch-born Gerard Havekes’ ceramics assembled into what is essentially an art installation — inspiration for embarking on one’s own upcycled wall work if ever I’ve seen it. The grand design gestures continue in the Monster Bar & Kitchen (which served up a delicious feast, by the way, with so many vegan options we were completely stuffed). Here, despite the fantastically eccentric monolithic polished shattered terrazzo floor with hidalgoite green oxide seams topped with Max Lamb-designed Marmoreal tables (engineered marble that looks a lot like nougat), it was the enormous circular fireplace in the centre that really tugged at my heart — again, probably not too practical a feature to incorporate in the home.

No matter, I left the Ovolo Nishi brimming with design ideas for sculpting a truly lived-in yet highly stylish feel, and can’t wait to start creative upcycling for myself. ovolohotels.com.au/ovolonishi | Rooms: 85 | Rates: From $239

T R AVEL INS PO PR OJECT TEAM ARCHITECT Fender Katsalidis Architects INTERIORS Don Cameron, Ken Neale, Luchetti Krelle, March Studio (grand stair), et al LIGHTING Nocturnal Lighting, Berczi Copper Company, Amos Enders-Moje FURNITURE Broached Commissions, Charles Wilson, Atelier Furniture, Ken Neale et al BATH Boyd Alternatives

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T R AVEL INS PO

Mood Board

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04 Colour Palette Dark and moody meets creative, raw, upcycled eccentricity. Stone, concrete and timber are softened with fluffy textiles and pastel tones in rose and pistachio

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01/ I Cocci GraďŹ te Spaccatto tile. nationaltiles.com.au 02/ Envoy swing plug-in sconce. schoolhouse.com 03/ The Dog Room in OSB by Michael Ong. madebypen.com 04/ Elodie textured cushions. novaabode.com 05/ Recycled Moroccan boucherouite rug. iansnow.com 06/ Hilda leather armchair, Havana Brown. schots.com.au 07/ Polished concrete darkgrey bath. schots.com.au

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LIVING A

sustainable life Eco-friendly isn’t just something to think about pre-construction. Equip your home with sustainable features to help care for the planet in the future and you could well reduce your bills, too WO RD S CA SS I E H AY WOOD

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or most people, striving for an eco-friendly lifestyle is a culmination of a number of small actions, whether that’s ditching coffee cups for a keep cup, choosing to buy second-hand or, for many, going green in your home. There’s plenty of lingo bandied around about passive homes, renewable energy and greywater recycling, but what does that mean? And how do we start?

Sustainability isn’t meant to be a chore; it’s something to be integrated into the way we live. “Do whatever you can to lessen your footprint and live in harmony with the natural environment,” encourages Dave Martin, cofounder and director of sustainable building company The Sociable Weaver. “Look to the natural world to create this — get inspiration from shapes, colours and functionality.

“Connect with nature and weave that connection into your build wherever you can.”

Sustainability is ongoing, continuing long after your home has been built and the tradies have left. Consider the systems you can put in place during or after the build, as going green can save you on bills, keep your garden watered in time of drought and your home comfortable in heatwaves or wintry evenings.

“So much of what helps a house to perform well can be ‘baked in’ throughout the build process,” Dave explains. “Start with simple things such as introducing solar or alternative energy generation, allowing space for sizeable water tanks and removing gas. Then there are building biology principles such as using glues, sealers and paints that are all non-toxic to the inhabitant and planet, with a natural base.”

The bare bones of your home are the starting point to long-term sustainability.

Passive homes are centred around the idea of a thermally comfortable residence that regulates its own temperature through passive design principles and management. “There’s huge potential in the orientation of the site (maximising the north aspect), breathable external walls, cross-flow ventilation, highperforming windows and thorough sealing,” Dave says. “Combine these principles with energy-efficient practices and we can reduce heating requirements completely in some cases or by 75 per cent in others.”

SP E CI AL FE AT UR E GREEN LIVING

THIS PAGE & OPPOSITE The first 10-star energy-rated home in Victoria, this house embodies living lightly on the planet — healthy and non-toxic, built with a zero-waste philosophy, carbon positive and with a 10-star energy rating.

10 Star Home by Sociable Weaver in collaboration with Claire Cousins Architects. Photography Dan Hocking

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Material recycling at work.

Design by Anderson Architecture.

Photography Nick Bowers

Honeycomb blinds trap air for insulation. luxaflex.com.au

BELOW Double-glazed with a high thermal mass and blinds at the ready, this home offers a private outdoor haven metres from the temperature-comfortable living area. Design by Anderson Architecture. Photography Tom Ferguson

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Look around a room at the walls, doors and windows. Simon Anderson of Anderson Architecture describes windows as the weakest link for letting heat in or out. “If high-quality, double-glazed windows are used that have good ‘air tightness’ (that is, they don’t leak air) and these windows have good eaves or external blinds to shade the summer sun, then you’ll have significantly lower heating and cooling costs,” he says. “Blinds and curtains can also be added or updated to help improve a window’s thermal efficiency. Most blinds are good at trapping or reflecting heat, particularly honeycomb blinds that do well in creating an air layer to increase a home’s comfort levels without ruining the look.”

Sustainable power consumption can be approached in two ways: the first is to reduce energy usage where possible, the second is to examine alternative ways to power our homes.

“Homeowners have so many alternatives to choose from and geothermal, solar and domestic hydro are all great options,” Dave says. “Keep in mind less is more and it’s easier to maximise impact by looking at reduction techniques. We focus on what we actually need in a home and how we power it by using the least amount of electricity the most efficiently.”

Solar is currently the big thing on the sustainability market. This energy can be generated passively from solar panels placed on a roof that soak up the sun’s rays to power your home. While we’re used to seeing the black panels atop terracotta roof tiles, there are many more options available now.

Designed for a more subtle style of solar, Tesla has released the Solarglass roof that can be customised to your home’s aesthetic and engineered so the photovoltaic cells are invisible. Paired with the home battery,

SP E CI AL FE AT UR E GREEN LIVING

“A KILL SWITCH AT THE FRONT DOOR IS THE SIMPLEST WAY TO ENSURE YOU’RE NOT WASTING UNNECESSARY ELECTRICAL ENERGY WHILE YOU’RE NOT HOME” — JAMES LEGGE

Powerwall, the Solarglass roof can power the entire house with 100 per cent renewable energy. At time of writing, this product is only available for pre-order in Australia, but we’re waiting eagerly for this one to hit the shelves.

WHATEVER THE WEATHER James Legge, director of Six Degrees Architects, says we should make the most of solar-powered energy and think outside the box to set up systems to utilise this natural power. “Plan ahead and use the weather and sun as much as you can to heat and cool your home. Yes, install photovoltaic cells, but unless you’re part of an embedded network, try to use the power they produce, otherwise you’ll be giving it back to the grid for a pittance,” he notes. “You may be able

ABOVE Design by Six Degrees Architects in collaboration with Excelon Projects

to use it to heat your hot water — via a heat pump — as a type of energy store.

Batteries, although pretty hard to justify at present, will likely come down in cost over the next five years.”

We’ve all heard the advice about turning off electrical points at the wall for appliances not currently being used. With switches often hidden in difficult-toreach places and houses chock-full of items that use electricity, this sometimes feels impossible. Enter: the kill switch. “A kill switch at the front door is the simplest way to ensure you’re not wasting unnecessary electrical energy while you’re not home,” James explains. “A kill switch can easily turn off all but essential power on your way out. So, while your fridge will keep running, the bedside lamp and fan can be cut off to reduce residual electricity waste.”

The debate about whether gas- or electric-powered appliances are better for the environment is ongoing. With most of our electricity coming from burning coal, gas in some cases is considered better for the environment, while

Tesla’s Solarglass roof looks like any other roof tile but does so much more

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Co-exist with your feathered (or scaly) neighbours with a thriving ecosystem right outside your door.

Design by Phillip Johnson Landscapes.

Photography Claire Takacs

alternative energy sources are even better.

If you find yourself with a surplus of power and are not interested in selling the excess electricity to the grid, maybe it’s time to invest in an electric car.

THE WONDER OF WATER Did you know that on average, Australians use 300 litres of water per person per day?

Besides power, water usage is the second most important way to reduce the environmental impact of your home. Drought restrictions in Australia have brought this issue to the fore, but there’s more we can do at home than watering with a watering can (though, of course, this is a great step, too!).

With the bulk of water used in bathrooms, then the garden and finally the kitchen, it’s clear where we need to be focusing our efforts.

Swap out those old showerheads for new water-efficient ones, use the toilet’s half-flush

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function (or consider a compost loo), and always turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. Particularly valuable is not flushing drinking water down the toilet. Don’t be put off by potty talk and consider solutions such as rainwater tanks or greywater recycling.

Rainwater tanks are typically filled from roof run-offs and can be used for many purposes in the home and garden. In areas with access to water mains, the town’s water is encouraged for use. In rural areas, rainwater is sometimes cleaner than the water available on the property. Rainwater of a certain quality can be used for everything from showering to washing clothes and watering the garden.

Tanks don’t have to be a blight on your garden either, with sub-surface tanks an option, as well as slim-line or colour-matched tanks to suit the home and garden. “I’d recommend getting the largest possible tank for your residence,” sustainable landscaper

Phillip Johnson says. “You need a tank that works well within your garden space. You can screen the tank with a structure or plants or you can position it out of sight.”

Rainwater collection is important on Phillip’s own property, with water harvested from the roof and water from the driveway captured separately to support a billabong on site, a haven for wildlife. Collect the cleanest water you can with leaf blockers, backflow prevention and first flush diverters that block the first flow of water from entering the tank to avoid any contamination with dust or animal droppings that have been on the roof.

SHADES OF GREY AND BLACK Rainwater isn’t the only type of water we can reuse in our homes. There’s also wastewater — grey and black. Greywater is the waste water from fixtures such as showers, basins and taps.

Blackwater is from toilet waste, kitchens and

SP E CI AL FE AT UR E GREEN LIVING

dishwashers, where contamination of nasty pathogens or grease can be present in the supply. Neither greywater nor blackwater, even after processing, are recommended for use as drinking water. After appropriate treatment, greywater can be used for toilet flushing and clothes washing, while untreated it’s great for watering your garden (as long as you take certain precautions).

Blackwater needs biological or chemical treatment and disinfection. Blackwater is only for the outdoors and typically only for subsurface irrigation.

“One of the best ways to utilise greywater is to have a system that pumps the water out to the garden or grass. If storing greywater for more than 24 hours, you need to treat or filter the water, which becomes more expensive and involves more red tape for health approvals,” Simon Anderson says. “With blackwater, a worm farm uses worms to break down the

GE T S MART With technology advancing at a rapid pace, automated systems in our homes are increasingly appealing. Automated solar shading systems work with the sun to reduce heat gain and glare in a room. These motorised shading units track the sun to keep you comfortable in your home. Smart irrigation systems are also becoming commonplace and are weather-based or utilise soil moisture sensors. They can sense rain falling and turn off the automatic watering system, or may note the moisture of soil to choose which part of the garden should be watered. When it comes to our pools, there are now intelligent pool units that monitor water quality, chemistry, flow and electrical usage.

Pooled Energy’s system calculates the most cost-efficient time of day to automatically clean or adjust the chemistry of a pool, and can even tell you if more salt is needed or identify a pump failure before it happens.

The perfect setting for a rainwater tank, softened by greenery.

Design by Phillip Johnson Landscapes. Photography Patrick Redmond

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A small-footprint, minimalist home invites residents to slow down and connect with nature. The Bungalow by Sociable Weaver.

Photography Marnie Hawson waste, which can then be fed to areas under gardens and grass.”

For both grey and blackwater, we recommend thorough and regular testing, as well as using the water where outlined by your local council. With the right precautions and usage, you can utilise wastewater in big ways to lower your consumption.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

WA ST E N OT, WA NT N OT The idea of recycling blackwater from toilets can be a bit daunting — even if it’s just for the garden.

Something to remember is that we’ve always had the same amount of water on earth. In Australia’s sticky summers, sweat that falls on the ground could be recycled into plants that we then eat, or it evaporates into clouds that rain on our dams.

Who knows, you might be drinking Cleopatra’s recycled bathwater this week!

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Whether you live on acreage, in the middle of suburbia or the heart of the city, bring a bit of nature inside with careful and considered landscaping and planting. “Plants make us feel good, provide a habitat for birds and insects, keep the sun off a building in summer and provide shade to windows, doors and outdoor decks,” James says. “Subject to bushfire considerations, get as much planting into and around your home as you can.”

Beyond creating a beautiful and comfortable space for us to inhabit, plants can also be a path to self-sufficiency and a natural way of living. “Making it easy to produce your own food is a game changer,” Dave enthuses.

“We love constructing veggie gardens and wicking beds within easy access of the kitchen.

Consider little things such as built-in compost bins so you can easily manage food scraps.”

Make part of your home a glazed atrium for outdoor living and veggie growing of tomatoes or beans year-round. Think of fruit or vegetables that are expensive at the shops and research how those grow so you can work with them in your space. Rooftop gardens are another option, as well as dwarf fruit trees that can be grown in a pot on a balcony or in smaller outdoor areas.

If your fingers aren’t particularly green, you can still create a garden to share with wildlife.

“A beautiful ecosystem such as a billabong or frog pond will look good aesthetically and allow local wildlife such as frogs, birds and insects to benefit,” Phillip says. “The water should never sit stagnant, so circulating the water with a pump is important. Grow plants that attract birds, butterflies, bees and insects.”

Investing in your power, water or natural environment will always have its rewards and challenges. Striving for a greener future for our homes and planet is a series of decisions we make along the way. “Be smart in urban design, capture and retain water within homes and communities, and care for and nurture your little patch of green for the future of this planet,” Phillip concludes.

Start small or start big, just start with something, and see where it takes you.

SP E CI AL FE AT UR E GREEN LIVING

THIS PAGE Design by Six Degrees Architects in collaboration with Excelon Projects

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1/20 ENERGY CRESCENT, MOLENDINAR QLD 4214 P 07 5594 9860 | INFO@SMARTJOINERY.COM.AU

WWW.SMARTJOINERY.COM.AU

Houses Indulge in the cream of the architecture crop

Photography Rhiannon Slatter

56 Kelvin View House 68 House For a Stationer 82 Concrete Shell House 92 Radial House 102 Hunters Hill House 112 Osborne House 124 Barra Crescent Beach House

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GO BIG AND GO HOME Deep in Victoria’s bushranger country sits a huge Corten-covered abode Ned Kelly would have been chuffed to call home WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y R H I A N N O N S L AT T E R

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T V H OUS E KELVIN VIEW HOUSE

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BELOW LEFT The ever- tolerant Dot Spain, her ambitious husband Eddie and the family dog enjoy their spectaular home

D ETAI LS HOUSE Kelvin View House LOCATION Euroa, Victoria DATE COMMENCED 2014 DATE COMPLETED 2019 INITIAL BUDGET $1,300,000 (building costs only) FINAL COST $2,300,000 (building costs only)

his is the story of one man’s dogged determination and one woman’s ability to endure said man’s arguably insane undertaking. Meet Eddie and Dot Spain, the owners of Kelvin View House. Fun fact: Eddie is not a professional builder. Equally fun fact: Eddie built this home largely unassisted. How? Why? Let’s dive in and find out.

Welcome to Euroa, where big blue skies meet red dusty earth and granite boulders sit like content old men resolved to rest in place until forcibly moved. This dramatic and hilly landscape is where Eddie and Dot’s 100-acre property lies.

Designed by architect Robert Harwood, the carbonneutral home rises from a giant “H”-shaped slab gouged into the hilltop. Incorporating geology into the design, Eddie left as many rocks undisturbed as possible and built the house around them.

A 7m zinc tower punctuates the design and stands tall amid the locally quarried granite and Corten steel exterior.

Two expansive wings splay from the entrance portal. The west wing accommodates Eddie and Dot’s 120sqm master retreat. The ensuite-appointed space enjoys a 12m-long double-ended walk-in robe and rests adjacent to the kitchen, dining area and north-facing living room. What’s most remarkable about the master suite is that the ensuite is bigger than the bedroom. It’s luxury on steroids!

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Oriented to maximise the view, the ensuite boasts a shower overlooking the valley and a bath that makes you feel like you’re floating above the hills. “I absolutely love this room,” Dot gushes. “I get to sit up in bed, look at the vista and it’s just gorgeous.”

