- Interior
To create a space in which the residents can quickly feel at home, a rather modest interior is often chosen. This can easily be complemented with personal elements, as was the case in this home with the owners’ art collection. The team of the Australian-based Templeton Architecture realised a residence that brings together the feeling of a gallery with that of a warm family home.
This Edwardian residence is located in a suburb of Melbourne and is hidden by a deep garden with a lot of texture. The house has two floors and an extension, which is also not visible from the street. In each project, Templeton Architecture seeks a timeless restraint and refinement, and they did just that here. They strove specifically for a balance between the creative tranquillity of an art gallery on the one hand and the personality and warmth of a home base on the other. The result shows that these descriptions do not necessarily clash, but can definitely have a harmonious end point. 
In this project, the team ventured to perfectly integrate a new extension into the rest of the house and its surroundings. The original home, with its classical rooms, central hall, and staircase, largely remained the same. The new part is concealed behind the existing staircase and is set slightly lower than the rest of the house. The kitchen forms the heart of this space, where you can also find a pantry and a dining and living area. The fireplace brings extra cosiness, while the skylight and the large sliding doors ensure a strong connection with the garden. The extension therefore feels more like a consistent sequence of functions rather than one large space. The family’s art collection adds extra colour to the interior’s light grey base, while the wood in for example the kitchen island and dining table brings extra warmth. 
All functions merge into each other and the indoor spaces effortlessly blend into the garden
The correct positioning of the windows was very important to guarantee the best views of the garden. They now offer a view of the northern and western aspects of the surroundings and seem to frame the garden. In this way, the indoor spaces and the landscape become one. Sunlight has also been considered: in summer, an external pergola provides filtered light, while in winter, plenty of sun comes in thanks to the foliage that falls down then. In other words, the interior contains a kind of flowing line in which all functions merge into each other and the indoor spaces effortlessly blend into the garden. The new extension is connected to the Edwardian red brick façade through a solid masonry construction. It is finished with micro cement plaster, leading to a timeless effect full of texture. 
The result is a residence that with its art collection reminds of a gallery, but at the same time offers a cosy space where the family can get together. The base of the interior remained modest, allowing the residents to add plenty of personal touches and make the house fully their own.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns