attracted much attention, both locally and overseas THE GREAT DIVIDE Separate spaces for living and entertaining

the great divide

This revived modernist home in Perth has entirely separate private and social spaces so the owners can party like it’s 1960 without waking the kids

cheat sheet

Who lives here Carly and Chez, who are hospitality vendors; and their baby daughter Cleo, six months. Style of home A three-bedroom 1960s house in Perth’s City Beach that’s been stripped back and reworked within its existing footprint. The couple bought the house in 2017 and design documentation began in mid-2018. Construction commenced in August 2019 and they had moved back in by April 2020.

FAMILY ROOM (above) Sculptural Alhambra travertine plinths designed by DenHolm conceal the build-up for the basement stairs below. Bordered with ceramic finger tiles from Original Ceramics, they work as platforms for displaying art pieces. Built-in sofa and coffee table, Ohlo Studio. Fogia ‘Bollo’ armchair, Loam. Glass pendant, vintage. Rug, Artisan Rugs. Ceramic objects (on plinth) by Emma Lindegaard and Peter Milligan. Mosman Bay artwork by Merrick Belyea. EXTERIOR (opposite) The home has been refreshed from front to back. It’s comprised of two wings separated by the wide central corridor seen here.

Young Perth couple Carly and Chez knew they were onto a winner the moment they stumbled upon this 1960s home in City Beach. A residential suburb with contemporary dwellings, it was once flush with mid-century buildings designed specifically to house athletes participating in the 1962 Commonwealth Games, held nearby.

“Most of the modernist family homes in the area have been knocked down since then, which is a shame, so we were lucky to have found it,” says Chez. “The land value was much more than what we anticipated, but we couldn’t let the opportunity [to renovate] pass. The house had such great potential.”

The couple’s dream, for themselves and daughter Cleo, was to live by the beach, and they loved the strong sense of community in the street of just nine houses. The city is only 20 minutes’ drive, but feels like a million miles away. “There’s a large Norfolk pine out the front and big eucalyptus trees all around us,” says Carly. “We often wake to bird calls and it’s pretty special falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves.”

However, the house was in disarray and not fit for them to move in straightaway, so they engaged Ohlo Studio’s Jen Lowe, who’d previously worked on a project with them. The environment that Carly and Chez loved resonated with interior designer Jen, especially the surrounding sand dunes, which served as inspiration for the interiors. “We wanted to create a material and colour palette that riffed on the expansive, sun-bleached West Australian landscape,” she says, citing the ivory-hued travertine flooring and sheer linen curtains. The restrained scheme was enhanced by sapele veneer in the kitchen and rich jarrah in the bedroom, both a nod to the home’s past.

Carly and Chez wanted to retain the mid-century feel of the place, but were realistic about making the changes necessary for modern living. Jen and architect Simon Pendal worked on a clever response that involved creating sculptural design features to hide the new amenities. Because of the home’s age, there was no roof cavity for ducted air-conditioning, so they lowered and scooped the ceiling to make room for integrated cooling. In the living space is a new two-tiered plinth that looks decorative but actually serves to conceal the top of the basement stairs underneath. “We took opportunities to create non-intrusive sculptural features that add to the character of the house without exposing their true purpose,” says Jen.

Working within the existing footprint, the interiors were gutted and most of the windows and exterior doors replaced. A faded concrete path was designed to dissect the home’s

ENTRY (top) The stairs to the living area were reshaped with rounded edges. Taco door pulls, Rowsaan. Photograph (in background) by Traianos Pakioufakis. LIVING AREA (left) An artwork by Jay Staples and Stephen Brameld draws the eye. Wobbly side table, Remington Matters. KITCHEN/DINING (opposite) “The cleverly designed kitchen makes cooking a joy,” says owner Carly. Sapele timber-veneer joinery, Worldwide Timber Traders. Punt ‘Maeda’ dining table, Cassina ‘Back-Wing’ chairs, Fritz Hansen ‘Dot’ stool and Santa & Cole ‘Tekiò’ pendant light, all Mobilia. Hay ‘Soft Edge’ bar stools, Cult.

good news

Architect Simon Pendal extended the northern edge of the home’s roof by 500mm, to properly shade the building and windows. It’s also been heavily insulated (in excess of code) to improve the thermal performance.

The colour palette reflects the blue skies, pale yellow sand and rich red timbers of the WA landscape

“We stayed true to the design era without being too retrospective and created something that could work in with the clients’ lifestyle”

JEN LOWE, INTERIOR DESIGNER

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1 Entry 2 Verandah 3 Living area 4 Dining area 5 Kitchen 6 Family room 7 Bedroom 8 Bedroom 9 Main bedroom 10 Walk-in wardrobe 11 Ensuite 12 Laundry 13 Bathroom 14 Bathroom 15 Rotunda

east-west divide, starting at the front letterbox and navigating all the way through the central spine, emerging on the other side of the property near the rear garden’s rotunda. “The original layout hasn’t been tampered with too much,” says Carly. “If you divide the house down the middle, the living area is in the west wing and the bedrooms are in the east, so we can easily entertain after putting Cleo down to sleep and shutting off the bedroom side.”

