BELLEVUE HILL FEDERATION HOUSE

home was beautifully adapted by Tania Handelsmann (above left) and Gillian Khaw to embrace 21st-century family life. To create an open-plan space at the rear of our client’s grand Federation home, including a new kitchen with a social bistro feel for her family of The existing home had many rooms but they felt disjointed, dark and dated. A spacious new open-plan area was created with a bay window protruding into the garden, looking onto a ‘living’ sandstone wall covered in lush, cascading greenery. The client is an avid gardener and we agreed the space should feel like a conservatory so a fresh, sophisticated green palette was struck to give a sense of bringing the outdoors in. Injecting character via patina is a key feature of our projects. Bricks from the old extension were recycled into the new walls and tumbled marble floor tiles were laid throughout. Traditional finishes such as the terrazzo floor tiles evoke a sense of familiarity, but with contemporary detailing. The natural, breathable tadelakt plaster used in the kitchen and on the fireplace creates a soft organic aesthetic; the curved forms are a contrast to the Federation style’s linear and angular shapes. It is a successful example of how to adapt a beautiful period house for a 21st-century lifestyle. Our client is a passionate art collector, loves colour and mixing contemporary and vintage furniture. We relished the opportunity to embrace colour and provide a richly detailed backdrop for her collection. We avoid the mass-produced where possible, instead collaborating with our network of craftspeople to create bespoke solutions such as the fireplace and kitchen island. We gravitate towards vintage and custom pieces when curating furniture and accessories. The master bathroom, which includes a dramatic space overlooking a verdant garden wall. Our client is a keen cook and gardener and is thrilled with the way the kitchen feels like part of the outdoors and blurs the lines of where it ends and the living area begins. The sculptural and tactile island, more like a piece of furniture than a functional necessity, invites guests to sit and linger, and creates the desired social bistro feel. The new fireplace serves the same purpose in the living room, both spaces serving as a focal point for social activity.