BOLD & BRIGHT
Wood, brass and a definitively vibrant colour scheme contribute to the creation of a house with strong textures, clear zones and a robustly graphic sensibility.
01 The long, linear kitchen reads as a series of parts thanks to block colour, screens and timber elements.
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For Sioux Clark, interior designer and co-founder of Multiplicity, colour carries emotional resonance and in that respect is a fitting articulation of architecture as a bespoke response to its clients. In the renovation of a 1940s red-brick house in Eaglemont, Victoria, the practice has used expressive colour to complement the plan and create a harmonious residence that is light, open to the garden and, above all, a joyous and vibrant expression of the family that lives there.
The house was formerly a hostel for patients and their families visiting the nearby hospital. Its plan pre-renovation was characterized by multiple bedrooms and corridors and was in need of significant internal replanning. The house was, however, large enough to accommodate all the living space that the new owners required, and so Multiplicity focused on breaking down what was the pervasive sense of enclosure, working interconnected living zones into the existing footprint.
The kitchen is, physically and figuratively, the centre of the house, and joinery is coloured a vivid lime to emphasize the space. Its linear arrangement connects to the corridor at the front of the house and extends along an elongated island to the living room at the rear. The clients wanted a “family-sized space” in which they and their two daughters could participate in the preparation and enjoyment of food. The island bench fosters this conviviality, enabling activity around it, and is elevated off the ground for visual continuity and to allay any feeling of confinement within the kitchen. Partial screens constructed from timber salvaged from the doors of the old house hide clutter without enclosing the space.
The laundry is located on the other side of the services wall of the kitchen. This move acknowledges the busyness of family life and enables easy circulation, while also providing much-needed storage space within the spine. Sliding doors in lime, orange and blue-purple enliven this otherwise functional area and allow it and the adjacent powder room to be divided as required.
The sense of conviviality that has shaped the layout of the kitchen has similarly informed the planning of the bathroom – a large room that permits different family members to be in the space concurrently. The clients wanted the bathroom to be a highlight of the renovation and it is certainly a memorable space: finishes are compositionally complex, with tiles in different sizes, patterns and colours paired with a batten timber screen and suspended brass vanity. The intricate patterns and colours of the tiles add a retro vibe that makes it hard to define when the tiles were laid – Sioux says she is careful to avoid anything that might be deemed “on trend” – and though the aesthetic is wholeheartedly individual, the bathroom achieves enduring qualities of light and space, with light refracting off different surfaces in subtle ways as the daylight changes.
Throughout the house, the colour scheme is brave, considered and thoroughly personal. Sioux jokes that the painter baulked when he lined up the paint trays, only to admire the composition when the work was finished. And though Sioux has a reputation for distinctive colour use, Multiplicity uses it interchangeably with strong materiality to give domestic spaces a strength, identity and undeniable vitality.
02 The kitchen is physically and figuratively the centre of the house, with a long bench that connects the bedrooms at the front of the house to the living and dining rooms at the rear.
03 The brave use of colour throughout the house projects vibrant personality.
04 The cooktop is partially screened from the opposite dining room, concealing mess and clutter where necessary without segregating the cook from the rest of the family.
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05 The client brief for a whimsical, light and bright bathroom has resulted in an expressive room that is rich in texture and reflective surfaces.
06 Large sliding doors allow the laundry, powder room and main bathroom to be segmented as required.
07 Contrasting tiles on the floor, walls and around the bath playfully obfuscate the distinction between old and new, implying that the space has been modified over time.
Architect Multiplicity
337 Brunswick Road Brunswick Vic 3056
+61 3 9388 0790 mob@multiplicity.com.au multiplicity.com.au
Project team
Tim O’Sullivan, Sioux Clark, Sarah Magennis, Ellen Kwek, Cimone McIntosh
Builder
Alphington Builders
Consultants
Joinery: Correct Cabinets Lighting: Richmond Lighting Kitchen products
Internal walls: Painted in Wattyl ‘Winter Sky’
Flooring: Existing timber floorboards with infill flooring to match
Joinery: Benchtops in recycled timber doors and reconstituted stone and stainless steel; 2-pac cupboard doors painted to match Wattyl ‘Limequat’; Polytec gloss white laminate; timber veneer; glass splashback painted to match Wattyl ‘Wild Mint’; acrylic sliders to appliance cabinet to match Wattyl ‘Wild Mint’ Sinks and tapware: Integrated stainless steel sink; Sussex Scala tapware in ‘Tumbled Brass’
Appliances: V-Zug Combi-steam oven; Qasair rangehood; reused Miele oven, Bosch dishwasher and Fisher and Paykel fridge Furniture: Custom day bed Bathroom products Internal walls: Candana Flaster wall tiles in greys and citrus; Archaic Chara tiles from Perini; Wattyl paint in ‘Winter Sky’ on walls and ceilings, ‘Lacquer Yellow’ within skylight shaft, ‘Bright Lime’ on sliding door and ‘Debonair’ on pivot door Flooring: Lantern tiles from Academy Tiles and Surfaces Joinery: Folded brass vanity over medium-density fibreboard; mirror-faced cabinet; plywood bench seat with steel frame
Lighting: Downlights and wall-mounted light from Richmond Lighting
Tapware and fittings: Sussex Scala tapware in ‘Tumbled Brass’ Sanitaryware: Caroma Vibe island bath, Quinn basin and Urbane toilets; Mizu push plug and waste; custom timber batten and glass shower enclosure; custom stainless steel towel rails