Unfolding across eras, this victorian terrace faithfully carries the narrative of its origins while seamlessly integrating elegant modernity.
Sitting on the cusp of the city in a locale that dovetail sits past and present, Parkville Residence by Melbourne-based studio Hecker Guthrie has coaxed a home into contemporary relevance while retaining the details and design gestures that faithfully carry its Victorian era narrative.
This feature originally appeared in est Magazine Issue 48: ‘Kitchen Confidential’.
Mediating between formal and informal, an alcove with a Gubi 1965 pendant, timber Mass Productions stools, classic custom joinery and a continuation of Cerdomus stone bench tops are a natural extension of the kitchen.
Home to a young family of four, Parkville Residence has been thoughtfully resurrected through a process that unfolds from entry to reveal a chronological methodology across three volumes. “The design intent for this home was to create a series of spaces that were a subtle extension of one another,” Hecker Guthrie interior designer Caroline Hedley explains. “It becomes more contemporary as you shift from room to room while retaining the cosy, lived-insensibility of British homes – complementing the heritage of our clients.”
The first volume is the existing Victorian home which holds the family’s bedrooms and bathrooms. “It exudes an innate sense of historical charm,” Caroline says. “While its proportions are grand, the rich use of colour and texture creates a sense of intimacy within the spatial generosity.
A large scale artwork by Lindsay Blamey in the heritage volume instils a connection to nature which is echoed in the new volume by sight-lines onto a Jacaranda tree. The space features the Mass Productions glass table, De Padova armchair and Ligne Roset side tables.
A cosy, lived-in sensibility akin to British homes has been fostered in the new volume through a preference for tactile materials and classic styling set against a garden backdrop. The living room features the MAKE Nordic Prime Time fabric chair by Tom Stepp, a Jardan sofa, Mark Tuckey side tables, Mattiazzi dining chairs, a Gubi Grasshopper floor lamp and artwork in the fireplace nook by Laura Vahlberg.
The second volume comprises the new extension, which sits within an existing footprint. Holding the kitchen and living spaces, this zone is the social hub of the home, while reflecting a tangible shift in the visual expression of the surrounding architecture. As if by osmosis, the red brick exterior and green interior hues cultivate distinctive atmospheres according to application and curation. “A bolder expression of colour through joinery and furniture sits comfortably alongside the use of deep colour in the Victorian home,” Caroline says. She adds that this creates “intimacy in contrast to the airiness of the interior architectural elements of the newer extension.
Parkville Residence’s third volume comprises a garage studio at the rear of the property which provides a break-out space for growing children and guest accommodation. Accessed via both the garden and a cobblestone rear laneway, this volume is embraced by the built environment by virtue of the garden, which sweeps through and around the residence with a central Jacaranda tree as its north star. With a romanticism that evokes a strong English sensibility, the gardens“transition into the architecture in a cohesive way, which translates indoors through palette and texture.”
Through a holistic approach to architecture, interior design and landscape design, Hecker Guthrie have found an alliance between eras and styles – from the bold colours of the new joinery and furniture to the sonorous hues in the original area of the home. At the same time, they have upheld the nuances of daily life while modulating them precisely for those who live there.
A commitment to English design gestures continues in the bathrooms. A Volker Haug light and liberal use of Gluxstone temper the heritage notes, retaining a refined opulence while persuading the design language.
Accessed via both the garden and a cobblestone rear laneway, the garage studio is embraced by the built environment by virtue of the garden, which sweeps through and around the residence with a central Jacaranda tree as its north star.
