Celebrating light and space, Vincent Residence by Borland Architecture is an expansive family home distinguished by a minimalist design aesthetic and kinship between interior and landscape.
When Nicki and Roy began to collect their thoughts on what their new family would need, they knew that everything hinged on the homes’ capacity to endure. They needed a home that would volley the indelicacies of young boys as they grew into their teenage years. One that would prove resilient to the ebbs and flows of style and wear in, not out, over time. The home has since emerged as a haven of glass and stone where thresholds between interior and exterior dissolve and where nature takes centre stage in all its timeless beauty.
Upon entry, Vincent Residence embraces a material language in harmony with surrounding garden views. Soaring ceilings and unobstructed expanses of glazing coax sunlight into a free-flowing lower level, amplify the luxury of space and a capacity for supporting social connection and privacy in tandem. Navigation is honest and open, with the home exhaling upwards and outwards from the moment, the threshold is crossed.
Produced in partnership with Gaggenau
The building welcomes you through a portico towards a huge timber pivot door that opens to reveal a tree-lined courtyard beyond.
“Visually, the home looks simple. However, there is actually a fair amount of technology incorporated into the design,” Nicki says. The focus on durability within Vincent Residence has extended beyond its materiality and design aesthetic to harness a technological resilience. To this end, the home is considerably automated with keyless entry, remote access, solar energy consumption and eminent entertainment amenity and appliances throughout.
The kitchen is coalescent of three primary pillars – exterior connection, discerning materiality, and superior amenity. Full height, wall-to-wall glazing on two sides flood the space in natural light by day, while ambient feature lighting bathes Grey Aether stone benchtops and intricately constructed American Oak joinery by night. The splashback is also glass and works to frame the landscape beyond, continuing the dialogue between the interior and exterior established by the adjoining living-dining area, which connects to a covered alfresco and the garden area.
“The owners wanted to maximise the internal floor area but not at the cost of light, connection to outdoor spaces, and a free-flowing functional plan.”
– Borland Architecture director Roger Borland
The light and minimal stairway complements the adjacent courtyard glazing, providing a changing view of the trees as you rise to the first floor.
The dining room features a dining table designed by John Bastiras.
Maintaining the seamless minimalism evident throughout the home, much of the kitchen’s appliances and amenity have been fully integrated or placed in the adjoining butler’s pantry. The precise book-matched oak joinery by ATCO conceals all the paraphernalia of a home cook and ensures upkeep is minimal. Kitchen appliances meet the cutting edge standards of the rest of the home and include the Gaggenau 400 series oven and 400 series combi-steam oven. The stainless steel curves and sleek design were paramount to ensure that the oven complemented the clean lines in the surrounding design aesthetic as one of the few visible appliances.
The large island bench is a central point for social interaction in the house and has been kept as a clean multi-purpose space (the sink was intentionally placed elsewhere). In negotiation with the minimal elegance of the living/dining/kitchen space, lighting complements and juxtaposes the architecture. A linear Tubino pendant by Viabizzuno above the kitchen island gently concedes to the tactility of the stone and oak. In contrast, a bubble-style pendant in the dining space introduces an elegant joy.
The home takes every opportunity for exterior connection with ample glazing and natural materiality.
Bar stool by KIN Design.
The monochrome kitchen features the Gaggenau 400 series oven and Combi-steam oven and the Viabizzuno Tubino Pendant.
Upstairs, full-height glazing continues to connect interior and exterior with ample views onto the street and sky. Skilled construction sees tracks for sheer blinds and curtains concealed, retaining the contemporary design narrative while addressing privacy without forfeiting light. More natural light pours through a carefully placed skylight in the master-bedrooms huge walk-in robe with a second frameless glazed skylight imbuing a luxurious ensuite with radiant, calming charm.
Vincent Residence presents a strong architectural language balanced by the softness of its light-filled, minimalistic atmosphere. It is a family home that epitomises durability and timelessness to reach an outcome that will evolve to accommodate life’s changes well into the future. Cohesively anchored to its surrounding landscape throughout, this is a home defined by natural beauty and distinguished by enduring design.
Marble bench tops are replicated throughout the home with Grey Aether by GLUX in the kitchen and Volakas Marble by Signorino in the ensuite.
“The house is minimalist. We have a great suite of appliances in the kitchen which are fundamental to the family functionality, yet they have been cleverly integrated into the beautiful oak.”
– Nicki, Home Owner
The facade has deep window reveals and a rendered banding to define and unite the varying materials which are robust and low-maintenance but work beautifully together to make a bold statement