Large-scale porcelain tiles fashion a dramatic “artwork wall” behind the bed, while a double-sided open fireplace flickers during chilly winter nights.

Moving across to the eastern wing and there’s a trio of guest bedrooms (each with their own ensuite) and a separate lounge. The courtyard and 12m infinity pool are visible from all perimeter rooms, creating an inner sanctum shielded from the elements. The ground floor comprises a storeroom, games room and wine cellar, along with a four-car garage and a workshop.

The road to powerful architecture is paved with bumpy cobblestones, and building on a rocky hill threw up more challenges than Eddie cares to admit. What began as a two-year project ballooned out to half a decade and ranks as one of the longest-running projects Grand Designs Australia has ever chronicled. “I realised after a bit of time that everything I thought would take a week took three weeks,” admits Eddie, who eventually caved and employed full-time labourer Frank Bartlett to assist.

Moving the 300-million-year-old granite boulders to lay the foundation slab was one of Eddie’s first tasks, and

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it proved impossible for one mere mortal and his selfdescribed “toy Tonka”. Enter professional excavators, who worked admirably to break up the larger rocks. Like pulling wisdom teeth, Eddie explains that “sometimes you see a little tip of the rock but it’s like an iceberg, it just keeps on going down and down and down”. Ultimately, 11.5kg of plastic explosives were packed into the rocks and even then Eddie wasn’t able to dig as deep as he desired, which in turn significantly increased square footage on the ground floor.

Dotted with oversize picture windows, the house offers plentiful framed glimpses of the landscape. However, winds blowing from every direction made installation tricky. The double-glazed panes cost a whopping $20,000, measured 3m x 2.7m and needed 12 able bodies to crane and swing them into place.

Installing the 445 vertical weathered steel panels was also taxing. The steel sourced from the Pilbara’s red, ironoxide-rich earth is only a few years old now but the patina will change over the next half-century before stabilising back to its original rusty red origins.

In place of traditional steel beam formwork, Eddie opted for an easy-to-install polystyrene prefab alternative, working to a tongue-and-groove arrangement.

Contemporary but far from clinical, the interior is coloured by a palette of burnt oranges, earthy browns, aged bronze and inky blues. The mixture of tones mimics the

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ABOVE Views out over the stunning surrounding terrain ďŹ ll the house through oversize picture windows in many of the rooms

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seasonal changes outside. Melbourne interior designer Jessica Bettenay, Resident Avenue’s creative director, is the creative brain behind the lavishly finished home.

“The inspiration for the interior design was to bring the landscape inside,” Jessica says. “It was important the surfaces, joinery and furniture all complemented what was happening through the gallery-like windows. We wanted to ensure the interiors were as rich and textural as the land they were surrounded by.”

Upon entering the structure, the grand scale and brutalist bones are softened with muted tones and timber to produce a surprising cosiness, aided by plush, oversize furnishings that envelop their occupants. Timber-clad walls are dark and warm, working to offset the minimalist concrete floors. “Stone was natural with rusty veins, and granite was flamed to mimic the texture of the rocks,” Jessica explains.

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EDI TOR ’ S FAVO U R ITE THE MASTER BATH WITH UNINTERRUPTED VIEWS OF THE VALLEY

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L EG END 1 Plant room 2 Hall 3 Games room 4 Powder room 5 Kitchen 6 Terrace 7 Store 8 Wine cellar 9 Lift 10 Workshop 11 Garage 12 Entry 13 Gallery 14 West hall 15 Media room 16 Study 17 Master bedroom

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Butler’s pantry Laundry Kitchen Dining Living Terrace External kitchen Pool Terrace East hall Bedroom Ensuite East gallery Ensuite Bedroom Bedroom Ensuite Guest lounge Balcony Guest wing corridor

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THE 7M ZINC TOWER, OR ENTRANCE PORTAL, AT THE CENTRE OF THE STRUCTURE

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Textured and tactile, the furnishings provide a layering effect. Handmade lighting fixtures and natural soft fabrics such as velvet, leather and linen join carefully curated antiques from Kazari + Ziguzagu and Graham Geddes Antiques.

The 160sqm kitchen with butler’s pantry would make the fussiest chef weak at the knees. From the pantry to the powder room, the attention to detail is outstanding considering the size of the project. Calm, understated opulence is abundant but never disproportionate or excessive.

Resident Avenue also designed a large portion of the exterior detailing, including the concrete entrance pads to the exterior balustrades and the timber courtyard arbors.

“The floating concrete pads off the entrance and near the pool allow the house to break off and merge into the surrounding land,” Jessica says.

A majestic landscape, a mammoth structure and a Herculean effort by Eddie and Dot have culminated in a home befitting the landscape and, frankly, defying belief.

T V H OU SE KELVIN VIEW HOUSE

Every bedroom in the home comes with an ensuite bathroom

P ROJE C T T EAM ARCHITECT Robert Harwood Architects, robertharwoodarchitects.com BUILDER Owner builder INTERIOR DESIGNER Resident Avenue, residentavenue.com.au

SERVICES Landscaping Phillip Johnson Landscapes Concrete Concrete by Keenan Harris Windows AV Glass Shepparton Marrakesh & specialty plaster NMD Plastering & Rendering Timber cladding George Fethers & Co Stone Apex Steel work Drof Design FIXTURES & FITTINGS Lighting Lights & Tracks; District; Articolo Lighting; Lights Lights Lights; Great Dane (lamp) Tapware Mary Noall Joinery & vanities David Powles Kitchens Fireplaces Wignells Bath Natural Stone Bath Worx FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Kitchen appliances Fisher & Paykel Oven & warming drawer Fesal, Gaggenau Rugs Halcyon Lake; Loom; Vintage Carpets; Hub Furniture Wallpaper Instyle Loren square coffee table Criteria Dining chairs Dedece Bar stools Grazia & Co Coffee tables Criteria; Graham Geddes Antiques; Jardan Bedside tables custom (designed by Resident Avenue) Mirror Mark Tuckey

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TV HOU SE KELVIN VIEW HOUSE

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03 01 01/ Dekton Fossil. cosentino.com/en-au 02/ Milano Slider Junior in white. fanscity.com.au 03/ GAN Mangas Original Space rug

by Patricia Urquiola. hubfurniture.com.au 04/ Vivid Slimline floor-mounted bath mixer in brushed gold. phoenixtapware.com.au 05/ Aquatica CoreliaBlack freestanding solid surface bathtub. aquaticabath.co.uk 06/ Iko pot in desert. evergreencollective. com.au 07/ Brody oval mirror. globewest.com.au

Colour Palette The palette in the project seems derivative of the surrounding landscape. Earthy tones appear in textiles along with rocky greys and cream stones. Navy elements perhaps draw influence from the evening sky

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DOWN

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station

A living, breathing oasis that exposes its beams and captures our hearts WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y C H R I S T I A N B R A I L E Y

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OV E R SE AS P R OJ E CT HOUSE FOR A STATIONER

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D E TAI LS HOUSE House for a Stationer LOCATION London, UK DATE COMMENCED March 2018 DATE COMPLETED July 2018

boutique stationer and a graphic designer walked into an English architecture firm. If this were the start of a joke the punchline would be House for a Stationer. But Architecture for London’s newest project is no joke; it’s a masterpiece.

Stationer Neil and graphic designer Mark’s multifaceted brief outlined the need to reconfigure, refurbish and extend their home, install a new kitchen on the lower ground floor and improve indoor/outdoor connection.

“Originally a maisonette converted from an early Victorian home, the existing house was in poor condition with a layout that didn’t address the garden in any way,” says Matt McKenna, project architect and associate at Architecture for London. “The rear ground-floor room that is now the kitchen/dining space was a dark bedroom with bars across the window.”

A tight budget demanded careful, succinct planning, but in no way hindered the outcome.

In fact, the architects proposed stretching the rear extension a metre further out than originally discussed. This may seem counterintuitive given the restrictive budget, but it only marginally increased the cost to build, while significantly increasing the end value.

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W E LOVE THE EXPOSED OAK POSTS AND BEAMS THAT DEFINE THE NEW KITCHEN, DINING AND STUDY SPACES

OV E R SE AS P R OJ E CT HOUSE FOR A STATIONER

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ED I TO R ’ S FAVO U R I TE THE FLUTED GLASS IN THE STUDY TO MINIMISE THE VIEW OF THE NEIGHBOUR’S STAIRS

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OV E R S E A S P R OJ E CT HOUSE FOR A STATIONER

In an effort to curb costs, the existing toilet block was to be retained. However, it soon became apparent that the facility would be more of a headache than a triumph and it was removed. With it went a solid retaining wall and a chunk of the budget. Replacing the retaining wall are new oak posts that look as though they’ve always been there.

Expertly implemented framing and layering boost connectivity while defining different zones. The exposed oak posts and beams denote the kitchen, dining and study. These loosely defined boundaries

encourage the infiltration of natural light right down to the lower ground floor.

Framed views encourage optical connection to the backyard, beckoning residents outside via fullheight glass doors. The rear extension’s depth was hindered by a neighbour’s external staircase. Unable to eliminate the stairs, fluted glass was introduced to minimise their presence when surveyed from the study. Potted plants — such as the large planter in the hall — are plentiful, purifying the air and connecting the interior spaces to the lush greenery outside.

ABOVE & LEFT The attractive oak beams provide framing throughout the house

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OV E R S E A S P R OJ E CT HOUSE FOR A STATIONER

The rear of the house is clad in whitewashed Petersen bricks. “Orthogonal grids and patterns run through the property with external bricks in a variety of bonds, and square tiles with contrasting colour grout lines to the kitchen and bathroom. In the kitchen, the lines from the raw oak beams run through the kitchen cabinets, splashback tiles and terrazzo tiled floor,” Matt outlines.

“This contemporary, geometric approach is contrasted with refurbished Victorian details on the upper floor.”

Top-notch insulation supplies low U-value (thermal transmittance) and keeps the structure airtight. Combined with underfloor heating downstairs as well as radiators with self-regulating TRV (thermostatic radiator valve), the London dwelling is remarkably energy-efficient, decreasing its reliance on energy providers and reducing heating and cooling costs.

Completed on a modest budget and delivering uncompromising results, this home now complements the considered and detailed approach Neil and Mark bring to their respective fields of work. Heavily involved in every aspect of the project, they were instrumental in the creation of the internal aesthetic. From decorating to sourcing discounted fixtures and furniture, the clients secured maximum bang for minimal buck.

“Like a neatly ruled grid in a stationer’s notebook, the house is all in order,” Matt concludes.

“LIKE A NEATLY RULED GRID IN A STATIONER’S NOTEBOOK, THE HOUSE IS ALL IN ORDER” — MATT MCKENNA

OPPOSITE A neat alcove in the shower cleverly extends the space

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LEFT Some of the Victorian-era terrace’s charming features were left untouched, highlighting the home’s heritage

PR OJECT TEA M ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGNER Architecture for London, architectureforlondon.com STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Constant Structural Design, constantsd.com

FIXTURES & FITTINGS Windows VELFAC Flooring InOpera Windows Glazing Vision Bricks Petersen bricks

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L EGEN D 1 Entrance 2 Bedroom 3 Bathroom 4 Kitchen 5 Dining 6 Garden 7 Study 8 Hall 9 Storage 10 Living 11 Master bedroom

OV E R S E A S P R OJ E CT HOUSE FOR A STATIONER

Mood Board

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01/ Byron Apuano matt tile. nationaltiles.com.au 02/ Luna lamp. designhousestockholm.com 03/ Bud vases. studioenti.com.au 04/ NOFU 740 tray table in natural ash. curiousgrace.com.au 05/ Gus Truss chair. globewest.com.au 06/ Split Philo plant in Angus planter. granddesignshome collection.com.au 07/ Bubble vase in dove grey. immyandindi.com.wau 08/ Cloud bell vase in icy pink. immyandindi.com.au

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Colour Palette A minimalist approach to colour works well in this space. Muted pastel tones of green and blue act as a whisper in such a Zen space.

Timbers used are so light they barely contrast with the white walls.

The result is pure tranquillity

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SUBTROPICAL RETREAT Journey inside a waterfront residence rich with tactile exploration into thresholds and edges WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y A N DY M AC P H E R S O N S T U D I O

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ove House by Justin Humphrey Architect permeates a pristine piece of land on the Gold Coast’s Sanctuary Cove.

“The home’s exploration of threshold and edges enables an immediate and constant connection to landscape and water,” Justin Humphrey explains.

As the antidote to its owners’ busy lives, the home incorporates robust natural materials and central gardens for indoor/outdoor cohesion. These internal garden spaces erase the idea of external thresholds as they function as gateways between the sequence of public and private zones.

Even before you enter Cove House, you feel like you’ve well and truly arrived. The exterior’s off-form concrete wall guides visitors past a timber batten screen and into a succession of courtyards to the enticing water at the rear.

To produce the client’s desired house of refuge, the architects have played with proportions and

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luxe materials to create an intimate atmosphere where connection to the landscape and water are omnipresent. “The ground plan of the house is articulated and meanders up and down at times, encouraging engagement or reflection,” Justin says.

“These areas flow together beneath a single floating roofline that helps organise the concrete and timber form of the house below.”

Capable of accommodating both small and large gatherings, the high functioning service spaces are connected by pathways that fortify fluidity.

“Articulated ground planes and changes in materials elevate areas of daily importance, such as the main bath,” BJ Millar Constructions’ Brad Millar offers.

“The green spine throughout the house demarcates public and private spaces.”

The waterfront location, adjacent to an easement, allowed the architects to engage with the surrounding neighbourhood context on three

DETAILS HOUSE Cove House LOCATION Hope Island, Qld DATE COMMENCED April 2017 DATE COMPLETED September 2018

S P O N S OR E D P R OJ E C T COVE HOUSE

AWAR DS 2019 HIA Qld Home of the Year 2019 HIA Qld Custom Built Home 2019 HIA Gold Coast & Northern Rivers Home of the Year 2019 HIA Gold Coast & Northern Rivers Custom Built Home

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PR OJ E C T T EAM ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGNER Justin Humphrey Architect, justinhumphreyarchitect.com.au BUILDER BJ Millar Constructions, bjmillar.com.au JOINER BJF Joinery, bjfjoinery.com.au LANDSCAPER Dan Deshon Landscaping, 0419 671 821

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sides. “To challenge existing responses to easement constraints we chose to express and celebrate this edge through a grand tactile gesture — a board formed concrete wall,” Justin says. ”This beckons engagement and communicates the materiality of the house to passing neighbours.”

The garden room is one of the most interesting spaces in the home. “We were able to challenge traditional ideas of security, arrival and enclosure,” Justin explains, “and the landscaping acts as a foil between public and private space.”

Dan Deshon Landscaping’s work outside is exquisite, minimising the visual scale of the home and refining the structure, while a detailed tapered roofline boosts the horizontal plane.

Cost-saving measures are plentiful within this project, especially when it came to choosing construction methods and materials. In lieu of sandblasted boards, Brad opted for a quicker and easier sheet product to fashion the formwork for the “board-formed” concrete.

Likewise, a budget-friendly substitute was used when it came time for BJ Millar to install the timber soffits.

A large indoor/outdoor living space is anchored by the deck, firepit and pool, providing hours of reprieve and ample space for the whole family to comfortably cohabitate.

Joining the grand master suite is a pair of ensuited guest bedrooms and a home office. The kitchen enjoys a butler’s pantry for uncluttered meal preparation, and the deep, rich materials define the home’s robust yet elegant ambiance, thanks to BJF Joinery’s excellent workmanship.

Abundant passive design inclusions encompass large roof overhangs and lush interior courtyards that virtually vanquish the need for artificial temperature control. Rainwater tanks, 54 solar panels and three Tesla solar battery storage systems allow the house to operate almost completely off the grid.

Dispelling the great divide between indoor and outdoor living spaces, Cove House is a fine example of innovative, considerate architecture that isn’t afraid of taking risks.

