By Beatrix Rowe
Reimagining a 1960s gem.
Location: Caulfield, VICTORIA
Builder: LBA Construction
Architects: Taylor Reynolds
Landscape: Mud Office
Photography: Sharyn Cairns
A 1960s Caulfield house with good bones and a beautiful sense of scale is injected with contemporary sophistication. Central to the transformation of this house is a rethinking of the interior zones; a reorientation of the house allows for a new relationship to light and spaciousness.
The interior features solid and veneered American oak, beautifully-veined granite and textured Japanese tiles; and a calming yet rich palette. Together timber, tiles, stone and white steel doors bring a new interior language to the home. Joinery adds to the level of sophistication and understated surprise. In the kitchen, an expansive granite bench is centred between feature oak joinery, a detail of the leg joint is inset to the stone slab. A library, making use of an unused antechamber, receives a custom shelving unit for displaying books and treasures; and the family room a striking feature cabinet with woven door detail.
The interior also caters for the owners’ need for quiet, comfortable places to watch films. The resulting enclosed room with internal curtains ensures the clients have the exacting light control they need. A bespoke television unit, including oak doors, conceals the widescreen when not in use.
The minimal aesthetic is carefully updated; matt white tapware complements the boldness of large swathes of granite; the addition of signature furniture and contemporary fine art expresses an eternal faith in modernism.
Shortlisted for IDEA awards
Read more on this project in Australian Design Review
Read more on this project on Inside magazine
We are a Melbourne-based interior design studio. We design authentic, contemporary interior spaces that respond to place, function, light and form. We are inquisitive, understated and considered in our design approach. We remain a consciously boutique interior design practice that values personal involvement and oversight of all projects.
We love to know, interpret and understand our Clients’ living and working patterns. We use the power of design to solve problems and through our design approach, find better ways to live, work and connect. We carefully think through the way people really like to live, behind closed doors; and how to work optimally in retail, hospitality and other commercial spaces.
We are rigorous and pay great attention to every detail of the spaces being created – the natural materials selected, the custom detailing, the relationship to light and the needs of people who will inhabit the spaces. We value beauty and longevity.
We love custom features, carefully curated natural materials and inspired furniture, art and objects. We believe aesthetics and functionality should work hand in hand. We are detail driven and value well executed solutions to create a cohesive space.
We bring to each project more than 25 years’ experience across materials, furniture, art and interior possibilities as well as space planning, construction knowledge and design thinking expertise. We are collaborative. We draw upon a vast network of local contacts to build and craft our interiors and bring our projects to life.
The product design arm of BEATRIX ROWE is a natural extension of the studio’s work and values. We design and produce mirrors, furniture and sculptures, teaming up with Australian makers.
(Interiors) office@beatrixrowe.com.au
(Products) products@beatrixrowe.com.au
(General) office@beatrixrowe.com.au