In Australia, and elsewhere, the entry is often singularly preoccupied with the view. Bang! No meandering, no surprise, everything is laid bare. For us, that approach lacks something deeper, more gestural. There’s something so intimate about zones within a house – they add soul.
In Australia, and elsewhere, the entry is often singularly preoccupied with the view. Bang! No meandering, no surprise, everything is laid bare. For us, that approach lacks something deeper, more gestural. There’s something so intimate about zones within a house – they add soul.
Upending the traditional idea of the entrance can be challenging for clients initially. Often it is a piece of art, a heritage detail, a handmade rug the clients have been involved in designing or a beautifully sculptural light that opens up the possibilities. In a grand Victorian home loaded with history, the entry threshold can be vast and overwhelming. For Brighton Homestead we worked with the original columns – an unexpected mix of Corinthian, Ionic and Doric. It felt as if, during its construction in the 1880s, the builder ran out of columns and went to a local supplier and brought back one of each style. Unique details like these add character, and our role is to work out how to best express that.
When we are working with four-metre ceilings, decorative moulds and impressive archways, we play with the proportions to scale down the volume and create intimacy. Softening the grandness with new materials in Brighton Homestead involved creating a hexagon floor mosaic that is charged with craft but not too loud – the obscured pixelated effect introduces a contemporary overlay.
During the design process, we explore many possibilities. You can’t develop intimacy or connection if the design just hits a single note. Without detail, there is no pause. The insertion of a new sculpted staircase introduces a strong architectural element, its solid marble steps just nudging into view. A herringbone pattern oak floor is sparingly detailed and quiet. Adding an artwork focuses attention and brings its own story, and a bespoke rug adds another layer of personality to the vignette and offers a hint of what’s to come.
Taking our cue from the intimacy created by the composition of electricity lines that hover over Melbourne’s tram tracks, we search for lights that temper the volume and add a beautiful sculptural element to the space. We often experiment with how lights are suspended, composing them in artful ways to create interesting shapes. In Albert Park House, we wanted to highlight the mezzanine and the soaring ceiling above it, so we traced the pitch of the roof with the cord of each pendant, turning it into an abstract geometric artwork.
Our understanding of sculpture definitely informs our interest in the power of form. The effect of injecting a contemporary light into a heritage fabric enriches the experience. We are drawn to innovative LED lights that have classical roots – when pared back to their purist design elements, their effect is powerful.
When the entrance to a space is considered and inviting, it feels like a warm embrace. Revealing an interior slowly allows you to move through the entry on a journey of discovery, gradually uncovering the evolving story of the home and the people who live there.