“There’s nothing like this,” Brad says. “Everything in this house is custom and it’s very much a hand-built house.” bjmillar.com.au

S P O N S OR E D P R OJ E C T COVE HOUSE

W E LOV E THE LARGE INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING AREA WITH DECK, POOL ANDÂ FIREPIT

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN REJUVENATION Large-formed concrete shapes envelop this imposing home that respects and reflects the mountain landscape WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y WO L F A R C H I T EC T S

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OV E R SE AS P R OJ E CT CONCRETE SHELL HOUSE

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W E LOVE THE KITCHEN ISLAND WITH ITS SINGLE CANTILEVERING CONCRETE ISLAND BENCH

DETA ILS HOUSE Concrete Shell House INITIAL BUDGET $2,300,000 FINAL COST $2,500,000 DATE COMMENCED January 2016 DATE COMPLETED January 2019

nce considered the norm, family homes that remain “in the family” for generations are now the exception rather than the rule. Indeed, generational family homes have arguably become an endangered species. Concrete Shell House is one familial retreat keeping the tradition alive. Home to the third generation of the same brood, the dwelling has been significantly altered under the direction of Wolf Architects.

The existing single-storey 1960s house was last renovated in the ’90s and nestled at the rear of the property. This positioning left ample space for a new structure at the front of the block. “While being a new build, Concrete Shell House is also an extension of the old house that connects to, and

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OV E R S E A S P R OJ E CT CONCRETE SHELL HOUSE

Shapes and lines are consistent throughout the home, including in the bathrooms

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An indoor pond is a fabulously unique feature

over, it,” says Taras Wolf, senior architect at Wolf Architects. “The new house then became the primary residence and the old structure was further renovated into the guest’s quarters, which is completely self-contained with its own kitchen so it can be rented out as a B&B in the future.”

The owners were intent on retaining the history of the home, so the new build is placed sympathetically around the established gardens and trees. The original lap pool was one of the only elements to receive significant alteration. Cut down to half its size, the remaining space was used to erect the new home.

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The shape of the old residence and the site itself were irregular and set on a slope, making planning and design execution challenging. Managing to pull off the impossible, Taras and his team have connected old and new seamlessly.

Destined to accommodate three generations, it appears this project has implemented the power of three. There’s three of everything: three bedrooms, three living spaces, a three-car garage and three dining spaces. Bookended by an indoor pond at one end and a fireplace at the other, the formal dining space benefits from views of the old pool and house as well as the garage,

ED I TO R ’ S FAVO UR I T E INTERIOR CEILINGS COMPOSED OF EXPOSED RECYCLED TIMBER BEAMS

OV E R S E A S P R OJ E CT CONCRETE SHELL HOUSE

BOOKENDED BY AN INDOOR POND AT ONE END AND A FIREPLACE AT THE OTHER, THE FORMAL DINING SPACE BENEFITS FROM VIEWS OF THE OLD POOL AND HOUSE AS WELL AS THE GARAGE

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The use of timber and concrete produces dramatic contrasts

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L E GEN D 1 Rumpus 2 Library 3 Plant 4 Bathroom 5 Gym 6 Media 7 Balcony 8 Entry garden 9 Entry 10 Powder room 11 Pantry 12 Kitchen 13 Dining 14 Living 15 Master bedroom 16 Ensuite

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Music room Hall Laundry Store Carport Courtyard Balcony Balcony Balcony Rumpus Bedroom Ensuite Bedroom Bathroom Bedroom Store

OV E R SE AS P R OJ E CT CONCRETE SHELL HOUSE

P R OJE C T T E AM ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGNER Wolf Architects, wolfarchitects.com.au

STRUCTURAL TEAM BOAW Engineering FIXTURES & FITTINGS Vola Tapware Wolf kitchen appliances FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Herman Miller furniture SERVICES Solar roof farm Hydronic heating

where the family’s prized collection of classic cars can be coveted by guests and enjoyed by a lucky few.

With picturesque mountains as its backdrop, the home was designed to stand out against the natural surrounds. As such, external concrete features heavily. “It’s easy to sit back and let the site context do all the work and have a design that tries to blend in,” Taras points out. “This house was never meant to be shy and the use of formed concrete was very successful in both relating to the site and making a bold statement.”

As much as the concrete exterior is the hardy protective shell, the interior is the soft, warm, organic beating heart of the home.

Natural timbers and stone complement the

family’s original vintage furniture, and the kitchen’s single cantilevering concrete island bench is a knockout. Hoping to capture tasteful snippets of the retro ’60s vibe in the old home, interior ceilings were composed of exposed recycled timber beams.

Underground rainwater tanks and a solar farm embedded in the roof join strategically positioned window opening to combat the baking desert conditions common in the area.

Additionally, internal and external water features keep the home cool.

Conspicuousness is rarely associated with tranquillity. But with its bold concrete shell and serene internal ambience, these two words perfectly define Concrete Shell House.

It’s hard to miss and easy to love.

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PROJECT CONCRETE SHELL HOUSE

Mood Board 01/ Sheer curtains. marlowandďŹ nch.com.au 02/ Sway floor lamp

by Nick Rennie. madebypen.com 03/ Eames lounge chair and ottoman. hermanmiller.com/en_au 04/ Agra rug in midnight. armadillo-co.com 05/ #87 TV cabinet

by Skovby Furniture. danishred.com.au 06/ Marble and copper dip bowl white. westelm.com.au

Colour Palette A cool palette of grey, white, navy and duckegg blue creates quite a masculine ambience.

Honey-coloured timber throughout and touches of gold in the artworks provide warmth

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HE ATING AUSTR ALIA‘S MOST LOVE D AWARD WINNING HO MES

Elise Scott Photography Megowan Architecture / Capa Build

MELBOURNE

SYDNEY

CANBERRA

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

GEELONG

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(02) 9564 2694

(02) 6280 6021

(08) 8391 1068

0499 911 474

TASMANIA

BRISBANE

GOLDCOAST

WEST AUSTRALIA

(03) 6331 3499

(07) 3368 2011

(07) 5531 6266

(08) 9444 9900

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CURVY & PROUD Leave your shoes at the front door and slip inside a Possum Creek home that combines linear walls with radiating grid lines and sloping roofs WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y A N DY M AC P H E R S O N

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P R OJ E CT RADIAL HOUSE

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Curved hempcrete walls define this unique building

WE LOV E THE GLASS WALKWAY BRIDGE

ndulating with custom-built curved hempcrete walls that harmonise with the arcs of the internal walls, a shapely kitchen and splayed timber rafters dominate this Balanced Earth-designed home.

A one-acre sloping block surrounded by subtropical plants and valley views is the setting for Radial House. “The existing round house was partially built into the slope,” says Luke Wrencher, builder and cofounder of Balanced Earth. “The majority of the house was single storey with the middle ‘circle’ rising to a second floor.”

Owners Craig and Chloe and their three sons had lived in the house for a long time so were understandably attached to their abode, but not blind to the flaws in its substance. Disconnected living areas with no outdoor connection and a pool at the bottom of the slope (barely visible from inside the house) were just the beginning. “The ground floor didn’t attract much natural light due to its position and aspect. Combined with the low ceilings, it could feel quite dark,” the owners explain. “The small upper floor was positioned well to attract natural light, which always suggested to us that the house should be reconfigured to maximise this aspect.” And what a reconfiguration it turned out to be.

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P R OJ E CT RADIAL HOUSE

DE TA I LS HOUSE Radial House LOCATION Possum Creek, NSW

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E D I TOR ’ S FAVOUR ITE THE IN-HOUSE CUSTOM-BUILT CURVED JOINERY IN THE KITCHEN Enamoured with the shape of the house, the owners hoped to retain the building’s existing footprint while boosting light and aspect by flipping the traditional layout that positions bedrooms upstairs and living areas downstairs.

Their new home sees the living zones positioned on the upper level, leaving the ground floor to accommodate four bedrooms and a rumpus room.

Antiquated industrial aesthetics and the rustic nature of old English barns provided inspiration for the reimagined home. “We felt it was important to utilise sustainable building materials and practices not only to be environmentally conscious, but also to give our home a sense of mindfulness,” Craig and Chloe add.

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Hardwood octagonal beams radiate from the foundations to form the skeleton of the house.

The posts and beams are made of timber salvaged from a Brisbane wharf, a charming feature that eliminated the need for a costly steel frame.

Each piece was joined in the traditional mortise and tenon method. Timber from the original house was also saved and repurposed to form the bathroom joinery, furniture and window reveals.

“Recycled timber from the existing dwelling was used wherever possible,” Luke says. “This included the stairs, internal doors, joinery, bathroom vanity and master bed. I salvaged the main oregon timber beams from the original house to build the entrance staircase.”

P R OJ E CT RADIAL HOUSE

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ABOVE Elegant tiles and a huge vanity space make for a luxury bathroom Internally, the radial rafters are exposed and exquisite as they marry with the wet rooms to the rest of the internal structure. A glass bridge walkway, curtain windows and skylights offer a deluge of natural light and passive solar credentials. “I love sitting at the kitchen island and looking straight down the stairs through the glass bridge and wall to the great outdoors,” the owners share. “Walking down the stairs feels like you’re descending through the tree canopy.”

With wood curved until just before breaking point, the snaking lines of the richly grained timber add a lively fluidity to the kitchen. A master joiner from Christian Carpenters fashioned the kitchen, stairs and beam joinery. Eagle-eyed attention to detail ensured continuity of grain between each drawer and cupboard by expertly matching up the shadow lines. “We changed the regular kitchen to a curved kitchen, laminating the timbers together to create curved drawers and cupboards exactly matching the radius of the room,” Luke notes.

Curvier than a Kardashian and more practical than its predecessor, Radial House doesn’t just think outside the box; it reshapes the box and offers its occupants comfort and functionality that has far exceeded their expectations.

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P R OJ E CT RADIAL HOUSE

“RECYCLED TIMBER FROM THE EXISTING DWELLING WAS USED WHEREVER POSSIBLE. THIS INCLUDED THE STAIRS, INTERNAL DOORS, JOINERY, BATHROOM VANITY AND MASTER BED” — LUKE WRENCHER

The dwelling looks very different from every angle

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L EGE ND 1 Entry 2 Rumpus 3 Bathroom 4 Bedroom 5 Bedroom 6 Bedroom 7 Laundry 8 WC 9 Outdoor shower 10 New deck area

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Entrance WC Study Living Dining Kitchen Walkway Master bedroom WIR Ensuite

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BELOW Plenty of skylights and high windows ensure no part of the interior is dark or dreary 10

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P ROJ E C T T E AM ARCHITECT/BUILDER/INTERIOR DESIGNER Balanced Earth — Chief designer, Michael Leung; Project designer, Jamie Smallwood, balancedearth.co

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P R OJ E CT RADIAL HOUSE

Mood Board

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03 Colour Palette Every shade of timber is covered in this earthy home. Pops of black and large slabs of white provide depth and contrast. Furnishings in greens and blues keep the space feeling light

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01/ Olnee rammed earth. olneerammedearth.com.au 02/ Acorn pendant. danishred.com.au 03/ Belid Gloria pendant. danishred.com.au 04/ Otway sofa. coshliving.com.au 05/ Rondo leather armchair by Molinari Living. spenceandlyda.com.au 06/ Urna vase. marimekko.com/au_en 07/ Teardrop George teak side table. barnabylane.com.au 08/ ReadyFlor blackbutt 1 strip. quick-step.com.au 09/ Radiante 1000. chemphilaust.com.au

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Strong of character

A 1960s house undergoes a sensitive modernisation, maintaining its strong character while creating brighter contemporary spaces WO R D S R E B EC C A G R O S S P H O T O G R A P H Y LU K E B U T T E R LY

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P R OJ E CT HUNTERS HILL HOUSE

ED I TO R ’S FAVO UR I TE THE TIMBER AND STEEL JOINERY IN THE LIVING AREA

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The kitchen has been opened right up to let the light in

D ETAI LS HOUSE Hunters Hill House LOCATION Hunters Hill, New South Wales DATE COMMENCED 2017 DATE COMPLETED 2019 INITIAL BUDGET $650,000 FINAL COST $1,100,000

“IT WAS IMPORTANT NOT TO OVERWHELM THE HOUSE WITH NEW IDEAS” — ED DIEPPE 104

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P R OJ E CT HUNTERS HILL HOUSE

odernising a house with strong character requires a fine balance to retain elements and add new ones. That was certainly the case for Hunters Hill House, designed by architect Frank Cavalier in the 1960s and updated by Dieppe Design. Respecting Frank’s original design, Nora and Ed Dieppe maintained the distinctive character of the house, while creating lighter and brighter spaces for contemporary living.

Frank designed the five-bedroom house in 1967 and it expressed his interest in Japanese architecture, the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, natural materials and honest construction. The large split-level house has a soaring pitched ceiling lined with Queensland rosewood. South Pacific maple beams fold through the arched openings in the cream brick walls either side

of the sunken lounge, and materials included South Australian slate floors, Sydney blue gum parquetry, marble steps, Peter Travis handpotted tiles and Japanese ceramics.

Completed in 1969, the house featured in Australian Home Journal in May 1970 with the title, “A House With Nothing to Hide”. As Frank described: “Everything in this design is there for a purpose, not just the effect.”

Fast forward five decades, however, and the timber, brick and slate made for a dark interior.

When the new owners purchased the house from Frank’s sons in 2017, it had been untouched for 50 years. They engaged Dieppe Design to lighten and modernise the home while maintaining its architectural character. “The client’s most important ask was to brighten the interior and increase opportunities for natural light,” Nora says. “The second ask was to revamp or replace existing features for a fresh update to

WE LOVE THE COSY FEEL OF THE SUNKEN LOUNGE

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The bath/dual-shower in the master ensuite is stunning the entire home.” She and Ed were very considered in what they revamped or replaced, ensuring elements respected the original style while meeting the client’s request for industrial and Scandinavian undertones.

A new rock garden at the entrance is more modern than the existing one, while still reflecting Frank’s interest in Japanese architecture. Decorative encaustic tiles on the porch pay homage to Peter Travis’ original handmade tiles in the kitchen, and the front door has been enlarged and moved to allow a clear sightline through the living room to the river and bush.

Dieppe Design maintained the layout of the house, with the living, dining and kitchen on the entrance level, as well as the master bedroom and ensuite. The kitchen, however, has been opened up for more light and connection, while the bedroom has been closed off for privacy — previously a hand-carved timber screen beneath one arch provided only a partial barrier between the bedroom and living room (oh the 1970s!). Dieppe Design removed the screen (now framed on a wall) and designed metal-and-timber cabinetry with geometric shapes reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and Japanese design. “It was important not to overwhelm the house with new ideas,” Ed says. Glass is inserted above the unit for acoustics and privacy.

The sunken lounge is straight out of the ’60s and ’70s, with the pitched roof creating an even more voluminous space.

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P R OJ E CT HUNTERS HILL HOUSE Multiple balconies offer differing vantage points and calm spaces

Painting the cream brick walls white lightens and brightens the room and accentuates the arched form and the contrast with the dark timber and stone. The original copper-plate fireplace and flue are features in the corner of the living room and connect with the rangehood in the kitchen. Concrete benchtops and black frames inject industrial style into the kitchen, while the white joinery, tiles and painted brick encapsulate Scandinavian. There’s a trio of balconies across the front of the dining and living areas and bedroom, with new custom steel-and-glass balustrades to maximise views and light.

A courtyard nestles into the side of the house, separating the main living area and master bedroom from the children’s wing. Accessed via the original half-level staircase, the wing has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a rumpus room. As in other parts of the house, white timber and paint lighten the space and emphasise the original black hardware on the doors.

Every bathroom has wall tiles with a plaster-like feel, while the client selected different hexagonal floor tiles for each to impart a subtle character. The bathtub in the master ensuite is striking, with the bath encased in glass-reinforced fibre concrete.

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L E GEN D 1 Rumpus 2 Library 3 Plant 4 Bathroom 5 Gym 6 Media 7 Balcony 8 Entry garden 9 Entry 10 Powder room 11 Pantry 12 Kitchen 13 Dining 14 Living 15 Master bedroom 16 Ensuite

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ARCHITECT Dieppe Design, dieppedesign.com LANDSCAPE DESIGN Leaf Stone Water, leafstonewater.com

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STRUCTURAL TEAM Glenstone Constructions, glenstoneconstructions.com.au

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FIXTURES & FITTINGS Bathroom ďŹ xtures Meir Bathroom tiles Lulo Tiles Timber flooring Havwoods Timber veneers New Age Veneers

P R OJ E CT HUNTERS HILL HOUSE

ABOVE The sanded and stained spiral staircase complements the rumpus room’s picturesque joinery

A spiral staircase (sanded and stained) connects to a large multipurpose room downstairs, and Dieppe Design developed a new outdoor entertainment area to maximise the space and outlook. A deck extends along the front of the house, with a barbecue and builtin seating sheltered by the overhang of the main-level balconies.

