Sarah Kennedy, interior designer and principal of Edward St, says the challenge of any ‘mullet’ style 1800s home extension is how to transition between old and new.
There are two popular approaches: create a distinctly contemporary addition that sits in contrast to the original house, or try and replicate features with a faux period extension.
This newly extended double-fronted Victorian in Melbourne’s Surrey Hills sits somewhere in the middle.
The architecture shares a similar palette and elegant form to the original house, but is more relaxed and horizontally expansive compared to the formality and verticality of the front rooms.
‘The interior decisions for both halves, through palette and form, were anchored in restraint and a light touch,’ says Sarah.
‘I kept a consistent palette through the home to give visual cohesion between old and new… cool toned white walls, whitewashed wide plank floorboards, super white marble, arabescato vagli [marble], oat loop pile carpets, and light timber veneer.
‘The intent was to provide an ethereal and subtle backdrop that felt harmonious between Victorian and contemporary.’
The clients’ main practical request was for a more expansive and relaxing home.
To achieve this, the designers took inspiration from Japanese spas and onsens, drawing on their clean lines, authentic and tactile materiality, expansive views and lightness of touch to create a calming and generous home.
‘I imagined the family coming home from work or school and stripping off layers as they journeyed from the formal, symmetrical and ornamental Victorian frontage, through the steel doors, and stepping down into the serene and expansive extension,’ Sarah says.
‘Joinery was to be simple and subtle, allowing breathing room to add personality through the layering of textiles and handmade wabi sabi ceramics.’
Floor-to-ceiling glazing along the north and west faces adds to the feeling of spaciousness, and connections to nature.
Sarah describes the clients as an ‘absolute dream’, which is now reflected in their family home.
She adds, ‘I am excited to see how the house settles and evolves with them over this next chapter of their lives.’
