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Where Architects Live | Rosa Coy & George Yiontis
Where Architects Live | Rosa Coy & George Yiontis
WORDS Gabrielle Williams | DESIGN Coy Yiontis Architects | PHOTOGRAPHY Nicole England | STYLING Swee Lim
The Bend-Sofa by Patricia Urquiola. Large artwork by Rachel Coad, smaller work by Helen Kennedy.
Living in Paris fundamentally changes you. The way you dress. The way you live. And for Rosa Coy and George Yiontis, the husband-and-wife team behind Coy Yiontis; the way you design.
A reclaimed conference table and Thomas dining chairs by Metrica for SP01. Art by Helen Kennedy.
Years spent working with some of the most influential architects in Europe gave the team at Coy Yiontis the lived-experience of how to instil their refined design aesthetic into very limited space. The tall ceilings, the long, elegant windows, the luminous airiness that we all associate with a Parisian pied-a-terre are signatures they brought back with them to Australia. But their antipodean upbringing also infuses all of their designs, with sustainably-sourced native timbers a key element of their signature look.
When it came to designing their own home, that European apartment-living sensibility became essential, as the timber workman’s cottage that caught their eye was big on potential but very short on space.
The hallway links the original front of the house with the modern, architectural rear. The natural river limestone flooring guarantees a warmth that is only enhanced when the eastern morning light streams in. The full-length banquette is a favourite hang-out spot for the kids.
The home constantly has to work double-duty to accommodate this big family. A delineation between public and private spaces gives everyone their own as well as the freedom to have friends around without impacting on other members of the family. Fresh thinking is the hallmark; where space is reclaimed by the occupants, rather than being wasted in the provision of rarely used hallways. Traditionally sized rooms are either halved or enlarged, depending on the duty that is required of them.
In the living space, the two-sided fireplace is a signature Coy Yiontis detail. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves store their extensive library of books. A drop-down media system brings the entire family and friends in for movie nights, curling up on the BEND sofa by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia.
Convention has been turned on its head in Rosa and George’s home. It’s an extraordinary design feat that is grand and intimate all at the same time. As the French would say, ‘Grande et petite, et très très intelligente.’
A two-storey spotted gum timber-clad extension was designed in response to restrictive planning constraints. The exterior greets the visitor who walks down the sideway to the front entrance housed at the back.
Elba marble adds to the expansive feeling of light and airiness in the parents’ ensuite.
The master bedroom features angled walls and a spherical skylight.
