Family compound escapes demolition, becomes elegant home

Large home plots in Melbourne’s blue-chip suburb Toorak tend to be prime targets for demolition.

Substantial homes built there in the early to mid-20th century are frequently obliterated with little respect for the past from many, including architects. However, the owners of a family compound in Toorak with two street addresses chose to build on the past and create a light-filled family home for a couple with three children.

The sunken lounge is almost “buried” into the garden.Credit: Alicia Taylor

“The existing houses came with good bones and were well-built,” says architect Michael Bialek, founding director of SJB, who worked closely with SJB’s interior design director, Andrew Parr.

The pair from SJB had previously worked on a part of the dwelling in 2009, what were then two maisonettes. When a neighbour to the north, also dating from the 1940s, came on the market, the owners seized an opportunity to create a more contemporary home, one that fully connected to the garden.

“I love some of the houses I saw in Brazil, particularly the work of Jacobsen Architects,” says the owner, retrieving a few images of a house constructed in board-form concrete, with large terraces and framed by planter boxes.

“The original house on the site was fairly inward looking, turning its back on the northern sunlight and much as the garden,” says Bialek, who took inspiration from the Brazilian house by including a timber-battened ceiling over the new eastern terrace.

The changes between the past and the present are discernible. The original portion features rendered grey walls, while the new wing comprises board-printed form concrete and increased glazing, but there’s also a juncture, such as in the main bedroom suite and walk-in dressing area on the first floor, that has one foot in the old and one in the new. And a new, repositioned, terrace takes advantage of the northern light as well as vistas across the garden.

The main entry is via the new wing – comprising a long gallery-style entrance with a formal lounge and living area at the front.Credit: Alicia Taylor

The deep portal, clad in dark stained timber, that leads to what’s now the billiards/rumpus room, also articulates the recent addition.

“The width of these portals gives you an idea of how well built the original maisonettes were,” says Bialek.

Although there’s a service entrance, with garages, the main entry is via the new wing – comprising a long gallery-style entrance with a formal lounge and living area at the front – benefiting from high timber ceilings (approximately 3.5 metres) and a generous open-plan kitchen. Pivotal to the kitchen is a six-metre-long marble bench with a large oculus directly above. “I love seeing the way the light plays on the bench as much as when it rains – being connected to the elements,” says the owner.

Although there are elegant and spacious formal areas, SJB also included smaller and more intimate spaces. The sunken lounge, for example, adjacent to the kitchen, is almost “buried” into the garden, with the planter boxes creating a glove-like effect for those lounging on the sofa.

“It’s not trying to mimic the sunken lounges from the 1970s, which are generally above ground level. Here, we wanted the garden to be experienced as though one was part of it,” says Parr, who felt it was important to create a variety of spaces, both in mood and in scale.

The family compound in Toorak was redesigned by SJB Architects.Credit: Alicia Taylor

Complete with deep cobalt-blue carpet and wrapped with open shelving, there’s also a sense of transparency while still feeling contained.

“With the way modernism is being expressed today, there tends to be one style that’s quite generic, with each space feeling quite similar. This snug can be intimate for just a couple, but it can also accommodate a group of 10 extended family and friends,” says Parr, who is recognised for his use of colour – expressed here in moments, be it the vermillion-coloured carpet on the curvaceous staircase in the older part of the house, or the cobalt-blue used for the snug. And rather than the same generic stone, Parr sourced a vibrant blue ceramic for the guest powder room.

What could have been just another large palazzo in Toorak is now a contemporary family home with everything one could imagine. And although it’s large, there’s a connection to the garden at every turn. “I can stand at the kitchen bench and see guests arriving and use the terraces like outdoor rooms,” says the owner, who enjoys the home’s sense of informality, even in the more formal rooms.

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