Modest and understated, the St Kilda home does everything a good home should, with just an added touch of indulgence.

The client’s brief was for a generous and simple home with a minimal footprint, allowing ample backyard space to relax in and grow vegetables.

The open plan kitchen, living and dining space features a double-height ceiling, which opens up the home and enhances the feeling of space. However, the void also serves a second purpose. The site’s orientation meant the living area faces south – less than ideal for achieving optimal sunlight. Modscape’s architects countered this challenge by specifying skylights as well as highlight windows, which work to open up the living space and allow ample natural light to enter the home throughout the day.

Upstairs, the home includes two bedrooms, a bathroom and the client’s must-have feature – an open-air clawfoot bathtub. On the balcony outside the master, the bath sits behind blackbutt timber battens, which provide privacy while also letting in light and air to achieve that glorious feeling of soaking outdoors.

Inside, blackbutt continues in the floorboards and considered joinery details, adding warmth and a sense of calm to the home. Bespoke timber shelving sits at the conclusion of the kitchen bench as well as the master cabinetry, softly delineating the spaces while adding light and open storage space. Black cabinetry ties in with the black oil-stained façade, which will, over time, become surrounded by an urban jungle, the dark timber popping against a curtain of greenery.

Having a flexible home that provides clever space to entertain in was also paramount to the brief. A wall-to-wall bench in the living space acts as shelving and storage, while also intelligently doubling as seating space for dinner parties, drinks and movie nights.

These thoughtful details combine with a simple material palette for a home that is inviting, comfortable and serves every need of the client and their growing family.

Project specifications

• Rough sawn silvertop ash with black WOCA finish – external cladding
• Colorbond custom orb matt finish (Monument) – external cladding
• Black powder coated window frame with thermally broken, low-e double-glazed glass
• Engineered blackbutt timber flooring throughout
• Matt black and blackbutt veneer joinery
• Caesarstone benchtops (Osprey)
• Bosch kitchen appliances
• Designer Doorware door hardware (Black Ace)
• Astra Walker bathroom fixtures (Matt Black)
• Concealed reverse cycle air-conditioning to bedrooms
• Hydronic heating throughout

Photography: Emily Bartlett