Photography: Lisa Cohen | Styling: Tess Newman-Morris
With its glamorous rooms, sweeping staircase and masonry portico, this grand Neo-Georgian property in Melbourne’s southeast possesses an assured feeling of permanence, proudly owning its spectacular site as if it has always been there. But don’t be fooled – it’s three years new, with timeless design and hand-crafted detailing belying its youth.
Drawing from the classic vernacular typical of the area, the three-level, five-bedroom home seems tailormade for the location – north-facing and overlooking the Yarra River, a rare and prized commodity in Melbourne. But when the owners discovered the waterfront block in 2016, the existing house was adrift.
“We found the property after a long search,” says the owner. “With its frontage and glorious northern aspect, it was the kind of place where the sun lingers and trees frame the view. It felt grounded and full of possibility.” However, she says the hapless house, having witnessed many additions and subtractions over the years, “felt bitty and the rooms didn’t speak to one another”. And it gave scant regard to those river views and the northern aspect.
Rather than add another layer, in 2018 the owners started afresh, hiring Adelaide Bragg of Adelaide Bragg Interiors and architect Russell Casper of CAD on a multi-year journey from tentative sketches to the final buttons and trims. Their mission? “We wanted the new design to feel timeless, grounded and not read as a new build, but rather as a home with an enduring sense of place.”
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Generous proportions, light and flow were catchwords in the brief. “We wanted a home that felt effortless, practical, welcoming and connected to family life. The brief was about creating spaces that flowed seamlessly, balancing communal areas with moments of retreat – with relaxed spaces for everyday living balanced by more elevated zones for entertaining.” And, as the owner is a keen cook and baker, a kitchen that works for one cook or more while also accommodating visitors was a must.
“They wanted interiors that gathered the northern light and framed the tree-line, with materials that age gracefully and a palette that feels grounded and calm,” Adelaide explains. From the owners’ amassed Insta and Pinterest images, recurring themes emerged: “natural fibres, timber, soft colours, tailored detailing and craftsmanship”.
Adelaide and Russell opened the home to the north and choreographed long sightlines to the tranquil vista beyond. To the left of the entry and its dramatic staircase are a study, an office and a powder room; to the right are a formal living and dining space. Beyond that, an informal open plan abuts a loggia along the rear, with the kitchen anchoring the space and a scullery and mud room tucked behind it. In the basement below sit a second loggia leading to the garden, an indoor cinema and a gym. Five bedrooms, three with ensuites (the main has two), occupy the top level.
While allowing lashings of light, the generous glazing, together with the loggias and terracing at the rear, ensures the garden (designed by Paul Bangay) effectively becomes another room of the house.
That connection is fostered by the interior materials and palette. Exquisite attention to detail and craftsmanship prevail. “Subtle wall panelling brings rhythm and proportion,” says Adelaide, adding that the cornicing, stone fireplaces, mouldings and pelmets are also true to the Neo-Georgian vernacular. In English country-house style, a secret door off the formal dining room leads discreetly to the kitchen.
Limed French-oak chevron floors were chosen for their warmth and classic overtones; limestone in the kitchens and bathrooms (honed and lightly veined) delivers understated luxury and durability. Wallpapers create a cossetting feeling to the more intimate spaces. Brass door hardware was designed to patinate with use, and natural fabrics, such as linen, wool and cotton, were chosen for their “hand feel and fall” as much as for colour. Texture, according to Adelaide, “does the heavy lifting”, with open-weave linens, wool bouclé, grasscloth and hand-finished timber. Patterns are delicate and underplayed.
Similarly, the subtle palette draws its inspiration from what lies beyond the multi-paned sash windows and French doors. “Sun-washed and grounded, it ranges from warm whites and bone through to oat and caramel, lifted by soft eucalyptus and duck-egg tones, with deeper inky accents for balance,” she says.
By contrast, the furniture and fittings, such as the custom sofas, a dining table large enough for family and friends and a mighty pendant in the entry foyer, are not understated – their generous scale lends them a sense of gravitas, tailored to the rooms’ lavish proportions and lofty ceilings.
“Adelaide knew when to nudge us towards bolder choices and has an uncanny talent for pulling everything together so it feels cohesive,” says the owner, who relishes the expansiveness of the new-found indoor-outdoor connection but also the finer points. “We love the small, considered details – the finely crafted buttons, delicate trims and subtle bindings – that quietly elevate each space.”
“What I love about this house is the way the outdoor vistas are quietly echoed within the interiors through the materials and palette,” says Adelaide. “There’s a seamlessness between inside and out. But most of all, the home feels cohesive and unforced, as if it simply grew here.”
The Design Team
Adelaide Bragg Interiors: adelaidebragg.com
Casper Architecture & Design: casperarchitecture.com