Nora speaks highly of her collaborators on the project. “This was a team effort and we’re grateful to work with people who’ve been in the industry for a long time,” she says. “The house is now more typical of a waterfront property. Before you could put it into the suburbs and it wouldn’t have felt that special. Now it has that wow factor.”

Ed agrees: “There were features we asked the client to take a leap of faith with and they turned out really well.”

Lighter, brighter and more contemporary, Hunters Hill House still expresses Frank’s design, while being functional for modern living.

And it got the Cavalier tick of approval. “The client invited Frank’s sons to see the house, and they approved,” Ed reveals.

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Mood Board Colour Palette

This space is mostly grey and white with loads of timber for warmth. Although the overall feel is modern, quirky coloured, old-world elements are scattered throughout for fun

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01/ Atrium Fruity Multi rug. rugculture.com.au 02/ Orion 15-light pendant. beaconlighting.com.au 03/ Ethnicraft M rack bookcase. globewest.com.au 04/ Agate slice. cocorepublic.com.au 05/ Stacked book side cabinet. smithersofstamford.com 06/ Togo two-seater sofa. ligne-roset.com/uk 07/ Plant stand tall in blush. bendo.com.au

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PROJECT OSBORNE HOUSE

Coastal

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home SHAKE-UP Forget fading pastels and cracked cane furniture — this industrial-inspired Mornington Peninsula abode is far from your average beach house WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y M A R T I N R E F T E L , A M O R FO P H OTO G R A P H Y

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PROJECT OSBORNE HOUSE

WE LOVE THE FACADE OF BRICK AND CHARRED TIMBER

D ETAI LS HOUSE Osborne House LOCATION Mount Martha, Victoria DATE COMMENCED October 2017 DATE COMPLETED September 2018 INITIAL BUDGET $1,100,000 FINAL COST $1,100,000

oming to rest on a recently subdivided vacant block in Mount Martha is Osborne House, a four-bedroom, two-storey home that’s enveloped in brick and charred timber cladding.

Working as a real estate agent and surrounded by other people’s beautiful homes, the client decided he needed one of his own. The short and concise brief he handed to Mornington-based Little Brick Studio detailed an industrial-style show home with an emphasis on entertaining.

The open brief gave lead designer Ben Mulholland creative licence to evolve the project as site constraints unfolded.

Large and bold, the design solution first had to secure town planning approval before construction work began. Vegetated streetscapes extend a calm coastal vibe to the area, where older holiday cottages mingle with larger family homes. “This design is bold and progressive for a traditional coastal holiday area, so it was important that we allowed the design to be somewhat sympathetic to the area while retaining the client’s industrial-style requirements,” says Ben, director of Little Brick Studio.

Edgy Brooklyn and Chicago lofts and industrial-style hotels provided an inspired starting point for the design aesthetic. The proliferation of raw materials found within these establishments was too tempting to resist recreating in an Australian setting.

Osborne House uses exposed elements to express industrial “rawness”, such as the structural beams and rafters. Roughly mortared brickwork and other partially unfinished materials succeed in radiating strength.

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PROJECT OSBORNE HOUSE

The sunken lounge exudes a snug feel, exacerbated by its lowered ceiling

The work of Frank Lloyd Wright was instrumental in the genesis of this project, particularly his philosophy of compression and release, where a smaller room or foyer leads directly to a much larger room. “The design was centred around the void spaces inside, and the sense of compression and release they yield when combined with the lower ceilings,” outlines Ben. “The large double-height entry is striking as you approach the house, which then follows through to a sense of compression in the hall space and release as you enter the double-storey living area.”

Like a giant hug, the sunken living room has a lowered ceiling height to keep occupants snug. Moving from the sunken lounge to the open-plan meals and kitchen area (with butler’s pantry and laundry), ceiling heights soar and natural light streams in through walls of glass. On the topic of glass, it’s worth noting the home optimises passive energy principles by implementing well-designed and -located windows. These double-glazed and argon-filled treasures dispense passive solar heating and ventilation while at the same time capturing views and natural light.

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Double-height floor-to-ceiling glass invites the outside in while dining

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ED I TO R ’ S FAVO U R I TE THE BRICK ARCH WINE CELLAR IN THE KITCHEN

STRUCTURAL BEAMS AND RAFTERS, ROUGHLY MORTARED BRICKWORK AND OTHER PARTIALLY UNFINISHED MATERIALS EXUDE STRENGTH 118

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P R OJ E CT OSBORNE HOUSE

Elegant de Wacht Cabinetry joinery in the kitchen and bathrooms

“The internal brick walls, constructed with local recycled materials for a low-embodied energy, combined with the concrete flooring, create thermal mass elements throughout the building, with hydronic heating installed to cope with any weather extremes,” adds Amy Hart, director at Little Brick Studio.

Ample space for slumber is available in two master suites (with walk-in robes and ensuites) and two additional bedrooms. A separate rumpus area, study and triple-car garage leave plenty of room for parties, play and parking.

While there were no major detours from the original plans, there were a few last-minute additions that proved to be most intriguing.

One takes place within a brick arch in the kitchen. The spontaneous wine cellar sits next to the staircase and benefits from a glass front and heritage magnetism.

Challenging the cookie-cutter coastal home stereotypes in a raw and dignified manner, Osborne House leaves a strong imprint on Mt Martha and on our imaginations.

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L EGE N D 1 Porch 2 Entry 3 Garage 4 WC 5 Study 6 Lounge 7 Dining 8 Kitchen 9 Laundry 10 Butler’s pantry 11 Cellar 12 Alfresco 13 Master bedroom 14 WIR 15 Ensuite 16 Rumpus 17 Bedroom 18 WIR 19 Ensuite 20 Bedroom 21 Bathroom 22 Bedroom 23 WC

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P ROJ EC T T EA M BUILDING/INTERIOR DESIGN Little Brick Studio, littlebrickstudio.com.au BUILDER Swell Building Group, swellbuildinggroup.com.au INTERIOR STYLING The Cullin Interiors, thecullininteriors.com.au

SERVICES Energy rater Arrow Energy Ratings Structural engineer Wright Design Building surveyor CFL Building Surveyors Landscaping Port Phillip Landscaping FIXTURES & FITTINGS Kitchen/bathroom joinery de Wacht Cabinetry Kitchen appliances Asko Fireplace Aurora Tiles National Tiles

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Kitchen granite Baltic Stone Windows Creative Windows Timber cladding Ecotimber Roofing Colorbond Recycled bricks Beaver Bricks Kado freestanding bath/brass tapware Reece Carpet Carpetworld FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Bar stools GlobeWest Ottoman The Cullin Design

Loft living inspiration is evident throughout

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Greenery is dotted through the home, adding freshness

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01/ Halo pendant rangehood. siriusbrand.com 02/ Viscount White granite. cdkstone.com.au 03/ Samsung Family Hub French-door fridge. harveynorman.com.au 04/ Arnold dining chair. globewest.com.au 05/ Alba dining table. castlery.com.au 06/ 90cm Duo Fusion cooktop. asko.com.au 07/ Pegasi M sink mixer curve 160. faucetstrommen.com.au

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GIVE US A LIFT Elevator access and salty sea air permeate this Sunshine Coast stunner WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y LU C A S M U R O

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P R OJ E CT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

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A glimpse of the pool is visible above incoming guests’ heads

argot and Brian Jewell knew they were in capable hands when they asked Aboda Design Group (ADG) to build a four-bedroom home with lift access so they can age in place comfortably through their golden years. The firm had previously designed homes for family and friends of the couple, so they had no apprehensions when approaching Lee Foster and Scott Falconer, ADG directors.

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The setting for the Jewells’ home is a steep forward-sloping block opposite the ocean in Coolum Beach. Exploiting the view and working within the topographical constraints of the site, the home’s all-important lift traverses three levels, from the garage through to the main level and ending on the upper bedroom floor.

Three cars can rev their engines and rest safely out of the elements inside the garage, fitted with an internal turn bay. A single discreet garage door is recessed beneath the cantilevered

P R OJ E CT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

“THE MAIN LEVEL WAS SET AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE TO MAXIMISE VIEWS AND ALLOW FOR A SUSPENDED POOL” — LEE FOSTER

DETAILS HOUSE Barra Crescent Beach House LOCATION Coolum Beach, Qld INITIAL BUDGET Open FINAL COST $1,800,000 PROJECT COMMENCED 2015 PROJECT COMPLETED July 2019

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Clean timber lines define the simple but effective kitchen

W E LOV E THE SUNKEN LOUNGE CARVED INTO THE POOL

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living area. Machine rooms for the retractable screen, pool equipment and a general storage space are also housed at garage level.

Immaculate green lawns and Coolum Beach’s calming blue waters are visible from various points within the structure. Picture windows, full-height glass windows and doors and massive glazed voids work together to shrink the perceived barrier between internal and external spaces.

Wedged between the garage and the upper storey, the ground floor boasts an internal courtyard garden adjacent to the front door.

“The main level was set as high as possible to maximise views and allow for a suspended pool, and full open and retracted run of the main screen,” Lee says.

Informal family time is encouraged inside the discreetly located TV room. The kitchen and butler’s pantry spill into the living and dining area, which subsequently spills out to the pool. A sunken lounge in the pool allows non-swimmers to remain dry but still feel as though they’re part of the action.

“Retractable and bifolding screens to the eastern elevation enable morning light to be controlled and embraced or eliminated depending on time, day or season,” Lee explains. “The large one-tonne vertical moving screen works on counter weights within the pool shell to achieve an equilibrium of weight with the screen. The counterweights and screen are connected by cables and a horizontal motor driver below the pool.”

Space for extended family, grandchildren and friends is found on the upper level. Three bedrooms accompany the master suite, which provides Margot and Brian with an ensuite and walk-in robe. A study, laundry and drying court were placed on the bedroom level for the sake of comfort and convenience.

A large roof terrace covered in artificial grass is perched above the bedrooms and bestows ocean views south to Yarroomba and north to Noosa Heads.

Four years passed between the time of initial consultation and completion of construction by Fauna Homes. The intervening years were spent well. The first two were dedicated purely to sketch design, design development and working documentation.

As a result, construction ran smoothly and no major changes or challenges reared their expensive heads.

P R OJ E CT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

“PV CELLS POWER THE BUILDING DURING THE DAY AND THE HOME IS ABLE TO BE COMPLETELY OPEN (OR CLOSED) ON BOTH HOT AND WET DAYS” — LEE FOSTER GRAND DESIGNS

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Picture windows look out over artificial grass to the sea

Setting the project apart is a large-spanning suspended concrete floor plate and numerous off-form concrete walls. Equally impressive is the feature brickwork that forms cavities used to secure large sliding glass doors. Perhaps most memorable, though, is the mechanically operated retractable aluminium screening.

“Passive solar design principles, airflow, ventilation and light are the hallmarks of this project,” Lee says proudly. “PV cells power the building during the day and the home is able to be completely open (or closed) on both hot and wet days. Suspended polished concrete floors and masonry walls incorporate thermal mass, and the pool assists evaporative cooling of the living zone.”

Elevator equipped and sea breeze endowed, Barra Crescent Beach House presents a bold and open facade that hides the best new surfside retreat on the Sunshine Coast. Kudos to Aboda Design Group and congratulations to the Jewells!

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P R OJ E CT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

E DI TOR ’ S FAVOU R ITE THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE RETRACTABLE SCREENS

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LEAD CONSULTANT/BUILDING DESIGNER Aboda Design Group, aboda.com.au BUILDER Fauna Homes, (07) 5446 3734 INTERIOR DESIGN/FURNISHINGS Zooi Design, zooidesign.com.au

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Structural & civil design SCG Consulting Engineers Mechanical design & implementation QImage; Alu Engineering Landscape design E’Scapes Electrician TJS Electrical

P R OJ E CT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

Contrasting tapware adds structure in the bathrooms

Sea breezes are encouraged through louvre windows

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PROJECT BARRA CRESCENT BEACH HOUSE

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Colour Palette This house presents a modern take on the beach aesthetic. Colours of sand appear in joinery, furniture and light fittings while the pool and artwork provide ocean blues. Grey and black provide depth to a white shell and the green on the patio offers freshness 01/ Cork lampshades. corkimports.com.au 02/ Ocean Blue by Petra Meikle de Vlas. artloversaustralia.com.au 03/ Eames molded ďŹ breglass chair. hermanmiller.com 04/ Darma 200cm dining table in reclaimed teak. schots.com.au 05/ Kali serving bowl in graphite. aurahome.com.au 06/ Pot plant. bendo.com.au

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Photography Joel Barbitta (D-Max Photography)

Interiors

Standout interior design 136 Nedlands Residence

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Western Australia’s FINEST

Developed by luxury homebuilder Zorzi, a Perth house is restyled to suit a bachelor and his jet-setting lifestyle WO R D S LO U I S E S M I T H E R S P H O T O G R A P H Y J O E L B A R B I T TA (D - M A X P H OTO G R A P H Y )

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WE LOVE THE JARRAH TIMBER DINING TABLE WITH SEATING FOR 10

nlike the Bermuda Triangle, Perth’s prestigious Golden Triangle is a geographical spot in which we wouldn’t mind finding ourselves stuck. The suburb of Nedlands, west of Perth City, possesses one of the Golden Triangle’s most enviable postcodes. Close to the beach and less than 10 minutes to the city, the suburb is now the proud custodian of Nedlands Residence.

Moving from an apartment into his first home, the owner was ready to plant roots in leafy Nedlands. He purchased a Zorzi custom-built home with high-end finishes for $2,700,000 in the first half of 2019. Occupying a 709sqm block of land, the 469sqm house didn’t require a huge amount of work.

The client was keen to overhaul the interiors with modern, luxurious furnishings to create a comfortable and calming atmosphere. “Zorzi homes are known for their architectural presence,”

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says interior designer Benjamin Webb.

“My biggest obstacle was finding a colour scheme that wouldn’t get lost or fight the presence of the existing hard finishes.

From timber floors and timber panelling to stone feature walls, granite fireplace and the travertine flooring, there was a lot to take into account with this home.”

Completed in October 2019, the sixmonth-long project saw the budget blow out from $150,000 to $260,000, but the resulting aesthetic more than makes up for the fiscal overflow.

A competent team of tradespeople assisted in the completion of the project, weaving their skills together in a tapestry of superior artistry. There was the wallpaper guru, the upholstery wizard, the insanely talented local craftsmen and the green-thumbed landscaper, not to mention the electricians and labourers.

The house sprawls over three levels and includes a wine parlour that leads to a study with custom shelving, oversize desk and views of the pool. “My favourite

“IN A WORLD OF WHITE MARBLE AND STARK WHITE BOXES, THIS HOME REPRESENTS A HOME FULL OF CHARACTER AND WARMTH THAT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FIND IN A MODERN BUILD” — BENJAMIN WEBB GRAND DESIGNS

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ED ITO R’S FAVOU R I T E THE WINE CABINET OR “PARLOUR”, CONSTRUCTED LOCALLY IN PERTH AND STORING 144 BOTTLES OF WINE part of this home is the study,” Benjamin shares. “It came together so nicely with custom shelving on the back wall and an oversize desk. The art chosen for the study is entitled Wet #2 by Kristen Daniels.”

Benjamin drew inspiration from fashion designer Tom Ford and the films Nocturnal Animals and A Single Man. The home’s resulting context is sleek and modern, allowing the architecture to “speak for itself”. An organic palette is loaded with moody, earthy tones such as olive, brown and black. Touches of brass pop as they warm the colour scheme. Overall, the restrained palette is ideal for displaying art, which is handy since the work of numerous Australian artists adorns the walls of Nedlands Residence.

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What was a lounge is now a luxe wine “parlour”

“The client travels 20 weeks of the year so the space needed to reflect an actual home and not a sterile hotel space,” Benjamin explains. New furnishings from Jardan were sprinkled around every part of the residence, including alfresco settings. New pendants loom over the kitchen and dining area, sprinkling light across the spacious zone. Wallpaper was applied to the master, guest bedrooms and hallways, and the generous kitchen, living and dining area opens to a lush alfresco scene. A $40,000 landscaping budget was put to good use with Acanthus Green, which has perfected the gardens and brought the home to life.

