Fawkner Street Residence, South Yarra

This Victorian double fronted terrace had been renovated a number of times over its life and hence developed a confusion of styles in its aesthetic. Our approach was to stripped back the layers and added a new extension with a verdant landscaped garden to create a unified design.

Designed for a couple, the house doesn’t require separation between the public areas and private. Instead, it consists of two living zones, primary and secondary, delineated by details and ceiling treatments – creating a separation between period and modern.

With all the layers stripped back, the period details are restored with custom-designed round plaster cornices and rounded double-opening doorways.

In the new kitchen, the modernity is created with clean lines and sharp details. The painted timber lined ceiling gives the impression of a floating platform. Floor-to ceiling windows on two sides of the room provide a connection with the outdoor entertaining areas. A lush garden surrounds the house with meandering path leading to a bath house and steam room occupying the reclaimed rear laneway.

The use of the dark black-brown stained timber floors and a polished steel column complements the client’s taste for classic furniture from the height of International Modernism including Eames dining chairs, Le Corbusier armchair and Eileen Gray side table. It also creates a seamless transition between the old and the new. Whilst the details and contrasts are clearly evident, the entire space reads as one.