Let’s Hibernate
Well hello there June. You’ve crept up on us again. There’s a change in the air, and it’s definitely not to do with your cool nights and crispy morning starts. We hate to alarm you but we’ve armed ourselves with all things warm and fuzzy, and we’re not afraid to use them. Our Winter homes are ready for battle!
Make it Moody
STYLE TIP Colour is the most powerful tool in any home. Instead of putting up a fight against the looming gloom, embrace the shorter days by imbuing a darker colour palette and welcome in winter. A mighty art piece in your front entrance instantly starts the toasty feels!
The Entrance Edit
MARBLE X FRAME CONSOLE TABLE, BLACK
THROUGH MY EYES, LIMITED EDITION PRINT, MICHAEL BOND
WHITE PORCELAIN POT IN CELADON GLAZE INTERIOR, DEBBIE WEINMANN
YUMEMIRU, AMBER AMANDA DZIEDZIC
Raw colours and soft tones are perfect partners in your Winter home. Forgo the bright and white and instead favour the neutral and warmer palette. Fresh flowers follow suit – think richer foliage and bolder blooms. SHOP THE ENTRANCE EDIT >
Come Sit With Me
STYLE TIP We’re craving all things warm, so shuffle those pieces and bodies a little closer together – it’s time to get moving! Create that focal point for a cosier space with art pieces that feel intimate and snug.
The Living Edit
BETSY ARMCHAIR CREAM BOUCLE
MARGO AND PINOT NOIR AMBER KINGI
TERRACOTTA VESSEL 2 BULBS, AMBER KINGI
FOSSIL STUMP
The Living Edit
BANJO LUNE SOFA GUAVA
BUDDY CRYSTAL VASE RASPBERRY
ROSE PLAID DHURRIE
FILLING EMPTY SPACES #6 KRISTEN DANIELS
Don’t forget the warmth underfoot. A rug not only anchors your furniture, the added layer also makes you feel good from your toes up! SHOP THE LIVING EDIT >
Let That Light In
STYLE TIP We’re naturally drawn to the sun. Like your living spaces, your dining room too needs a good old flex of the styling muscle to capture the best the season has to offer. Find somewhere to sit that makes you feel good and you’ll never feel that Winter chill!
The Dining Edit
LEATHER STRAPPING DINING CHAIR, TEAK & NATURAL
WOODROW ROUND MARBLE DINING TABLE, WHITE
ROSES KRISTEN DANIELS
WAVED VASE, WHITE DEBBIE WEINMANN
The Dining Edit
TWO TONE BENT VESSEL AMBER KINGI
IBIZA BOHEMIA BY MAYA BOYD
FLAT LEATHER DINING CHAIR TEAK & NATURAL
RAW VESSEL WITH PINK PATTERNS, AMBER KINGI
Best things for your table top you ask? Natural materials, organic shapes and foraged garden favourites are our top picks. SHOP THE DINING EDIT >
Snug Starts Here
STYLE TIP Your kitchen is the heart of the home so there’s no better place to connect in the cooler months. Keep your tones cohesive and beautiful to create a sense of flow from room to room.
The Kitchen Edit
OVAL NATURAL RATTAN BAR CART
JOSIE AMBER KINGI
BUDDY CRYSTAL VASE AMBER
RIPE PERSIMMONS ON INDIAN CLOTH, MELANIE VUGICH
The Kitchen Edit
FLAT LEATHER BAR STOOL, TEAK & NATURAL
TRAVERTINE SANDY BOWL
GREEN AND BLACK RAW VESSEL, AMBER KINGI
A YEAR OF SIMPLE FAMILY FOOD, JULIA BUSUTTIL NISHIMURA
This is the friends’ zone so make it comfy for the days and nights of entertaining. Our leather bar stools will maintain both the comfort levels and party vibes! SHOP THE KITCHEN EDIT >
Hello Early Nights
STYLE TIP Forget the age-old message of less is more, when we hit a Melbourne winter; more is definitely more. Out with crisp and fresh linens, we’re heading to the land where soft reigns supreme!
The Master Bedroom Edit
LILLIES FRAMED LIMITED EDITION PRINT, JAI VASICEK
JAI VASICEK LA DOLCE VITA RECTANGLE HENNA SKIN CUSHION
RECTANGLE WOODROW SIDE TABLE, WHITE MARBLE
TED ARMCHAIR VELVET PINK
That occasional chair takes on a new level of importance as we gravitate towards the sun. Make a new spot for reading, for resting, and for warming the bones. SHOP THE BEDROOM EDIT >
Sleep Overs Wanted
STYLE TIP Offering that hotel experience to your guest bedroom will surely earn you friendship brownie points. We feel most secure in soft pools of light so ramp up the love with our beautiful throws and quilts and get your cosy on.
The Guest Bedroom Edit
WAVEY BEDHEAD, NOSTALGIC
DARREN WHITE VERGE
MINI MULTI TRIANGLE ZULTA CUSHION
BEDOUIN QUARTZ BLUE WOOL THROW
The addition of an upholstered bedhead will ensure that sleep ins are permanently on the weekend agenda. Fabric bedheads make you feel warmer, more snug and also give a space that added wow factor. SHOP THE BEDROOM EDIT >
Vitamin D Please
STYLE TIP Same rule applies here folks, so follow that sunshine outdoors too. Forget the need for shade, leave that for the Summer months – instead embrace Winter’s fleeting pockets of warmth by bask in the sun at every opportunity.