The client loves to entertain his extended family and is known to host a work gathering or two throughout the year. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms and one powder room are available to handle any influx of guests. Sharing meals is a treat thanks to a Nathan Day-designed jarrah timber dining table. Reminiscent of the client’s childhood table in South Africa, the black-stained piece seats 10 comfortably.

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It was important that rooms felt lived in and not hotel-like

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AN ORGANIC PALETTE IS LOADED WITH MOODY, EARTHY TONES SUCH AS OLIVE, BROWN AND BLACK

ABOVE & OPPOSITE The living and dining area opens to a lush alfresco area and pool, perfect for relaxing and entertaining

Formerly a living room, the wine cabinet is outstanding — an intimate setting where the owner can unwind. Custom-made by Aveda Cabinets, the facility held 144 bottles at the time of writing. A layer of tinted black glass shields the wine and the whole unit gets even sexier when the lights are switched on.

Masculine, moody and mighty hard to miss, Nedlands Residence is a tri-level modern masterpiece. As Benjamin muses: “In a world of white marble and stark white boxes, this home is full of character and warmth that is not always easy to find in a modern build.”

benjaminwebbdesign.com

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TOPS ON TOP Cindy Crawford on Silestone Eternal Marquina

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Kitchens & bathrooms Take some cues from these cutting-edge design ideas

Kitchen Design Austin Maynard Architects Photography Tess Kelly

150 Newry House kitchen 158 Barossa House ensuite

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KITC HEN NEWRY HOUSE

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Bright & breezy From dingy to dazzling, this conservatory-style kitchen brings real meaning to greening WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G I M AG E S T E S S K E L LY

family of four came to Austin Maynard Architects with a project smaller than the firm usually works on: to reconfigure their main family/living zone, to allow in sunlight and make better use of their limited space.

“The old kitchen was dark and badly laid out,” explains Andrew Maynard, founding director of Austin Maynard Architects. “There was a small, windowless dining room behind a partition wall that was so grim that no one ever wanted to eat in there.”

The original kitchen also had a huge amount of wasted space, making it inefficient and difficult to access. Sensibly, the client’s brief was not to build bigger, but to design better.

After the wall separating the kitchen from “one of the smallest, darkest, bleakest dining rooms to ever exist” was removed, the ceiling and leaky roof deck above were also demolished, with a large pitched glass roof with sliding awnings installed instead.

The “rotten” middle section of the house was gutted, including the old timber floor, replaced by a thermally efficient, hydronic-heated concrete slab.

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“THE CLIENTS HAVE TOLD US, ‘IT’S SO GOOD TO BE HOME IN SUCH A WONDERFUL SPACE’” — ANDREW MAYNARD

“The space we had to work with was compact so the staircase, kitchen and storage are all combined into one object,” Andrew says. A merging of perforated steel and blackbutt timber successfully conceals doors, drawers and cupboards.

Centre stage is a beautiful Studio Italia bench that provides lots of lovely storage, topped with a Dekton Sirius benchtop. Nearby, an exposed garden has been integrated into a gorgeous green bench seat as a fabulous flourish.

A tight budget (as well as eco consciousness) led to a considered and restrained approach with this project, resulting in some very happy homeowners who were delighted with the indoor garden and glass roof.

“The clients have told us, ‘It’s so good to be home in such a wonderful space... warm... light-filled and so colourful. We are truly very lucky’.”

The installation of a Tesla battery ensures the home not only performs well, but pumps excess green energy back into the grid. Ecologically as well as colour-wise, Newry House’s outdoorsy kitchen really is green in every way.

P ROJ EC T T EA M ARCHITECT Austin Maynard Architects BUILDER Moon Building Group ENGINEER OPS BUILDING SURVEYOR Code Compliance ENERGY CONSULTANT Efficient Energy Choices LAND SURVEYOR Dickson Hearne

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FIXTURES & FITTINGS Sink Franke Kubus Tap Pegasi M, Faucet Strommen Oven Fisher & Paykel Induction cooktop Fisher & Paykel Gas burner cooktop Fisher & Paykel Gas on Glass Flooring Structural concrete slab with burnished finish Splashback Glass splashback with mirror backing Lighting Inlite Delta Streamliner; Brightgreen Curve Track light; Semi Pendant supplied by Cult Windows Western red cedar timber framed with clear double glazing Cabinetry Solid timber, blackbutt with clear seal finish Timber veneer Blackhole blackbutt Paint Dulux Black Benchtop Dekton Sirius

“I chose Dekton by Cosentino, for its stain, scratch & heat resistance.”

- Entrepreneur & Mother, Janine Allis used colour Radium.

When Australian entrepreneur and mother, Janine Allis embarked on the design and build of hERćȺVE bedroom home she turned to Penny del Castillo of In Design International to help her realise her dream house.

Understanding that Janine’s family liVES a modern lifestyle, Penny chose materials and textures to reȻect their personality in order to design an oasis they can call home. Importantly the interior needed to oȹer a sense of natural luxury coupled with hardwearing ȺNIshes that would withstand the actiVE lifestyles of Janine’s busy household.

The natural tones, seen in Dekton®’s industrial range from Cosentino made it an easy choice for this stylish home thanks to their peaceful and nurturing aesthetic coupled with excellent performance.

Janine and Penny chose Radium for the cascadingćȺre place because of its LAVA type ethetic.

For more inspiration check out Cosentino.com Cosentino_Aust

GRAND MASTERS OF KITCHEN REFINEMENT A long and impressive history lies behind the creation of these elegant kitchen innovations

W

ith a proud heritage stretching back more than three centuries, Gaggenau has evolved from humble beginnings forging nails on the edge of Germany’s Black Forest, through various design incarnations (including making advertising signs, bicycles and, eventually, stoves and ovens) to become the leading luxury brand on the market for professionalgrade home appliances.

The company introduced the first combisteam oven into domestic kitchens 21 years ago, creating the ideal conditions for steam cooking — using a unique combination

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of humidity with hot air to deliver healthconscious cuisine.

Since then Gaggenau has continued to develop these ovens even further through technical, design and performance innovations. In 2015 the launch of the ground-breaking fully automatic cleaning system completely removed the need for any manual cleaning.

Today, the original steam oven for the private kitchen is larger and offers greater choice than ever, vital for the modern-day chef. It’s become a true must-have in the modern kitchen.

S P O N SOR E D P R OD UC T GAGGENAU

ABOVE Positioned vertically or horizontally, the elegant 200 series comes in two finishes — Gaggenau Anthracite and Gaggenau Metallic — installed flush to your wall surface. The 400 series is easily recognised by its bold lines of solid stainless steel and glass that stands proud of its background RIGHT The Gaggenau 400 and 200 series combi-steam ovens — unmistakably Gaggenau

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“WE BELIEVE THAT HAVING THE ABILITY TO COOK LIKE A PROFESSIONAL IS A STATEMENT OF LUXURY THAT THOSE WHO FIND ENJOYMENT IN CULINARY REQUIRE” — DR PETER GOETZ

Showcasing Gaggenau’s commitment to creating a genuinely beautiful product, the combi-steam oven 200 series joins the 400 series to include a full surface grill hidden behind ceramic glass, ensuring the cavity of the oven remains sleek and minimalist.

Alongside this, the addition of glare-free, emotive lighting through invisible LEDs directs light towards the back to showcase food that deserves admiration.

Providing unrestricted flexibility, the oven cavity of these new models has been increased to 50 litres, filling the full width of the appliance and enabling more space for the creation of culinary masterpieces.

The introduction of fixed water connections in both series ensures fresh water is constantly available — vital when cooking for long periods of time using the oven’s sous-vide functionality. The new combi-steam ovens also work perfectly in parallel with Gaggenau’s vacuuming drawer, creating perfect

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conditions for preparing food for gentle yet outstanding sous-vide results.

Iconic in design and functionality, the newest generation of Gaggenau’s combisteam ovens offer unrivalled flexibility to inspire private chefs to master the beauty of cooking with steam.

BEAUTY IN COOKING Managing director of global brand Gaggenau Dr Peter Goetz explains that two decades of refinement and innovation, as well as technological leadership, have enabled the creation of an appliance offering “perfect cooking results without restrictions while adding to the aesthetic of the kitchen”.

“We believe having the ability to cook like a professional is a statement of luxury that those who find enjoyment in culinary require,” he says. “Leaders of innovation, we look forward to continuing as the pioneers in both steam cooking technology and healthy food prep.”

Gaggenau’s newest generation of cooktops and specialty appliances has also been created with a view to fulfil the many different facets of the sophisticated, contemporary home. Iconic in form and essential in function, one of the key aesthetic modifications to the new Vario 200 series cooktops is the quintessential Gaggenau control knob and matching control panel in black, anodised, aluminium finish.

Synonymous with minimalist, pure design, the sheer flexibility and humble size of this redesigned range assimilates closely with that of a newly developed aspiration.

“Our next generation of Vario cooktops 200 series comes at a time when the rapidly evolving landscape of at-home culinary culture has never been more apparent,” Peter says. “As the value of space and time increases, so too does the need for appliances that can adapt without compromising sophisticated design and professional function.”

S P O N SOR E D P R OD UC T GAGGENAU

There’s more to Gaggenau than hot air, of course. It’s ultra cool, too. A fully integrated, built-in modular family (refrigerators, freezers, fridge-freezer combinations and wine climate cabinets), the new Vario 400 cooling series is most impressive when combined in countless variations to form an elegant cooling wall.

Beyond its imposing visual effect, this array can be seamlessly incorporated into any kitchen design with the open-door assist for handleless furniture fronts. It’s cooling that makes an architectural statement.

The wine climate cabinets are equally exacting; display lighting and crafted bottle trays show off your coveted wine collection like an art exhibit.

Gaggenau head of design, Sven Baacke, describes the range as “very refined. We didn’t think about a refrigerator,” he says, “we’re talking about architecture that can actually cool. Open it up and they’re staged beautifully with perfect illumination. It’s invisible,” he adds. “It’s like when you’re in a shop somewhere and it’s really about the food you have inside.”

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Despite its large size, the Vario 400 cooling series is very easy to operate: “You can just touch the door and it’ll open,” Sven explains.

“If you want you can have it built in so it’s completely invisible. When you open it up, it’s truly like architecture — there’s nearly no plastic used inside, it’s real material. If you have 5m of a cooling wall, it’s not really an appliance, it’s part of the architecture.”

The wine climate cabinets are all about showcasing your collection, Sven adds. “You can really show what you have,” he says. “It’s a subtle way of seeing your wine all the time.

It’s very open to the living room so you can share your wine in a very subtle way. Again, it’s part of the architecture… no one would ask ‘why is your wine in the living room?’ People would say ‘oh wow, look at your beautiful wine collection’. There’s your fireplace, there’s your wine and there’s your sofa.”

The storage space offered within the cooling range appliances ensures plenty of choice. “It’s not so specific in terms of where you have to put your food,” Sven says. “There’s a lot of space there. It enables you to make your own plan and gives you the freedom to design the inside as you would the outside of your home. It’s like a room and that’s what I really like — alongside the beautiful illumination. It’s the perfect stage for your food, and for the culinary artist.”

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Magic circle Playing with shapes results in a stunning ensuite WO R D S A N G E L A YO U N G I M AG E S C A P I TA L I M AG E S

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he master ensuite at Wolf Architects’ Barossa House renovation materialised from the original simple wish to “do something circular”. The resulting soaking spot is a delight, a curved tile wall wrapped around a perfect white bath.

“At that time there weren’t many perfect circle bathtubs on the market,” explains Wolf Architects senior architect Taras Wolf, “so it was a brave direction we were able to convince the clients to go in in a home that was more angular than circular. The idea was to create a variation and break from all the angles in the home. They would relax in their bath at the end of the day and have a totally different experience.”

The original proposal was that a circular skylight would be positioned above the bath, but it proved costly and unnecessary given there was already an abundance of natural light through the large windows, which

offer beautiful views across the garden, just begging to be enjoyed from that bath.

“We still managed to create a very interesting space,” Taras says. “We embraced the simplicity of white contrasted with black accents and complicated shapes not traditionally utilised in the bathroom. We wanted privacy for two, whether using the toilet, bath or shower, and we wanted to achieve this without the use of glass, as seen in so many bathrooms.”

Despite the difficulty of tiling in such an irregularly shaped space, the craftsmanship is excellent. “The curved wall was a challenge, so we used mosaic circular tiles to assist with the shape and consistency of design,” Taras says.

The resulting space is an undisputed triumph of form and function, a truly grand design in a room that doesn’t boast epic proportions. Definitely a round of applause required, we say. wolfarchitects.com.au

BAT H R OOM BAROSSA HOUSE

“WE WANTED PRIVACY FOR TWO… WITHOUT THE USE OF GLASS” — TARAS WOLF

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T H E W O R L D ’ S M O S T A D VA N C E D D R I N K I N G WAT E R S Y S T E M

The

Source Get down to the nitty-gritty of the functional elements of your home 162 Create the perfect media room 176 Going global

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The cosy entertainment room of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis’s children, designed by Penny del Castillo, In Design International. Photography Damien Kook

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT If all the world’s a stage, your living room might just be the setting for the next big blockbuster premiere WO RD S D ON N AY TORR

he success of SVoD (subscriptionvideo-on-demand) services is indicative of a generation who’d rather stay in than go out. But the cheeky connotations of “Netflix and chill” doesn’t mean homeowners aren’t taking their entertainment needs seriously. From optimising existing living spaces for familyfriendly fun to creating bespoke media rooms for movie connoisseurs, there’s a perfect media room style for everyone.

First things first, what’s the main function of the room? Who’ll be using the space?

Answering these crucial questions should help you set the tone and give you a running start.

“The perfect media room is a multipurpose family activity room,” says Penny del Castillo, interior designer and director at In Design International. Penny was recently involved in the creation of a media room for the children of Boost Juice founder Janine Allis and cites it as a “perfect example” of how a versatile entertainment space can come together. “The

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room is situated in the basement and connects to external stairs to get directly to the pool, pickleball tennis court and back garden. It also has a powder room and gym attached.”

EXPERIENCE & CONNECTION Leading international design practice Hassell Studios has vast experience in creating largescale entertainment projects focused on bringing people together, such as the recently completed Geelong Arts Centre. Principal architect Scott Walker believes the design principles for larger-scale entertainment spaces can be effectively translated to private homes, and that the best design should ultimately connect with individuals.

“How people move through a space and experience the sounds and textures is fundamental to a positive connection with design,” he says. “It’s not just about a building or building fabric, it’s about experience and connection to an environment. These themes are universal no matter what scale the project.”

While Scott believes that starting your media room from scratch will most likely have the best technical outcome, he stresses that it’s important these sorts of spaces are connected meaningfully to the rest of the home.

An entertainment room will be influenced by available space and your budget as well as your core needs. Remember to keep in mind who’ll be using these spaces: if you have young children or teens and emphasise quality family bonding time, an elaborate, formal space might be more intimidating than practically enjoyable.

Penny suggests defining who in the household will be spending the most time in the media room, and to choose a concept theme design (such as sports memorabilia or Disney wonderland) aimed at those individuals. “Most families also use their media rooms as a playroom or sleep-out. We’re currently working on a media room that has a pool table, cocktail cabinet, wine cellar and lockable mini office space incorporated.”

T H E S OUR CE CREATE THE PERFECT MEDIA ROOM

“MOST FAMILIES ALSO USE THEIR MEDIA ROOM AS A PLAYROOM OR SLEEP-OUT” — PENNY DEL CASTILLO

UNIQ Building Group

Moda Interiors opted for simple lines and low lighting.

Photography Joel Barbitta, DMax Photography

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“THE BEST MEDIA SPACES SHOULD BE CONNECTED TO THE HOUSE AND THE LIFE OF THE HOME” — SCOTT WALKER Good sound quality is crucial, as is soundproofing.

CSR Gyprock’s Therese Tarlinton explains that modern sound systems have the potential to noise-pollute the entire house, defeating the purpose of an entertainment hub as the ultimate relaxation zone. “A basic understanding of building acoustics and careful consideration of room use and the layout of your home or extension is crucial to create quiet zones where needed, and keep noise contained,” she says.

The uptick in the popularity of media rooms has led to the development of specific soundproofing products. Gyprock’s Soundchek is Australia’s first acoustic plasterboard, designed to reduce the transfer of unwanted noises through walls and ceilings, while reducing noise transfer in your home.

