Through an embrace of the existing proportions, Bondi Mews sits light and open among its lush garden setting. Sandwiched between a row of heritage terrace homes, MHN Design Union’s sculpting of deliberate form to the rear makes way for Lawless and Meyerson’s considered and connected layered approach within.
Like many terraces of the same ilk, the architectural advantage lies in the vertical spread and stacking of internal spaces. Through an intricately layered approach between the natural and the built, the feeling of seclusion emerges. Immersed in an established and tumbling landscape by Dangar Barin Smith, Bondi Mews is softened at its edges by natural and organic elements that allow its owners to breathe. In its inner-urban setting in Sydney’s Bondi and its locale’s close and increasing density, the home contrastingly feels like its own refuge.
Minimal and refined, the stair railing offers maximum visual connection across the levels while being an interesting tactile experience to engage with.
The custom steel ladder connects the mezzanine with the floor below, as a nostalgic reminder to the original era of the surrounding terrace homes.
Generously, the kitchen and dining spaces spill into one, naturally lit from above, and surrounded by dense plantings, creating the feeling of being among the tree canopies.
The kitchen sits elevated overlooking the garden spaces that surround, as a Dekton bench-top provides the ideal surface for low maintenance cooking and entertaining.
The dining room features dining chairs and a round table from Knoll.
Bondi Mews is home to an architect who had a clear vision from the project’s inception. With a love of cooking and entertaining, the heart of the home undeniably became the kitchen. As both a showcase and as a place to gather and entertain, the functional elements are cleverly interwoven through considered detailing and select finishes.
The hero open island bench is elevated to allow it to sit lighter within the space and draws the eye upward to the shelving overhead, all conceived with the same formal language. The use of Dekton across benchtops helps reinforce an overall monochromatic and contrasting palette while offering a functional and robust surface from which to create and live. The combination of both considered and practical elements becomes a binding common element throughout the home.
Gardens by Dangar Barin Smith offer an immersive refuge.
Elements of contrast define each space and how they interact with one another. With a greyed timber flooring running throughout, the natural patterning offers textural diversity and warmth to the otherwise smooth and polished home. Abating the traditional issue of darkness within similar terrace homes, MHN Design Union have included several internal skylights that generously douse the interior with light, further increasing the sense of space.
Lawless and Meyerson have emphasised the connection to the natural through an open and concise plan that allows for ease of movement and visual connectivity throughout. Bondi Mews opens upward and outward, offering framed views of the garden as a balance to the more sharply curated interior. The result sees a home of expected softness, intended to endure the trials of family life.
Open louvres connect to the garden beyond, and invite the lush foliage inward, creating a transformative urban bathing experience.
Terrazzo is the prominent material in the bathrooms; a continuation of the contrasting palette.
