A celebration of Australian art, furniture and design; Hobart’s Slow Beam is the result of a bold collaboration between photographer Lauren Bamford, Hearth Studio and architect Murray Barker.
Photographer Lauren Bamford, her musician husband (and Tasmanian native) Keith Mason and their young daughter Dot have strong family connections to Tasmania. As frequent visitors to Hobart, they became weary of the struggle to find suitable accommodation during each trip home and when the ongoing challenge to purchase property among rising Melbourne prices became daunting, Lauren and Keith’s fruitful decision to purchase a block of land in West Hobart turned into a light bulb moment.
Armed with a unique vision to build their very own holiday home – which doubles as an Airbnb luxury getaway for others – Lauren called on her extensive design network to enlist support in turning their dream project into a bonafide reality. A friendship with director of Hearth Studio, Sarah Trotter and additional support from architect Murray Barker provided the perfect fit for the project, while on the ground, Lauren was assisted by her father-in-law, who is a retired builder.
A black-clad, two-storey new build set among towering gum trees, Slow Beam’s exterior comprises of two box-like pavilions. Making the most of sweeping views from its hillside vantage point, each box is encased in a black, charred-wood shell that both complements and contrasts with the flora and fauna that surround it.
The Featherston z300 Chaise Lounge from Grazia&Co. provides a spot to contemplate the expansive vista beneath.
“The kitchen and dining area is a really great space that allows you to easily be preparing food and drinks at the kitchen bench, having breakfast at a bar stool, gathering around the dining table for a meal or relaxing on the bench seat and still feel connected.”
– Keith Mason, co-owner of Slow Beam.
The kitchen space illustrates the modernity of Porter’s Paint Palm Beach, while the scultpural Lampe de Marseille wall light from Cult and Diiva stools from Grazia&Co. create contrasting focal points.
The saturating black exterior also informed the interior. Inside, Porter’s Paints Palm Beach Black builds a solid foundation from which expressions of vibrant colour seem to explode from. Lauren explains that it was the custom-designed, hand-tufted Esther Stewart carpet in the living room that acted as the catalyst for inspiring the rest of the home’s bold colour palette and reoccurring geometric patterns.
Alongside prolific Australian artist and all-round creative Esther Stewart, Slow Beam showcases a well-curated selection of Australian design alumni; including prized pieces from Grant Featherston, Anna Varendorff, Ebony Truscott, Studio Henry Wilson, Kirsten Perry, Ali McCann, Fred Ganim and Grazia & Co. among other homegrown talents.
The resulting aesthetic of Slow Beam combines Lauren’s passion for bold colour, quirky pattern and mid-century design alongside Hearth studio’s penchant for light, tactility and materiality.
Successfully reimagining the concept of ‘luxury getaway’ Slow Beam is more than just a place to sleep. Not only is it an experimental and dramatic, modernist hideaway with a vibrant 1970s personality – but it’s also an authentic celebration of the Australian design community at large.
The organic curves of the Reeno Bench from Grazia&Co. makes for a soft break in the black, linear alcove.
“We were so grateful to have Sarah to turn our very basic idea into such a special build. From the first visit to the site she saw possibilities that really weren’t at all obvious from walking around the raw site. Especially in making best use of the views and the path of the sun over the hill.”
– Keith Mason, Co-owner of Slow Beam.
The space is amazing, is there a reference for the carpets?
Hi Michelle, how gorgeous is this home and the custom-designed Esther Stewart carpet. Please see more of Esther’s work via her website: http://www.estherstewart.com/