The Outdoor Edit
BREEZE CHAIR WHITE
BASIL BANGS OUTDOOR CUSHION, DAYDREAM
MAYA LOUNGE CHAIR GOLDEN YELLOW
MALIBU DINING TABLE WHITE
We love nothing more than creating little pops of colour in our outdoor spots. Though that pool may not be getting its usual workout, Winter doesn’t mean you have to retire backyard fun. Give us the best you’ve got Winter – we’re ready for you! SHOP THE OUTDOOR EDIT >
A Beautiful Update to a 1920’s Edwardian Home
Owner and renovation enthusiast, Yolanda Aarons, could hardly believe it when she came across a generous 650sqm parcel of land with a north facing rear in a little pocket of Northcote, called the Rucker’s Hill precinct back in 2018. The site immediately gave her tingles, because not only did it offers up city skyline views, it had a private park adjoining the rear. Join us as Yolanda shares her renovation journey on this beautiful home.
What original features did you retain with the renovation? Unfortunately, the house had fallen into a state of disrepair after decades of neglect and certainly should have been earmarked for demolition. However, once we began the strip out the house, we unearthed details that had been hidden for years, including photos, old newspapers, original period features and the original façade and weatherboard shell. Demolition was put on hold and in consultation with the architect we made the unanimous decision to undertake a full restoration of a beautiful but barely recognisable 1920’s Edwardian hidden beneath an unfortunate, but typical, 1980’s mission brown renovation. Clarke street itself is a name synonymous with prestige and old money, with an abundance of heritage listed properties. This particular house sits proud on the site, with a strikingly large and thus unique single gable, unlike any other I’ve seen in the street or even the suburb. One by one the old wire cut mission brown bricks were removed, to reveal the original rough cast render which has since been restored based upon historical photos obtained through council and state library archives, ancestry and local photographer Mr. David Wadelton. Walking through the original front section of the house, it’s proportions and soaring 3.3m ceilings are grand, and in fact one of the reasons we wanted to restore the house because you just don’t often see these heights in residential homes anymore. We retained and repurposed all of the rooms of the original house. Instead of the two bedrooms, two living spaces and tiny kitchen and bathroom that existed in this section when we purchased it, you will now find the master bedroom, complete with original ornamental fireplace, adjoining ensuite and full height custom curved joinery in the walk-in robe. On the other side of the hallway are the laundry and two other bedrooms along with a traditional main bathroom with an internal light court that provides light to the bathroom, ensuite and butler’s pantry also. I did feel a tinge of sadness saying goodbye to the original flocked wallpaper, which was replaced with sage greens and earthy white walls, but someday maybe I’ll be brave enough to conquer my wallpaper fears!
What were the biggest challenges in this project? There were challenges aplenty during the course of the renovation! The land itself has a significant gradient of 5m of fall from front to back, which I knew would have implications both with respect to design and construction costs. But I often find the greatest risks often garner the greatest rewards, so I am partial to taking up a challenge rather than passing on one. What we ended up with is a stunning terraced design, where old meets new style home with a total of 4 bedrooms, three bathrooms and a large open plan living/dining/kitchen that connected seamlessly to the pool, undercover alfresco and garden But we bought the house knowing all of those things. What we didn’t count on, along with all the other people who were building last year, we were severely impacted by a global pandemic. We encountered reduced workforce numbers, unavailability of labour, travel restrictions, delayed and cancelled orders, paucity of stock and materials, not to mention numerous shutdowns. But although this stretched budgets and timelines, it only strengthened my resolve to get to the finish line. In actual fact it made me appreciate the final outcome all the more. It brought the team and our family closer together, because nothing strengthens the sense of camaraderie quite like adversity. If you could just pick one favourite element of your home what would it be? Picking my favourite element of the house is like being asked to nominate your most loved child. Even if you do have one, you should never say it out loud! What I can say is that nothing beat the feeling of arriving home each day. The garage is flanked by a side entryway of timber battens and double steel doors that lead directly into the large open plan living/kitchen/dining area. Immediately your eyes are drawn downwards to the warm ivory coloured quartz/river pebble concrete slab that has been seeded with shell grit and sage green glass to give it all the masculinity of a polished concrete floor, but with a feminine aesthetic you don’t often achieve with polished concrete. That coupled with numerous solid brass inlays within the concrete, truly make this space a one of a kind.
Moving into the kitchen, people are taken aback by the curved top marble island bench, which again has a brass shadowline detail, echoed throughout the joinery. I often tell people that if the heart of the home is the kitchen island bench, then the staircase of this house would definitely have to be the soul. Serving as a room divider between the second entry and the living area, the folded steel stairs have been designed with a hidden stringer that’s structure is concealed within the wall and beyond the landing, so it appears to ‘float’ in midair. Ironically, despite it being suspended, it weighs just over half a tonne, so not something often seen in residential homes. This dining area has a triple height void, to create a sense of volume, which overlooks a unique triangular shaped in ground pool to mirror the angles of the architecture. It’s quite dramatic and a site to behold, and especially enjoy that we can still connect with the kids as they hang out in the mezzanine living area upstairs. Project @123_clarke | Architect Bellemo & Cat Builder Belarte Building @belartebuilding
Before the Renovations
More before & after over on our blog post here>