LA DOLCE VITA
This Mediterranean-influenced property in Melbourne enables its owners to enjoy that holiday feeling every day.
Ast he most‘ European’ city in Australia it seems fitting that Melbourne is where this classic and refined house is situated. Designed 19 years ago by Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors for a couple with Italian heritage, the three-bedroom home is grand and elegant with significant traditional architectural detailing, yet is completely congruent with contemporary living.
Located on a wide, leafy street in an upmarket area of the city, the house occupies a plot that was subdivided in the area’s semi-rural days. When the owners, a pair of empty-n esters, bought the property, a modest 1960s residence occupied the site. They had a grander vision, however, and approached Rob to design a new house. It was to be a home to suit their lifestyle but also to serve as a comfortable and generous gathering place for visiting adult children and grandchildren.
The owners engaged Rob as they felt “he understood space and light within a home”. Rob, in turn, pays tribute to the owners, saying they have ‘real style’. “Clients are often very humble and don’t express all their desires but I knew the sort of home this couple would really enjoy, where they would feel comfortable and belong.”
The home’s Italianate influences reference the owners’ heritage, but Rob describes the house as “very Melbourne”, calling to mind places with a similar climate such as southern France and northern Italy.
With its pleasing symmetry and balance, the house, unfenced at the front, presents a very inviting face to the street. A gravellined forecourt, lined with clipped hedges and an avenue of lemon trees, leads to a deep, arched portico, complete with columns and framed in creepers. “This courtyard creates a sense of arrival and is also a very welcoming gesture for guests, providing protection from the rain and the sun,” says Rob.
Antique double doors for the entrance were sourced in Italy, and their extreme height called for the ceiling in the entrance to be arched, an alteration to the original plan. Their aged patina and generous proportions set the tone for the grandeur that prevails inside.
The layout is quite formal, with the ground-floor rooms opening off a central corridor. At the front of the house, there is a sitting room to one side and a study on the other, both overlooking the front garden. The floor plan opens up as you move along the corridor: expansive kitchen and dining space with the garden, pool and loggia beyond. This pivotal space is the very essence of European living, allowing the occupants to be close to nature while still being protected from the elements – the ideal indoor-outdoor experience. “It is reminiscent of many great loggias around the world such as the Palais-Royal in Paris and the multiple loggias in Bologna,” says Rob. “And it’s a really important element in the house, creating that feeling of immersion in the landscape.”
Testament to the owners’ love of gardening, the grounds – created with great flair by landscape designer Paul Bangay – are intrinsically linked to the house. “I think it’s one of Paul’s best gardens,” says Rob. “It’s structured but inventive. It anchors the home, gives it solidarity and a sense of belonging, and contributes to its peaceful nature.” Lemon trees are placed liberally around the garden, creating a distinctly Mediterranean ambience. Numerous steel-framed doors and windows draw the leafy views into the house.
The home’s restrained interiors palette is in keeping with the formal structure of the garden, with traditional furniture enhancing the elegantly proportioned rooms. While Rob was involved with the selection of furnishings, he gave the owner “a lot of space to express herself. She has really great style”, he says. Against the neutral backdrop of walls painted in