“Consumers need to remember the importance of their home’s foundations,” Therese says. “Your walls and ceilings play such a crucial part in controlling environments, yet are often the most commonly overlooked.”

Sonos in-wall speakers are subtle and discreet

Image courtesy of LG

ABOVE, LEFT & BELOW Audio and visual are the fundamental tech components, so don’t skimp here. lenwallisaudio.com

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GO SOFT ON FURNISHINGS When repurposing an existing room, use soft wall-to-wall carpeting instead of timber or tiled flooring, or cover existing hard floors with large rugs. Avoid concrete entirely. “Hard, reflective surfaces bring moderate to high reverberation issues when the space is full of noise components,” Therese explains. “The energy of sound radiates away from its source and interacts with every surface, so soft furnishings aren’t just beneficial for comfort, they are also the most sound-absorbent.

Consider things such as big, comfortable furniture that absorbs sound, positioned towards the central television screen.”

Penny suggests using soft material on walls, ceilings and furniture. “We’d choose woven seagrass or fabric-faced velvet flocked wallpaper over a flat paper or plain painted wall finish, for example. And if there’s a large window or door that needs covering, curtains are better than blinds.”

Windows can be doubly problematic in a media room; they are hard surfaces that reflect sound-causing audio distortion and they admit light that can produce reflections on your viewing surface. While Penny mentions that most of her clients are opting for media rooms at basement level, where it’s typically “already dark and partially underground, so has inherently great acoustic values”, this isn’t an option for all homeowners. If you don’t have a basement but you’re building from scratch, locate the room where it can be sealed off from the open-plan entertainment areas and avoid windows completely if at all possible.

When repurposing an existing room with windows, consider using blackout curtains or blinds or even external roll-down shutters to help keep out light when needed.

Luxaflex’s Vera Meharg emphasises that light control is “the number-one consideration for most homeowners when choosing a window covering, particularly for a home media

room, to ensure there’s no glare from the sun”.

Choosing an effective light-blocking system that also restricts light leakage from light gaps, thus eliminating the “halo effect” that can be characteristic of some room-darkening shades, can make a world of difference.

Vera also references the growing role the use of smart technology (such as in the Luxaflex Powerview Motorisation system) plays in the control of light, privacy and overall ambience. Depending on what you pick, you can pre-program your blinds to rise and greet the dawn, and readjust to deflect afternoon sun, before scheduling them to close at night.

HELLO DARKNESS

ABOVE & TOP LEFT Luxaflex Duette LightLock shades’ side channel design features rows of specially shaped micro-ridges to trap, absorb, block and deflect all incoming light

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When it comes to artificial light, less is more.

Henley Design’s Micaela Austin says that while lighting is really important to set the mood, not much is required. “You actually want this place to be a bit darker than the rest of the house, rather than lit up really brightly. It creates a calmer vibe.” She recommends opting for warm lights with a yellow undertone as they’re “not as harsh on the eyes”, as opposed to natural lights, which give off a blue tone and are designed to wake you up. “Another worthwhile investment for this space is lights that are dimmable, giving you the option to turn it up to full brightness during the day.”

Even better, suggests Penny, is “lighting coming from the floor or wall levels rather than the ceilings, so it’s not stark on your face”.

Bright colours and shiny paint types reflect light, which is especially distracting when there’s a brightly lit scene on the screen. If the main purpose of your media room is viewing movies and TV series, paint your walls as dark as you can stand them. Think neutral brown, tan and olive tones, as well as navy blue and deep maroon red. Vera cautions against the

use of certain colours, though, if you’re a true cinephile: “It’s best to avoid bold colours such as red, blue or green, which can distort the picture on any screens.”

If the room is multipurpose, the use of darker colours isn’t as crucial, though it’s still best to stay away from gloss or semi-gloss sheens. Reflection-fighting eggshell or flat paint is best. “Play with rich colours such as deep reds and royal blues,” Micaela suggests.

“Don’t be afraid to paint your ceiling black — it creates the illusion of height as black recedes, whereas white comes forward.”

If you’re dedicating the room to cinema and gaming, avoid all reflective materials such as glass-fronted art, mirrors or shiny painted surfaces. Use poster art or canvas instead.

Of course, part of the pleasure of a home entertainment room is filling it with the

T H E S OUR CE CREATE THE PERFECT MEDIA ROOM

lenwallisaudio.com

state-of-the-art technology you need to indulge in your favourite pastimes, be it movies, video-gaming or listening to your favourite music. Do your research and seek expert advice from AV equipment specialists before choosing what works best for your budget. In general, opt to invest in the highestquality tech you can afford, but aim for durable rather than gimmicks or trends.

Scott stresses that it’s important to focus on flexibility when designing your entertainment room, something that seems relatively simple but is often overlooked.

“Technology is changing rapidly and wireless systems and streaming services are making some technology obsolete. Of course, highend systems will always have a place and in some ways this technology is evolving slower, but for systems in the more affordable price

lenwallisaudio.com

Henley Designs

bracket, you need flexibility as in five years the hardware will be obsolete. When designing a media space, design for the future and for change,” he says.

SELECT YOUR SCREEN Before buying the biggest flat-screen TV you can find, consider the dimensions of the room. A huge screen is no use if the couches are so close to it that you have to move your head to take in the entire vista. And it’s no fun squinting from the edge of your seat if the screen is way too small.

If you’d prefer a more authentic theatre feel and you have the space, consider a good-quality drop-down screen and projector installation with a premium Surround Sound system. These are usually 5:1, which means there are five full-range speakers and one lowrange specialist, the “woofer”. Three speakers and the woofer will be placed towards the front of the room, and the two remaining speakers on either side and slightly behind viewers.

Connectivity is crucial. If there’s one area in the house where reliable internet access is critical, the media room is it! Penny suggests consulting an IT technician about the requisite capabilities for perfect streaming at all times.

Len Wallis Audio’s Jason Sexton urges people to invest in a decent home network.

“Many think they have fast internet and their supplied router from their provider will be fine for their new installation,” he says, “so while they’re happy to spend big on components, they won’t invest on making their home network more capable.” It’s crucial, he explains, in order to avoid many of the technological issues affecting your enjoyment of a media room. “Buffering videos, wireless speakers dropping off the system … chances are it’s not the network that attracts the

ABOVE A renovation project for a home in Hillarys, Western Australia, includes a handy drinks station, with sink.

Photography Joel Barbitta, DMax Photography

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THE SOU RCE CREATE THE PERFECT MEDIA ROOM

The media and games room in series 8’s Dee Why project looks over the indoor pool.

Photography Rhiannon Slatter

blame,” he says. Assuming that the video or audio system is at fault is a common error.

Remember, too, tech’s darkest side: cables.

Micaela recommends wiring all cabling inside the walls, if possible, rather than leaving it exposed, which can be a hazard. Consider the positioning of recharging stations and the storage of devices and items such as DVDs, records, board games and remotes. It’s likely to be cluttered, so storage is crucial. “Purchasing furniture pieces that have built-in drawers and storage components can help keep all smaller items away and out of reach,” Micaela adds.

FUN WITH FURNITURE

CSR Gyprock

Entertainment rooms can be a great place to store collections and miscellaneous memorabilia.

Photography Joel Barbitta, DMax Photography

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Furnishing your media room should be fun, but always keep an eye on the practical. “Goldclass cinema seating is no longer in demand in our homes,” Penny says. “Instead, it’s either huge deep-seated sofas to snuggle into or more relaxed low-to-floor-style horizontal ergonomics.” She also suggests including a couple of giant floor cushions or ottomans in the space — for squeezing in extra bodies and for getting close to the screen for gaming.

Keep the dimensions of the room in mind when choosing, and opt for items that can be reconfigured or moved easily. Remember, this is likely to be a high-traffic space where many people will drink, eat and slouch on the floor, so elaborate nooks and crannies and plush carpeting might fast become a headache.

Choose easy-to-clean surfaces or removable, washable covers. Keep dainty and fussy bric-a-brac out of the space, opting for bolder, versatile pieces that can stand hard use.

Media rooms are ideal for having some fun while decorating — they are, after all, for entertainment! Penny suggests a mini bar or even a built-in kitchenette so you don’t have to pop out to restock the snacks or drinks, while Micaela supports adding fun personal touches to the room. “Think framed memorabilia, vintage popcorn machines and record players.”

Depending on its theme and purpose, your media room can also become the ideal home for the odds and ends that don’t quite fit elsewhere, such as that Evil Dead poster signed

by Bruce Campbell or the Fender Strat that Patti Smith once played.

Ultimately, a media room is meant to bring families and friends together. Keeping this in mind (or not) can make or break a room, as Scott illustrates: “I once sat in a media room (not designed by us) that was technically perfect. Tiered floor, total blackout, acoustic isolation and cinema-style seating. But unfortunately it was completely disconnected from the home to the point where it was disconcerting and frankly a little weird. The best media spaces should be connected to the house and the life of the home; at its best, it’s a shared experience — not one of isolation.”

AWARD WINNING INSTALLATIONS FROM LEN WALLIS AUDIO

CEDIA Asia Pacific 2019 Best Integrated Home – Level 111

CE Pro International 2019 Best Home Theatre over $100k

CE Pro International 2019 Best Whole House Smart Home Project over $150k

Sound+Image Awards 2020 Cinema Design Gold Award

Your smarter home starts with Len Wallis Audio.

64 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove, NSW 2066 (02) 9427 6755 sales@lenwallisaudio.com.au

lenwallisaudio.com.au

THE ARCHITECTURE OF SOUND The right way to power your media room experience WO R D S C A R R O L B A K E R

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ew technology is driving a bold new age in home audio and visual — and homeowners are enjoying being part of the action. There are many components that make up the overall media room concept.

Comfortable seating, ambient lighting to set the mood. The star of the show, however, is the audio-visual equipment that enables the viewer or listener to completely immerse themselves in the experience.

We tend to think of architecture and interior design as visual media but, in reality, our experience in any given environment is multi-sensory. Like furnishings and paint on walls, sound strongly colours the overall feel of a room. What if we thought of sound in our homes the way we thought of flooring or decorative accents — something that connects each room and makes them all part of a cohesive whole?

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“Sonic architecture is really just about actively considering how to incorporate sound into the spaces where people live and meeting them where they are, not where we think they should be,” explains Sonos vice president of design Tad Toulis.

Sonos product manager Benji Rappoport says: “You know when you’re walking around a store or hotel and there’s music on but you don’t have to see the source or think about where the sound is coming from? We want to be able to bring that experience into people’s homes.”

Daniel Woods from Vision Living believes there are many elements that play into the success of any home theatre project. “We put a huge focus on the whole design being integrated, intuitive and offering the best performance for any budget, with a focus on quality products, materials,

S P O N SOR E D P R OD UC T

design and installation,� he says. Indeed, cutting-edge companies like Sonos are raising the bar in audio-visual technology, with solutions that can virtually replicate a concert or cinematic experience.

Creating a media room requires planning and professional expertise. William from Sight and Sound Galleria says the size of the available space, TV or projection screen location, aesthetics and budget all need to be considered. “Is it a dedicated audio-

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SPONSORED P ROD UC T

Contact Great results can be achieved by using an experienced Sonos independent dealer/installer Quantum SSG Rob MacFie robert Will Stevenson @quantumhifi.com.au will@sightandsoundgalleria.com.au 194 Liverpool St, Hobart, TAS, 240 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell (03) 6231 0088 VIC , (03) 9882 6997 Living Sound Soundlab Damian Lowry Jarrod Silverlock dl@livingsound.com.au jarrod@soundlab.net.au 121 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, 2/480a Scarborough Beach Rd, QLD, (07) 3552 7000 Osborne Park, WA, 0413 935 204 Vision Living Daniel Woods dw@visionliving.com.au 327 Goodwood Rd, Kings Park , SA, 1300 721 480

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visual space or a multipurpose room? What are the ideal locations for the speakers? Should they be freestanding, in-roof or in-wall? And what are the types of sources, for example Apple TV/Foxtel, free to air, DVD and/or audio inputs and streaming requirements?”

Then of course there’s the surrounding environment. The design layout shouldn’t impede on any of the features within the space. Jarrod Silverlock from Soundlab, Sonos Centre, says assessing the physical space in the room is key to the success of any media room design, explaining that you need to ask: “Are there any focal architectural features in the room, for example a fireplace, feature stone walls or outdoor scenic views to be considered?”

The acoustic properties of a room also need to be weighed and measured, as these can reflect, absorb, or even transmit the sounds that affect them. “Surface finishes such as glass doors, windows, concrete, tile or timber floors, rugs and carpet coverings, flat or raked ceilings and materials used for the ceilings and, very importantly, furniture like couches, tables and artworks all have an impact on the sound experience,” Jarrod adds.

With the cutting-edge Sonos product, engineers have devised an advanced acoustic tuning tool that’s built in to the Sonos application, called TruePlay. “Through a calibrated microphone (iPhone/iPad), the acoustics of the room are recorded and sent to the Sonos acoustic engine that then adjusts the output of the speakers to provide the ultimate sound production,” he says.

Sonos is synonymous with quality, longevity and versatility. It’s also a brand that audio experts choose when they need a sound solution that’s a little out of the box.

William from Sight and Sound Galleria says Sonos is often used in architectural spaces because of its flexibility and superior performance.

“It’s our go-to solution in multi-room applications due to its reliability, versatility and simplicity,” he says.

Robert MacFie from Quantum HiFi says his team has had many memorable projects installing Sonos. “We designed and installed a multi-room Sonos for clients in their Silos Apartment Hobart 7000,” he explains. “This consisted of multiple Sonos AMP and flush in-ceiling speakers. We also installed a matrix video system allowing sharing of multiple sources like Apple TV to two 77in and a 65in TVs.” The Sonos Amp is winning accolades, not only because of its streamlined good looks but because of its design flexibility; it can basically drive any speakers. This amp has been designed to impress and it doesn’t disappoint. Sonos dealer Damian Lory from Living Sound says a recent large project put the product to the test, as it was a 16-zone home.

“The new Sonos Amp was running a very large pair of Krix in-wall cinema speakers on its own — with a Sonos sub of course,” he explains.

Many of today’s homeowners are time-poor, juggling the competing demands of work and family. There’s little time left over to become a whizz at new technologies. Sonos dealers say the number-one request from customers when it comes to designing sound systems is that it’s user-friendly, that is, simple to operate. This is where Sonos comes to the fore. Daniel Woods says that even with multi-room audio, Sonos is a winner.

“Sonos allows us to provide a robust solution with an intuitive interface that integrates with our other systems and components, providing the client a simple interface with a wealth of features.”

NEW TECHNOLOGY, OLD FASHIONED CUSTOMER SERVICE

VIDEOPRO NEWSTEAD (Flagship store) | 37 Commercial Rd, Newstead, Brisbane | 07 3250 0055

Looking to build the perfect media room for your dream house, but not sure where to start? Then start with Videopro!

With 40 years’ experience, we’re Queensland’s leading Audio-visual specialist.

We can work with you from conception to completion, stocking an extensive range of audio visual technology to compliment your grand design. From TVs, Home Theatre, and Personal Audio to Headphones, Cameras and Drones, we’ll ensure your house will be a state of the art home, stocking the biggest brands such as Sonos, Bose, Samsung, LG, Sony, B&W, Klipsch, Yamaha + many more!

If you’re after an Audio-visual upgrade, or just some advice on the latest technology, feel free to visit any of our four store locations at Newstead (Flagship), Carindale, North Lakes, and Helensvale, or shop online at videopro.com.au.

videopro.com.au

AROUND THE WORLD IN

Eclipse House by IBUKU. Photography Tommaso Riva

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No need to pack your bags for this trip. We’re going around the world of architecture, sightseeing all the hottest destinations so you can bring some of your travels home WO R DS CA SS I E H AY WOOD

o provide meaningful architecture is not to parody history, but to articulate it.” Daniel Libeskind’s famous words say it all about the progression of architecture as it seeks to reflect the cultural and historical landscape of the time. Architects shape homes for diverse locations and people, and summarising a country’s range of architecture with one image

is impossible to achieve, so here we’re offering a glimpse into the vernacular architecture of different countries.

Modern influences are strong all around the world, with a lean towards minimalist design and sustainability. Styles of the past are still contenders and influencers in this field, with many new representations of tradition raising their heads. Jump on board and get ready, it’s going to be a wild journey.

