MELBOURNE
A reverence for natural materials and an open dialogue with the outdoors ties this neoteric home to the landscape.
Inspired by the enveloping landscape, this family home looks beyond suburbia with a connection to nature from every corner.
These pages, from left A fireplace in ‘Blue Roma’ quartzite from Corsi & Nicolai plays the leading role in a corner of this “urban retreat”. Supporting this stone feature is a B&B Italia ‘Le Bambole’ sofa and ottoman set and a bookshelf displaying a curated collection of vases, vessels and sculptures from Castorina & Co, Angelucci 20th Century and Modern Times. On the coffee table is a Japanese ikebana vase from Kazari + Ziguzagu. The rug is from Cadrys. Sheer curtains in Kvadrat ‘Zulu’ fabric bring lightness to the dark joinery and ceiling. Behind the ‘Tufty-Time’ sofa from Space hangs a large work, A Mind That Bends by Sepideh Ilsley, from Studio Gallery. The rug is from Cadrys. The concrete precast wall panels echo the home’s exterior shell. Natural light enters the home via ‘fractures’ in the form of skylights and spliced windows.
Our innate desire for connection materialises in many forms, as simple as an unspoken gesture, or in this case, as concrete as a family home. Once an empty corner block in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, today this truly singular post-modernist residence vibrates with an esoteric energy that connects its inhabitants to each other, to their loved ones and to the natural environment.
When the owners, a couple with two teenagers, engaged Seidler Group to design their new home, they insisted that the architecture shouldn’t conform to the local suburban vernacular and, secondly, that it should showcase timber. For architect Luke Seidler, their desire to diverge from the residential context emboldened a design that referenced Brighton’s iconic bayside surrounds instead. On a more holistic level, Luke says “the client was passionate about creating a destination rather than a home where escape, retreat, work and play is seamless”. This brief called for functional yet rarefied spaces that provided privacy and catered to large social gatherings just as effortlessly. “We wanted to make a bold, large-scale home feel intimate yet grand,” say Kylie Dorotic and Alicia McKimm, directors of Golden studio and the project’s interior designers.
Developing this landmark three-level home required spatial creativity and structural foresight. “The L-shaped ground plane offered space efficiency and maximised outdoor living, with the independent bedrooms on the upper floors directly influenced by orientation, sun movement, passive ventilation and privacy,” Luke says. The tactile, low-maintenance materials used for the exterior, including a concrete shell textured by wharf timber with charred pre-aged wood and timber-look aluminium, “capture the dynamic properties of nature” while the property’s orientation guided the floor plan. Every bathroom basks in morning light and the articulated outdoor area enjoys shelter from the afternoon sun thanks to the »
These pages, clockwise from left The living room stretches out into the pool area, “instantly expanding the home’s interior,” Luke says. Above this outdoor space is the home’s apex, the master bedroom, which he says is one of the most successful architectural features. “The master suite’s true-north orientation balances abundant light access to the pool area and shade from the afternoon sun.” In the distance, a perimeter of smoked brick and vegetation. Golden designed the custom shelving. An outdoor dining area paved with travertine features a ‘Tao’ table with ‘Contour’ and ‘Nodi’ chairs, all from Cosh Living. “The client had a landscape designer who we supported with choosing external finishes and furnishings. We selected the external paving and pool tiles,” Kylie and Alicia explain.
“We took a reductionist approach so that it feels special and stands out without being over-the-top or over-designed.”
« cantilevered bedroom above. Of the glazed thresholds that dissolve the barrier between the interiors and outdoors, Luke says the design aspired to connect with nature from every corner. “Retreat, not only from modernity and the man-made but within the home itself, is driven by our longing to reconnect with Australia’s abundant natural features,” he says. “This home aims to reinvigorate that relationship.”
It was up to Kylie and Alicia to channel those raw elements through the interior scheme. The client didn’t want plasterboard used so they softened and repurposed the external materials, such as concrete and charred black timber, internally. The bespoke result sparks a natural connectivity. “There are moments in the kitchen, living and family rooms where the interior and exterior spaces weave together,” they note. Incorporating finishes with an evocative presence also remedied the home’s vast scale. “It feels comfortable and inviting because the natural materials have warmth and texture, and the proportion of the rooms feels intimate while still being open and connected.”
A sense of flow moves through the curved transitional spaces, much like the way the architecture’s poetic form sculpts the breeze. Details such as the brass light fixtures are used to instill continuity while colour comes in short gusts. “We took a reductionist approach so that it feels special and stands out without being over-the-top or overdesigned,” Kylie and Alicia say of the harmonious composition. “If we used a beautiful natural stone as a design feature, then we balanced it out with places of calm. It’s OK to have blank walls and blank space.”
Entertaining is a vital part of the owners’ lifestyle and an essential feature of their home. “From day one, they spoke about having a bar in the kitchen on the main living floor, as well as a bar and lounge downstairs, which is the whole basement level,” Kylie and Alicia say of the clients’ vision. The layout creates “a sense of theatre” as the night unfurls. Entertaining begins around the pool and granite kitchen island before continuing downstairs in the lounge where palm tree wallpaper surrounds a translucent onyx bar and dancefloor. Just as the robust, patinated facade and the strong, sensorial interiors are a triumphant celebration of the landscape, this is another celebratory element, albeit one that calls for Champagne.
seidlergroup.com.au; designbygolden.com.au