A coastal-Scandi aesthetic elevates this modern terrace home to new heights
For much of the five years Sarah and Paul were renting in a sought-after suburb in Sydney’s east, they looked longingly at the near-derelict house over the road and dreamt of what they would do with it, if given the opportunity. Fortunately, they were in a position to buy when it came on the market in 2020 and quickly snapped it up.
“It was the worst house on the street – a total knockdown,” says Paul. “But that gave us the chance to design and build a house to suit our family perfectly, both in terms of our immediate needs and how we would like to live as the kids grow up.”
Eames lounge chair, ottoman and turned stool. Arco lamp, Flos. Braid rug, Armadillo. Amalfi Forever print by Stuart Cantor.
Paul, who works in construction, reached out to an old friend, architect Alex Porebski, for help creating the sophisticated forever home that he and Sarah envisaged for themselves and their children, Sophia, now 13, and George, 11.
The couple, both well versed in all things design, were clear from the outset that they weren’t after the coastal-Scandi look so common in Sydney homes today. “We’re drawn to minimalist, Modernist architecture, where warmth is added with darker veneers, rugs and simple, decorative elements,” says Sarah.
Armchairs, Poliform. EOOS Tama Living sofa, Walter Knoll. Missoni Home cushions, Spence & Lyda. Society Limonta throw, Ondene. Walter Knoll Oki coffee table, Living Edge. Hew Style A and B side tables, Herman Miller. Afghan Nomadic Terrazzo rug, Cadrys. Pavlova terrazzo floor tiles, Fibonacci. Stained American oak veneer on joinery, Briggs Veneers. Infinity quartzite on joinery, WK Stone.
Island benchtop in Calacutta Oro marble, and rear benchtop and splashback in Infinity quartzite, both WK Stone. Custom brass rangehood with Ilve internal. Cooktop, Ilve. Zip HydroTap G4 Celsius, Zip Water. Tom Dixon pestle and mortar, Living Edge. Carl Hansen & Søn ‘CH56/58’ stools, Cult. Dining Eames dining table base with a bespoke American Oak joinery top. Walter Knoll Liz wood dining chairs, Living Edge. Abacus pendant, Christopher Boots. Ceiling in whitewashed timber battens on black plywood.
We wanted an inviting, free-flowing home with high ceilings that felt comfortable from the moment you stepped inside. As the house doesn’t really have views, we also wanted a seamless connection with the garden, and to make a feature of the pool by visually drawing it into the living space,” she says.
Alex came up with a design that optimised the fairly compact and narrow 10-metre-wide block, with an L-shaped open-plan living/kitchen/dining area downstairs, and three generous bedrooms upstairs. “The block is on an east-west axis with the rear facing west, so our biggest challenge was capturing northern light,” he says.
“We overcame this by designing the home as single-width rooms that receive light from all sides through generous glazing and skylights.”
Staircase in Stained American oak. Tom Dixon ‘Melt’ round chandelier, Living Edge.
From the entry, you can see through to the swimming pool. The house follows the topography of the site, stepping down into the open-plan kitchen/living/dining and out to the pool and garden. ‘Duell’ wall lights, Modular Lighting Instruments. ‘Herman Miller Nelson’ platform bench, Living Edge.
Positioning the swimming pool along the home’s northern boundary, so it continues seamlessly from the entry hall, makes it the focus from the moment the front door is opened, while also boosting the amount of light in the house. “In the daytime, the beautiful blues of the mosaic tiles are drawn inside, while at night, with the pool lights on, the effect is quite magical,” says Alex.
Outside, a rich and robust materials palette of off-form concrete, timber cladding and copper delivers the timeless and characterful aesthetic the owners were after. Concrete in the entry, timber-lined walls and joinery, and a delicate brass shadowline on the base of the walls carries the same ambience into the interior.
Wall in custom studded French linen. Bedlinen, Cultiver. Missoni Home cushions and throw, all Spence & Lyda. Custom bedside table. Oluce Atollo lamp, Euroluce. Metropol ‘SDN’ carpet in Birch, Quest Carpets.
Axus’ tapware, Streamline Products. Airy Concrete vanity top, Caesarstone. Joinery in Stained American Oak veneer, Briggs Veneers. Marvel Statuario wall tiles and Italian Statuario floor tiles, Design Tiles. Heated towel rail, Forme Bathroom Collection. Hand towel, Loom Towels. Vases, Dinosaur Designs.
“I’ve always liked the way copper changes colour over time and tells its own story,” says Alex. “We were very lucky with the way it faded to a warm pink, as it picks up on the pale-pink terrazzo flooring inside, creating a lovely connection between inside and out.”
Every piece of joinery in the house, from the kitchen and living areas to the bedrooms and bathrooms, was custom-designed by Paul in a dark-stained American oak that speaks to the couple’s Mid-century leanings. Marble tiles laid in a herringbone format in the ensuite and a playful Matthew Williamson floral wallpaper in the powder room add a luxurious twist.
Downstairs, the custom outdoor kitchen was designed in off-form concrete and joinery to match the internal colour, while upstairs a balcony garden leads off the main bedroom. Timber battens feature on the wall behind the barbecue. Outdoor kitchen, Custom Design Joinery. Bronte outdoor table, Eco Outdoor. Cuba outdoor dining chairs, Coco Republic. Doors and windows, AWS.
Meanwhile, the home’s oversized bedrooms have been designed as serene retreats, with the main bedroom suite opening onto a sunny balcony that looks across a lush planter box, which cleverly doubles as weather protection for the terrace downstairs. Inside, a simple palette of muted greys and timber, and a fabric-covered feature wall behind the bed, set a cosy tone.
The two children’s bedrooms have been carefully planned with the future in mind. Each boasts an ensuite and a built-in desk catering to study or craft, and both connect to a rumpus room that can be used as a living space when they’re older.
Porphyry cobblestones on driveway and front path, Eco Outdoor. Custom garage door in stained New Guinea rosewood battens, Graham Day Garage Doors. Copper on upper level, ARC Roofing.
For Paul and Sarah, the experience of moving through their home never fails to delight. “We love the way the volumes vary, from 2.7 metres high in the entry to a double-height area containing the cantilevered staircase, off-form concrete skylights and a huge window, and then step down to the living area, where the ceiling height is 3.8 metres, which flows onto the covered terrace and garden,” says Paul.
“Meticulous attention to detail and beautiful materiality make this a sophisticated family home, and somewhere that Sarah and Paul will still be happy living in 20 or 30 years down the track,” says Alex.
Porebski Architects, Chippendale, NSW; porebskiarchitects.com.au
Mirtillo Constructions, Marrickville, NSW; mirtillo.com.au
Maneto Joinery, Liverpool, NSW; maneto.com.au
Outdoor Establishments, St Leonards, NSW; outdoorestablishments.com