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kias.co.jp

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BALI

Appearing like boats floating alongside the tops of palm trees, this home is one example of how Balinese architecture has evolved from bamboo huts to bamboo feats of art. A design style that aligns closely with modern tropical architecture, Balinese design is breezy, light-filled and almost rustic in style. IBUKU believes modern tropical architecture is where “people can live in an authentic relationship with nature”, with homes featuring locally sourced materials and space to enjoy the outdoors. Think coconut wood and thatched roofs. Hindu influence is still tangible, with high walls protecting homes from public view and from spirits entering the property.

JAPAN

As one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, Japan is embracing change in all areas of life, including design.

Hit by natural disasters and extreme weather, modern Japanese architecture continues to reflect its functional needs (hot summers and freezing winters) and beautiful history of design. Contemporary takes on the traditional sharply pitched roofs (ideal for heavy snow) and ornate details are making an appearance, with different angles and curves breaking the mould. Slow, harmonious living is embraced by the locals, so homes feel lived-in, connected to nature and boasting raw, earthy tones. Houses still include a genkan, a traditional entryway where outdoor shoes are swapped for indoor slippers. Contemporary Japanese houses are simple, with timber, stone, natural fibres and bamboo featuring prominently.

T H E S OUR CE GOING GLOBAL

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NEW ZEALAND

“The classic ‘kiwi bach’ is a New Zealand holiday home where locals retreat to ‘get away from it all’ and get back to basics,” Nicholas Officer, of First Light Studio, explains. “In terms of building typologies, the bach exemplifies New Zealanders’ strong connection to landscape, evidence of a hands-on ‘do it yourself’ mentality and its encouragement of socialising and spending time outdoors.” Low-maintenance timbers clothe open living spaces and extend out to a deck — the secondary living area. These kiwi holiday homes get away with being smaller, single-level spaces with an eclectic, rustic style, where wet togs can be thrown over chairs and sand vacuumed from floors. Add a sustainability bent and you’ll be in a home away from home.

Design by First Light Studio.

Photography Paul McCredie

4OUTBACK AUSTRALIA

Photography Cathy Schusler

5SCANDINAVIA

Close to home for some Aussies but a far-off dream for many, outback architecture embraces its vast surrounds and the rustic tones of the land. Architect Sheila Clowes of Idee considers this style “a celebration of the rituals of daily life — washing, preparing food, overseeing land and understanding the time and conditions of day and night through signals of indigenous nature — realised in built form”. While the exterior is often a hardy farm style, with tin, stone or timber planks characterising the design, the interior can go in a completely different direction; a space for softness, with white weatherboards and timber, can define the look. Of course, no good Aussie home is complete without a verandah for morning coffee and Vegemite toast.

Design by Snøhetta.

Render by Mir. snohetta.com

Known for its freezing climate and stunning views, homes in Scandinavia invite you in from the cold to stamp the snow from your boots and sit by a fire. Cold materials such as stone or concrete are rare, with the warmth and softness of timber preferred. The weather affects much of Scandinavian design, so houses are smaller (less indoor areas to heat) and more minimalist in style.

Colour is beginning to feature more in Scandi interiors, but softer pastels are still dominant.

The “Scandi barn” or “modern farmhouse” look is growing in popularity around the world, loved for its steeply pitched gable roof, straight lines and lack of eaves. Bring a bit of Scandi into your home with simple silhouettes, timber and a bit of hygge (cosiness and comfort).

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6

Design by Casamanara.

Photography Evan Joseph

NEW YORK

Living in the Big Apple means space is always at a premium and apartment living is common. With demolition not always possible, apartment refurbs have developed an iconic style of their own. Casamanara’s Piero Manara describes New York as a “European city on steroids”, and says lofts can be a haven for the residents of this bustling city. “Like others, this loft has been designed as a serene dwelling, with solid materials and proportions, where one can regenerate,” Piero says.

Industrial style is favoured, but that doesn’t mean only exposed brick walls and steel beams. A unique, gritty aesthetic arises from a no-frills look that encourages recycled materials and a feeling of spaciousness through white walls and ceilings. It doesn’t hurt to have a view of the Empire State Building, either.

7LONDON

At its heart, England’s Georgian design values fenestration symmetry, classical detail of entrance embellishments, hip or side-gabled roofs, decorative window headers and facades of brick or stone. Inside, the home may feature gilded mirrors, hardwood flooring and detail around a fireplace, window or ceiling. This style was popular in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries, inspired by the earlier Italian Renaissance period. Red Deer Architecture describes designing a contemporary version of a Georgian home as “less about restoring original features, but retaining what is important to the design so that there is a sense of place”. This flexible approach to older homes allows the space to retain its history alongside a distinct aesthetic.

Design by Red Deer.

Photography Billy Bolton

Visualisation of Beachfront Villa for Navarino Residences

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GREECE

Greek architecture takes two routes. The first is the grander, more intricate style of artfully crafted friezes, facades and columns, where Greece’s powerful history is brought into the modern age. The other is understated luxury, made popular by the Santorini look of white stone villas atop green hills. Regardless of the style, it’s all about the view. Flat, block homes are popular, with outdoor living not an option but an essential.

“Greek architecture lies in in-between spaces, where indoors and outdoors interlock and thresholds become seamless in a space continuum,” K Studio says. Add an olive tree or two in the backyard (particularly in Athens) and you’ll have a glimpse of this richly historical and beautiful architecture.

T H E S OUR CE GOING GLOBAL

Design by MARCANTE — TESTA. Photography Carola Ripamonti

Design by Square Works Laboratory

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INDIA

Many newly designed homes in India have the modern silhouette of clean, strong lines, but can be a festival of colour and texture within the living room, bathroom and bedroom. The latest wave of architecture has shown a movement away from the modern materials of glass, steel and aluminium, and a rewind to traditional building materials such as brick, clay, bamboo and timber. Like other largely tropical countries, India emphasises outdoor living in courtyards, while verandahs shaded by pitched roofs lie at the front of the home to welcome guests. You might also see a jharokha (overhanging enclosed balcony), ornately carved furniture, geometric tiles and intricate screens.

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MILAN

Hello, modern Milano! Fashion- and design-forward, Italy’s design capital brings experimental design and unique colour combinations to the everyday.

The modern Milano look is one of opulence and high-class style, where metal shines, marble is a staple and colour isn’t optional. Balancing out the at-times busy palette is a minimalist aesthetic that values handle-free design, bar lights and simple (but lush) furniture. Be careful not to slip into gaudy by limiting statement features and over-accessorising.

11BRAZIL

The big name in Brazilian architecture is Oscar Niemeyer. A purveyor of curves and concrete, and a key figure behind the modernist movement, he brought a new direction to the sub-tropical climate of Brazil. Contemporary, woodsy designs prevail, using either concrete or timber. Breezeblocks and timber screens are common, favouring the lean towards well-ventilated homes. Sixty per cent of the Amazon is in Brazil and many homes have rainforests in close proximity, prompting a more rustic, jungle-like aesthetic.

Go for less of the glitz and glam and focus more on earthy tones, natural materials, plenty of glass and some shiny fittings to brighten your home.

Campinarana House by Laurent Troost Architectures.

Photography Maíra Acayaba

House Burch by Those Architects.

Photography Luc Remond

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MEDITERRANEAN

The aesthetics of the Med generally follow Spanish or Italian design, with an emphasis on resort-style living. Open-plan spaces that flow into one another with the soothing vibes of the Mediterranean are a sanctuary to retreat to at the end of a day. Shapes are important and curves like waves often feature across the building, in entryways, windows and ceilings. Cast-iron pendant lights, solid-timber front doors, stone and stucco are also common elements. Pops of blues brighten a home, while rattan is a great option for furniture pieces.

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Picture courtesy of La Mamounia

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MOROCCO

You’re familiar with iconic Moroccan design — its horseshoe arches, geometric tiles and open courtyards. This distinct style arose from the influence of many cultures, including African and European, but none more so than Morocco’s Muslim Arab neighbours. Tantalising almost all the senses, fanous (traditional Arabic lanterns), aromatic candles, water features, billowing curtains and lush greenery all feature to create a sensory experience. While backyard space might be in short supply, rooftop living is prevalent for relaxing. Bring some of the boldness and beauty of Morocco into your home with resplendent colours, patterned rugs and unique tile patterns.

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MEXICO

What screams “Mexican casa” more than the cheerful vibrancy of a colourful home?

Combine the lively colours synonymous with Mexican culture and the geometric shapes of art deco style (popular in the 1920s) and you’ve struck gold in a Mexican-inspired house. The Dos Iguanas residence plays with shadows and contrasts to reflect an ever-changing landscape.

Colour continues inside the home, accompanied by sleek furniture pieces and large windows.

Choose strong, straight lines, high ceilings, expansive windows and a bold colour or two to bring the fiesta home.

Château Mireille. Picture courtesy of Haven In

15PROVENCE

Europe has a rich cultural history where revolutionary design movements have started and spread, having a huge impact on the international architecture scene. In particular, the Provencal look is the manifestation of hundreds of years of quintessential French design and style. An exterior with this look can feature a stone or stucco facade, terracotta roof tiles, timber beams and floors, crown mouldings and high ceilings. Throw open the shutters and you’ll feel transported to another century. This elegant look is often accompanied by traditional and decorative furniture, aged metal furniture for the patio and a formal garden with clipped hedges and soft-coloured flowers.

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Design by House + House Architects

T H E S OUR C E GOING GLOBAL

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SOUTH AFRICA

South African architecture tends to draw on the region’s design vernacular, reinventing the great functionality and clever design of traditional huts with a luxurious backing. Thatched roofs aren’t shaggy but neatly refined to suit the location. The bamboo, sticks and reeds that would often form the frame of a hut are reinvented into chic furniture and lights.

“Conceptually, South Africans have a significant view of shelter, where the flat roof is more essential than the vertical wall,” Gren Truen, director of SAOTA, says. “Those living in harsher environments, such as Europe, distance themselves from the outdoors and become used to living with more barriers between them and nature. Our homes facilitate the dialogue and flow between the two.” Homes adopt a dusty colouring, with sandy tones, pale timbers and hand-woven furnishings creating a warm look.

Silver Bay by SAOTA Architecture and Design

17CHINA

Home to one of the oldest civilisations in the world, China’s architecture has several distinguishing elements that continue today. First, distinct roofs with the upturned eaves, typically with encaustic tiles. Second, the inner courtyard of a house surrounded by buildings with few or no windows. Modern takes on this feature may still be mostly removed from the outside, but more connected to the interior of the home. Ziya Zhang of RSAA describes modern Chinese design as the “lifestyle and experience of modern Chinese people, the concepts behind it and the resulting spatial iterative prototype”. The tried and tested traditions and foundational architectural principles persevere in the 21st century, as influenced by the millenniums of history behind the culture.

Design by RSAA

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K House by Norm Architects

SRI LANKA

Colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British, Sri Lanka is a melting pot of influences and local design. But you can’t look far into Sri Lankan architecture without hearing the name Geoffrey Bawa. Dubbed the “father of tropical modernism”, his architecture created a standard for Sri Lankan architecture that mixed colonial and historic design, traditional materials, and a strong consideration of the local climate (high ceilings, cross-ventilation).

Broad roof overhangs have the dual purpose of shading windows from heat and rain, so whether it’s sunny or a monsoon has arrived, air can still flow through the home. Many Sri Lankan villas are single-storey for ease of movement, with concrete foundations and simple terracotta roofs.

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THE AUSSIE HOME

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Hot

curves that recall the movements of a dancing figure. This elegant design by Alexander Lorenz is available in two sizes of 140cm or 160cm round. coshliving.com.au

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

02/ WHAT’S COOKIN’ GOOD LOOKIN’?

01/ IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME As the name suggests, the Anfora dining table is inspired by an ancient Greek vase with a striking sculptural base. The focal point of any sophisticated dining room, Anfora is aesthetically rich with its precious Carrara marble base and thin top in Canaletto walnut or bronzed glass. Although decisive in character, the design is softened by seductive

Boy, are we fans of a beautiful cooker! Fitted with all the knobs, nooks and crannies, the Elise range cooker from Falcon brings classic European design to our shores. Its distinct continental appearance is all brushed chrome and delicate details for a French-inspired flair.

If blue doesn’t fit your colour scheme, no fear, there are six other chic hues to choose from.

These cookers come from a long history of manufacturing, with Falcon in the business of making since 1830. andico.com.au

04/ FINISH WELL Homes are a very personal space and owners have the freedom to explore different style avenues, taking a bit of one and more of another. That’s why timeless styles such as the Pegasi M sink mixer square pull out, when combined with an aged finish such as antique brass light, can create a lovely addition to any style of kitchen. Lightweight, durable, and with 20 finishes to choose from, this popular style of mixer is a goodie. The tough, stainless-steel hose glides through the runway and comes with a lifetime replacement warranty so you can have flexibility to wash dishes from any direction. faucetstrommen.com.au

05/ TIMBER, GLORIOUS TIMBER Say hello to the Tully coffee and side tables. These compact designs offer curves for days and sleek lines for a subtle addition to your space. Beautifully crafted out of Australian hardwood timber, this piece is sure to complement other furniture without taking over the room. A slight lip around the rim of the table top means

03/ THE PERFECT MATCH

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It’s rare to find a home where the bed matches the ensuite vanity. It was once only seen in hotels, but the Calissa range of furniture has unlocked this potential for homeowners. The collection offers bed frames and bathroom settings in a matching natural oak or dark walnut finish so you can enjoy the feeling of effortless good design between rooms. The batten look of the furniture lends texture and a chic edge to the space. The on-trend wallhung vanity would shine next to large-format marble tiles and shiny tapware. Choose the complete look. schots.com.au

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SH OP P I N G HOT PRODUCTS & SERVICES

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09 accidental spills will stay contained on the surface without ruining the carpet. Suitable for any type of contemporary space, these attractive tables will bring a touch of warmth home. buywoodfurniture.com.au

06/ YEAR-ROUND COMFORT Don’t let the weather get you down; whether hot or cold, relax in comfort in a well-insulated home. The Botanica Timber window and door series by Trend Windows combines the natural insulating properties of timber with energyefficient glazing options. The series includes 13 products with a bushfire rating up to Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) 29 for worry-free design.

Energy-efficient homes will save on the power bill, so your investment will take care of itself. trendwindows.com.au

yourself a bit of “me” time where you can soak up the light and relax. ihealthsaunas.com.au

08/ COSY COMFORT Mmm… what beats sitting by a fireplace in the heart of winter? It’s time to get comfortable with one fireplace in particular, the Morso Modern. Curves are trending in interiors, and this product is all across it. The large curved front window on the self-closing door, which slides into place with a soft click, alongside the double-glazed glass to the side, creates almost 360-degree views of the fire. Internal combustion technology uses pre-heated air to ensure a higher temperature in the firebox.

This process ensures almost all the flue gases are burnt for more environmentally friendly combustion and fuel economy. castworks.com.au

the natural fireside warmth, but this time without the mozzies. chemphilaust.com.au

09/ FEEL THE HEAT

10/ SHEER BEAUTY

Imagine capturing the warm ambience and crackling logs of a campfire and placing it in the comfort of your own home… well, that’s sort of what Cheminees Philippe did. The Radiante 846 4V is a spectacular, modern firebox that offers views and heat from all around. The refined silhouette is expertly made from 100 per cent pure cast iron with a large firebox for plenty of heat output and views. Enjoy

It’s like something out of a movie — billowing curtains fluttering in the gentle breeze inside a gorgeous home.

The gorgeous home is up to you, but you can enjoy the beauty of a sheer window covering with blinds.

Luxaflex’s Luminette privacy sheers offer a classy alternative to traditional curtains with the benefit of a blind’s control. A softly curved, vertical design with integrated fabric vanes makes this product ideal for expansive windows or sliding doors. luxaflex.com.au

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07/ SAUNA SAYS Hot off the press, iHealth Saunas now offers custom infrared sauna design and installation.

Transform your home into a pampering haven with a sauna that’s said to offer innumerable benefits, from helping reduce certain types of pain to aiding weight loss, better sleep, and improved fitness and recovery. Convert an old steam room or any type of room into an infrared sauna, tailored to your preferences of custom lighting, heaters, seats, fittings and more. Give

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SH OPPING HOT PRODUCTS & SERVICES

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13 The comfortable seating of the tub chair, laidback shape of the sofa and playful weaving used throughout the collection combine for eye-catching pieces. Leo combines a strong design with seating comfort, perfect for lazy summer afternoons. Sit back, relax, and let Leo do the rest! cotswoldfurniture.com.au/en

11/ AHEAD OF THE CURVE

14/ A TASTE OF MARRAKESH

It’s time to get creative in your garden.

