Brunswick Street House

The renovation of this house located in Brunswick Street Melbourne Australia, effortlessly marries together two architectural influences of a refined industrial aesthetic and traditional Victorian architecture. A professional couple and their two young children had spent the past 5 years living in the dark two-storey terrace and wanted to make it lighter and more accommodating.

Carr Design loved the design process of Fitzroy house because the client was enthusiastic and had a great sense of style. She wanted a design that would enhance her lifestyle and stand the test of time. Although inner-urban projects of this type usually stick to a formula, Carr Design’s approach was far from generic. Behind an idyllic heritage-listed facade was a spatial arrangement typical of the period, with rooms arranged to one side of the hallway. The treatment of an existing light well ensures an engaging connection between the old and new sections of the house. The semi-industrial detailing drawn by the local context is referenced in the steel framed windows and projecting steel canopies.

The palette is intentionally colourless with natural timber, calacutta marble to ebonised veneer providing a backdrop to the owner’s contemporary art collection. Framed and borrowed views, guided by a refined industrial aesthetic are rooted in the Fitzroy context whist being true to Carr Design principles.

Photo Credit Michael Gazzola