The kitchen was formerly in the centre of the house and walled off the two living areas. As big entertainers and serious cooks, the couple found this harsh separation didn’t work for them. They wanted a more seamless relationship between the spaces. To overcome this, Jen created a ‘floating kitchen, which “gently carved out the two distinct living areas without compromising the view or creating a disconnect”. This means that from the island bench, Carly and Chez can interact with guests in the living area and kids in the family room at the same time. They also have a line of sight through to their outdoor kitchen, where the real fun began.

After improving the ambience for entertaining (by removing downlights - except for a few spots on the workbench - and adopting lighting with an ambient glow, as well as hooking up a sound system), they got to work choosing their appliances. The industry professionals chose a Bora down-draft rangehood, an induction cooktop, double ovens and a Hibachi grill.

“Chez loves being out the back working with the charcoal pit or the gas barbecue,” says Carly. “We are always thinking of people to have over so we can cook.” Ohlo Studio is at ohlostudio.com. Simon Pendal is at simonpendal.com. Building work by Rossbrook Construction; rossbrookconstruction.com. Soft landscaping by Steven Postmus of CAPA; carrierandpostmus.com

DINING (right) The Alhambra travertine used for the family-room plinth appears on much of the flooring, and the bench seat is edged in the same ceramic finger tiles. Anton Mini wall lamp, Volker Haug. LIVING (opposite) Design classics from the early 1960s include the vintage Fler ‘Narvik’ armchairs, a Cassina ‘Rio’ table from Mobilia and a vintage glass pendant light by Aloys Gangkofner for Peill & Pulitzer. Custom sofa by Ohlo Studio. Mattiazzi ‘Cugino’ side table, District. Minotti ‘Jacques’ green ottoman, Dedece. Gubi ‘9602’ floor lamp, designFARM. The walls throughout are Dulux Fair Bianca Quarter. All the window glass is low-emissivity (low-e) to reduce the intensity of UV rays and heat.

LESSONS LEARNT “Building checks are vital so don’t forget about them”

JEN LOWE, INTERIOR DESIGNER When Carly and Chez bought the house, it was in much worse condition than they thought. There were a number of unexpected costs, due to issues that could have been minimised with more thorough building checks from the outset. “Damp, in particular, was a surprise as it wasn’t picked up in a condition review,” says Jen. “Later down the track, when the winter set in, plasterwork in the main bedroom had to be removed. The walls had to be injected and dried out before it could be redone.”

BATHROOM (left) “Marmorino plaster walls in a custom blue create a moody and lightly playful effect,” says interior designer Jen. Vase, Peter Milligan. EXTERIOR (below) Architect Simon Pendal recommended fitting some of the main windows with secure ventilation panels, allowing the house to be safely left open at night for breezes to sweep through. Hay ‘Palissade’ low chair, Cult. MAIN BEDROOM (opposite) The custom unit nods to the modernist origins of the house; it was made from jarrah, with a dark brown stain to pull out some of the warmth. La Chance ‘Lalou’ mirror, Living Edge. Fontana Arte ‘IO’ wall lamp, Radiant Lighting. Oluce ‘La Sixty’ wall sconce, District. In Bed linen, Loam. Curtains made with Designs Of The Time ‘Adahy’ sheer fabric from James Dunlop Textiles. Photograph by Ben Hosking.

GREAT FINDS

CLOCKWISE (from above left) Gubi ‘9602’ floor lamp by Paavo Tynell, $1650, Cult. Juliette velvet ottoman in Emerald, $119, Life Interiors. Copse II oil-on-board artwork by Merrick Belyea (27cm x 61cm), $2000, Art Collective WA. Agra wool rug in Marlin (240cm x 300cm), from $4500, Armadillo. Colle PVC pendant light, $299, Freedom. Mattiazzi ‘Cugino’ oak stool by Konstantin Grcic, $745, District. Ferm Living ‘True’ striped cushion in Sugar Kelp/Black (60cm x 40cm), $119, Designstuff. Etro luxe velvet cushion in Storm (60cm x 60cm), $99.99, Living By Design. Fogia ‘Bollo’ leather chair, $4770, Fred International. Cassina ‘Rio’ low table by Charlotte Perriand, $17,820, Mobilia. Transporteuse vessel, $445, Lindegaard Studio. Round porcelain vase in Milk (22cm), $154, Mud Australia.