FormBoss is the benchmark of strong, durable and flexible garden edging. Quick, easy to install and available throughout Australia, it creates professional results with clean, seamless lines. Established as the edging of choice in commercial and public spaces, FormBoss has now become a proven favourite in domestic garden design. Made local in Melbourne from high-quality Australian BlueScope steel, expect this hardy edging to stand the test of time. Ready-made threetiered planters and rings create an instant feature in any outdoor space and are perfect for growing your own kitchen garden. Big or small, FormBoss is an edging solution for all.

Design by Sustainable Garden Design Perth.

Photography Peta North. formboss.com.au

The enviable styles found in Marrakesh, Morocco, are renowned around the world. Designed to provide an interesting geometrical statement to enhance the entrance to a modern home, the Marrakesh door makes a playful addition. The contemporary feel to the door is created by the block window cut-outs and sleek bar handle. The Marrakesh door is a new addition to the all-red cedar door range by The Woodworkers, which also includes doors with operable panels for ventilation, barn doors, and a collection of standard and oversized Hamptons-inspired creations. woodworkers.com.au

12/ GET MORE FROM YOUR DOOR A front door can do more than kick your kerbside appeal up a notch. Your entrance door should maintain the indoor temperature to lower the energy bill, while also reducing noise. Think outside the box with double or triple glazing, barrier-free thresholds, automation, double rebates, seals and multipoint locking systems for superior security.

Paarhammer offers entrance doors in timber or low-maintenance aluminium, as well as a broad range of in-house designs and bespoke creations. Now you can choose a door that gives you more. paarhammer.com.au

13/ LOVE YOUR LEO Afternoon tea, a deliciously refreshing cocktail or even a relaxing lunch in the summer sun: the Leo lounge collection is fit for any occasion.

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15/ SLIDE INTO STYLE When you’re lucky enough to live in a climate with good weather, you make the most of it. With outdoor living popular year-round, homeowners are adding alfresco kitchens, fireplaces, contemporary furniture and even TVs to their external areas. Dowell’s alfresco doors allow a living room to flow invitingly to the outdoors. Sliding or bi-fold, these doors provide award-winning security, quality and protection so you can enjoy outdoor living in style. dowell.com.au

16/ SITTING FIRESIDE The latest brainchild of Real Flame, the Vektor fireplace has made a striking entrance to the market. Innovative edge-to-edge glass design cuts out the typical frame for a seamless integration into a range of design styles. Simple and clean natural gas fuel combines with the much-loved campfire-style flame pattern, in-log burners and an LED-powered glowing

ember bed for an all-round warming ambience. Keeping with its effective design, a cutting-edge flue system awards this fireplace an excellent star rating, while builtin remote Wi-Fi control gives you freedom to arrive at a warm home. If you’re ready to add some winter magic to your home, this luxurious fireside experience isn’t one to miss. realflame.com.au

Project The Callignee BushďŹ re House, Grand Designs Australia series 1, episode 1 Photography Rhiannon Slatter

Expert advice Get the low-down from industry professionals 188 Architecture 190 Building

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ABOVE & RIGHT The Callignee Bushfire House, Grand Designs Australia series 1, episode 1

ow that we’ve hit the roaring ’20s, where do we go from here in terms of relevant, cuttingedge design? Every generation needs a cause and “generation next” has a bloody good one. The cries to correct the balance between industrialisation, humanity and the planet will become louder, while individualism will become a dirty word.

Those who need to show off the “latest and greatest” — the shiny new gadget, trick or wow factor — will be considered soooo twenty-teen, and a new and increasing emphasis on designs that speak of a broader community-minded ethos will be applauded.

Being environmentally conscious over the next decade will become as obvious as “quit for life” was for smoking. Those of influence will scratch their heads at the shallowness of contemporary status symbols. Whether it be in the form of the latest iPhone or designer benchtop, these things just won’t matter.

Good design will engage not just the eye but other senses, including a sense of community, contributing to the holistic improvement of all. Sustainability in terms of extended family households and Indigenous sensibilities to landscape will be accepted and embedded as the norm.

The grand domestic masterpiece without substantial integration of energy conservation and generation will be mocked as greedy and self-indulgent. Instead, modest material choices, simple off-the-shelf items adorning sensible, appealing plans will be increasingly on trend. The rise of a “communal movement” will be valued as much as mid-century modernism is today.

A PERSPECTIVE CHANGE

A new decade Design principles for the 2020s WO R D S P E T E C O LQ U H O U N P H O T O G R A P H Y R H I A N N O N S L AT T E R

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Where does that leave individual expression and creativity? It would be considered designer heresy if one has to abide only by communal standards. But good design will always find a way of addressing current problems in a pleasing way. Perhaps the answer lies in homes that emphasise more about how they can contribute, and less on how they look.

Like statins are to lipstick in terms of health, sustainable design must be embraced over sensuous curves and shadow lines.

Passive design and open space around the

E X P E RT A DV I CE ARCHITECTURE

home must be the vernacular rather than elbowing your neighbours out of natural light.

The great designers of the 2020s will be those who speak clearly and passionately about how houses can reduce consumptive behaviour and contribute back to the grid in kind. Let these be the market indicators of value as opposed to the latest fittings and electronic fi xtures.

We are also heading towards a kitchen and bathroom revolution. These high-energyconsuming, waste- and garbage-generating rooms will be designed and engineered to make recycling easier. Magazines full of the latest “harvesting home” ideas will include communal kitchens and gardens in mediumand large-density communities.

THE FUTURE IS RESILIENT None of this is to say that individual expressionism becomes invalid. Each generation must stamp its own principles and aesthetic preferences. But perhaps this decade will increasingly place less emphasis on decadence and more on resilience. These changes must start in the home, before the revolution begins in the streets.

How can we wean ourselves off designer trophies and gadgets? Ultimately a successful space is a happy space. A happy space is a healthy space. A healthy space allows us to breathe clean fresh air. Clean fresh air requires choosing materials that are natural and sustainable. To be sustainable they must be built to last at least five generations. To stand the test of time they must offer a frame for renewal. Renewal means garden and outdoor space integrated and treasured in equal measure with the manmade parts of the home.

A century ago the Bauhaus introduced a design revolution based on the machine age.

Industrialisation offered order, consistency and reliability. The aesthetic of steel and glass translated to “less is more”. This interpretation needs to now be updated to include “less as individuals” and more on the holistic “collective”.

While individual brilliance must always be embraced, for the next decade let’s expand on the modernist theory of “form following function”, to include “sustainability before seduction” in how we design in the 2020s.

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s it because of the economy? Is it concern for the earth and our ecosystem?

Whatever the reason, small is in for new types of home design and building.

If it’s something you’ve been thinking about, you’re probably wondering, are there any real advantages to cramping yourself up in a small home design? More and more people are looking at living in smaller and smaller houses, and we’re not talking about their holiday home at the beach or simply a second abode.

Renewable energy and the environment are at the forefront of people’s minds, and as a result of this growing awareness, we’re seeing value in building smaller homes. It makes a lot of sense as houses and buildings are the biggest consumers of energy in the world today.

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SMALL HOME ADVANTAGES

01/ Award-winning small home project by Code Green. Photography Belinda Mason 02/ Award-winning “Art House One” by Kylie Mitchell from The Art House Factory. Photography ASA Photography 03/ Reflective surfaces international award-winning design by Code Green.

Photography Nick Wilson

small home REVOLUTION THE

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a movement. Perhaps more than a movement… can we call it a craze?

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They use less energy to operate. If you use less energy, you’re saving on monthly utility bills.

They also take a lot less energy to build. This is because there are fewer building materials and less pollution in the manufacturing process. The smaller footprint means more of the earth is left green and unharmed.

Small homes require far fewer building materials to construct and, as a result, will cost a lot less to build. Plus, cleaning and maintenance is easier and cheaper.

Designing a small home is a greater challenge for building designers but, if you want to leave a smaller carbon footprint, a small home design will do it.

Obviously a large family of five or six won’t want a small home design, but if you’re in a situation where you don’t need a lot of space, a smart, small home design utilising every square metre could be ideal. The secret is to not shortchange yourself out of space you may need.

You’ll get the most from a small house by using creative, professional residential designers. Your comfort and convenience should be satisfied so that you never resent missing that extra space. Just don’t build small for the sake of building small!

Award-winning building designer Kylie Mitchell specialises in sustainable compact home design — a great example is her awardwinning “Art House One”.

It’s not exactly a trick to build small — it’s all about clever design. It’s also not a matter of just shrinking everything down; rather, it’s about giving up things that aren’t as important to you any longer.

However, nothing is forever, so resale value remains a consideration. Can you, or your building designer, create a small home that still appeals to a wide audience of buyers when it comes time to sell? Is there a way to maximise

E X P E RT A DV I CE BUILDING

your benefits and still build a small home?

There is if you get the design right, in which case building a small home doesn’t mean it has to feel small.

CAN SMALL FEEL BIG? This is the conundrum facing those who choose to live in a small home. How can you make it feel spacious, or at least comfortable and efficient?

Again, the answer is in the design. An experienced, professional, residential building designer knows how to create a home in which to live and makes the most of every millimetre. While the final design is only limited by the imagination, there are hundreds of ways to add comfort and efficiency to a small home.

Listed below are some design ideas that will add to the feeling of space and make the home appear more spacious. Maximising space is the key to design:  Have at least one room that extends from one exterior wall to another.  Eliminate hallways if at all possible.  You can’t have too many windows to allow in natural light and provide views.  Higher ceilings will create the feeling of more space.  Multipurpose some of the rooms.  Create a flowing and open interior.  Use clever joinery ideas to hide elements such as a fold-out bed or table.  Consider your colour palette — lighter colours will make the area feel more spacious.  Consider your material choices — use reflective surfaces to bounce light and views.  Incorporate mirrors, as they’re a great way to provide the illusion of space.  Don’t overdo it with the furniture — a small house cannot survive clutter.  Make the most of the roof space by creating an attic — this will add value, as long as you create one that’s easily accessible.

TYPES TO CONSIDER Caravan parks You might, or might not, be surprised at the number of people opting to live like gypsies by relocating permanently to a caravan park. They can either buy or rent one of the permanent buildings there, or tow in their own caravan and lease an area long-term.

This is usually a conscious decision to live in a small home, or a decision based on financial necessity. This style of living is very cost-effective, although getting on with your neighbours at such close quarters is of paramount importance for peace and quiet.

Caravan parks have rules — that helps.

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Granny flats Despite the term “granny”, in many instances an extra building behind or to the side of an established house can be for the teenagers in the family or a working son or daughter who can’t afford to leave the nest (so it’s not always the mother-in-law living in one). A properly designed and built granny flat can be spacious and comfortable as well as providing an elderly occupant with a sense of independence rather than opting for a retirement home.

Small kit homes and advantages of using a kit home package Whether you choose to build a small home or opt for a packaged home, you still need to pick the materials and the contractors to hire in both cases. Benefits

of a small kit home include:  The designs are already done. You just choose the one that suits you best.  Lower labour costs with the alreadybuilt framing.  Everything is supplied when it comes to materials so you don’t waste time shopping.  Some kit home suppliers offer construction financing.  As a DIY project, a kit home is a great deal easier.

Join the movement and create the perfect home, office or getaway for yourself or a family member.

Chris Knierim is an international award-winning sustainable designer and renowned industry sustainable expert. codegreen.com.au

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Go inside some of Sydney’s most interesting contemporary residential architecture with our popular Residential Bus Tours.

The Peekaboo House designed by Carter Williamson was one of the residences we visited in our Residential Bus Tour in December 2018. The architect of each house explained their design concepts, shared interesting stories of the design and construction processes while showing us through the spaces.

Subscribe to our e-Newsletter on our website and be amongst WKH ÂżUVW WR NQRZ DERXW IXWXUH 5HVLGHQWLDO %XV 7RXUV

residential bus tours Photograph courtesy of Carter Williamson. Photographer: Brett Boardman

www.architecture.org.au

Photography Rhiannon Slatter

INDEX

Index Amber Tiles ..................................................................... 123 BJ Millar ...............................................................................78 Buywood Furniture........................................................27 Castworks..........................................................................45 CDK Stone............................................................................8 ComfortHeat....................................................................... 2 Cosentino ...............................................................148, 153 Cosh Living ..........................................................................4

Cotswold ...........................................................Back page Dowell .....................................................................................6 Faucet Strommen........................................................... 21 FormBoss......................................................................... 195 Gaggenau................................................................. 67, 154 Havwoods...........................................................................111 iHealth Saunas.................................................................. 12 Len Wallis Audio........................................................... 169 Liebherr.................................................................................17

Luxaflex............................................................................. 164 Paarhammer......................................................................37 Schots Restoration ........................................................10 Smart Joinery...................................................................54 Sonos......................................................................... 170, 173 The Woodworkers Co .................................................. 14 VideoPro ...........................................................................174 Wignells of Melbourne................................................ 91 Zip ........................................................................................160

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E XPERT ADVIC E ASK OUR ARCHITECT

Ask our architect

Q

Editor-at-large Peter Maddison answers your questions

A

Could you please advise what course of action my family should take installing a pool? We have three kids between the ages of six and 12. We’ve seen some beautiful pools on Grand Designs Australia but are wondering if a pool adds to a property’s value and which pool system works best. We’ve had a number of quotes from pool installers and the equipment and style of what’s available varies so much.

Tom, Sydney Your kids are the perfect age to appreciate a pool, but from my own personal experience, I wouldn’t rush to put one in.

My kids stopped swimming in our pool in their late teens and we now have a pool that is basically a water feature. If you do choose to have one, my top tips are to make it compact like a plunge pool so as to reduce the maintenance, repairs and cost of chemicals and water replenishment. I’d suggest placing the pool equipment in a soundproof enclosure as it’s noisy when running. Ensure the auto top-up of water comes from your water collection tank, not the mains. Do your homework on the installer. Once a pool is installed it’s very difficult to fix if there are problems. You can find advice from the Swimming Pool & Spa Association of Australia at spasa.com.au.

PS: Pools are great to look at and do have a calming effect, but then again so do trees.

PPS: How far from the beach are you?

Q

Hi, looking at the last series of GDA we were taken by the Rivett Man Cave, Canberra, (series 8, episode 7). Does this underground bunker house feel good to live in as it sure makes sense from an environmental point of view? My wife and I are thinking of “going to ground”. It seems that people are building more like this. Does this mean we don’t need an architect as there’s no visible building? I think the house in Canberra was around $650K. That would be affordable for us if it can be replicated in Melbourne at this price.

Hugh, Melbourne Underground houses, if conceived well, can be beautiful to live in, are very bushfire resistant and provide a sustainable lifestyle.

The owner of the Man Cave (Peter Bullen) is an engineer and his daughter (Belle) was a designer. Therefore they pretty well designed and managed their build themselves. Accordingly the construction cost was probably 20 per cent cheaper than if they engaged a builder to do it for them. This house is also compact, some 260sqm from memory. All this is saying that you can build cheaply if you have a year or two off work to manage it, and if you have the appropriate skill set. Otherwise that $650K can easily be more like $900K (+GST, professional fees, authority charges, furniture, landscaping, etc etc).

A

Q

How on earth can the next generation afford housing? Our kids, aged 26, 29 and 31, have no hope of owning their own home unless they live two hours out of town and commute daily. Is tiny housing the answer or should the government allow existing family home blocks to be occupied by multiple structures? That is, where front and backyards have homes built in them?

Lewisham Pod from Grand Designs Australia series 8, episode 5

Q&A — Need Peter ’s help?

Email your queries to homedesign@umco.com.au

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Joyce, Sydney Grand Designs Australia generally follows one-off substantial family homes, but not always. Check out series 8, episode 5, the Lewisham Pod house. Alice Hampton built a tiny transportable house of some 70sqm and plonked it on stilts on a steep block of land 20 minutes out of Hobart. My memory has this house at about $320K +GST. It’s really cool. There are solutions out there but it may mean changing lifestyles and locations. It’s certainly true that regulations should allow for more granny flat-style installations in the suburbs on traditional quarter-acre house blocks, though.

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