Period houses can be like a loose thread on a jumper – when you pull on it, the whole thing can start to unravel,” explains designer Chelsea Hing, whose eponymous design studio is based in Melbourne. It’s a common scenario in heritage homes, especially those that have been picked and prodded in a piecemeal fashion over their lifetimes – and this house in Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs was no exception.
When Chelsea began work on the double-storey corner block, the brief was for a renovated upstairs main suite and kitchen, but the home’s typical terrace layout had significant spatial shortcomings.
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“In renovating older homes, there’s only so much you can do. In this case, the floor had already been sanded back as many times as possible. As a designer you want to honour the client’s wishes, but as a professional you also know the limitations.”
“In between all the shiny new things there’s the realistic necessities such as pipe work, ceiling repairs and upgrading electricals. Once you touch part of a terrace it’s hard not to touch the rest.”
For this project, the scope of works increased to encompass most of the house. The clunky living room was reorganised, the interiors refreshed with new fixtures and fittings, and the rear kitchen, pantry and laundry demolished to increase the size of the footprint.
Yet for all its difficulties, the house equally presented immense opportunities. With the absence of shared party walls and an L-shaped garden instead of a typical backyard format, the corner block location proved to be a major asset both in terms of natural light and aspect.
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A professional couple with two children, the owners hadn’t touched the front study or dining room, leaving them perfectly intact. They had, however, made a structural change by opening up a wall between the dining and living room. While it made for an airy and seamless transition, the latter was disorganised and a little dated.
Chelsea modernised the space by removing the timber window frames and replacing them with black steel ones. She also introduced a new composition of plump furniture – a padded Arflex ‘Marenco’ sofa, a chubby ‘Le Bambole’ armchair and a pair of padded ‘Puffy’ armchairs.
The open-plan zone, also accessible through the rear entry, was a poky jigsaw of amenities that Chelsea managed to amplify by stretching the floor plan boundary-to-boundary, gaining space for an enlarged pantry, kitchen and laundry.
The split levels on the first floor were divided into dedicated wings: for the parents at the front and the children at the back. Added generosity in the adults’ area was created by converting a second bedroom into an attached walk-in robe and ensuite.
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Wrapped in rose-pink walls with its traditional mouldings beautifully preserved, a set of arched double doors were added to create an elegant sense of arrival. On the rear split-level landing, the children’s bedrooms were given a new bathroom pod and playroom with steel-framed windows, a dramatic addition Chelsea dreamed up with building designer Mat Elkan.
After the problematic footprint was addressed, Chelsea focused on expanding the couple’s established art collection, pushing the boundaries with edgy works from Petrina Hicks, a round indigo piece by Danie Mellor and a crimpled aluminium stool by Opinion Ciatti. “We wanted to do some unorthodox things like hang the tapestry on the wall, layer the space with sculptures, and include both vintage classics and new furniture,” says Chelsea.
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While the first floor has a more “poetic romanticism,” downstairs was intended to be more dominant, featuring a mix of “more boundary-pushing art with a touch of the avant-garde and a mix of modern pieces”. Indeed, the primary bedroom’s feminine treatment contrasts with the sleek kitchen’s glossy, spearmint-toned tiles, rich Predia marble and midnight-black stone with caramel veining.
“We wanted the ground floor to have a tough, contemporary feel that would support the client’s strong art collection and upstairs, to celebrate the classic bones of the room. Working with the client’s existing artworks also set the tone for the pink palette and mood of the interiors on this floor. There are definitely big personalities in this home.”
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Chelsea Hing: chelseahing.com.au;
Mat Elkan Design: matelkandesign.com.au;
Renata Fairhall Garden Designs: renatafairhall.com.au.
The Design Team
WriterCarli Philips
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