Houzz Tour: A Family Home Built to Connect with its Surroundings
This Melbourne house is designed to support and inspire connections between family, friends and the local community
This ‘Californian bungalow’ (a one or one-and-a-half storey house with sloping roofs) in Melbourne, Australia, is home to a family of five who enjoy connecting with their neighbours, friends and local community. “The question became ‘How can these strong connections be incorporated in, and inspire, the design?’,” Paul Gardiner of Gardiner Architects says. “Our intention was to open up the house through the connection of spaces internally, while letting the outside in.”
The house is divided into three zones. The children’s bedrooms are upstairs, with a rear deck and green roof. The parents’ bedroom, a sitting room and a study are located at the front of the house, while the communal living spaces are positioned at the rear.
Looking to extend your home? Find architects and building designers in your area.
Looking to extend your home? Find architects and building designers in your area.
Gardiner Architects designed a rear two-storey addition with a pitched, offset roof, like the typical gabled roof of a Californian bungalow.
“We liked this sensitive approach, so the new extension doesn’t dominate the existing house,” Paul says. “In a sense, it could have always been there. It looks new in materiality and execution rather than form.”
“We liked this sensitive approach, so the new extension doesn’t dominate the existing house,” Paul says. “In a sense, it could have always been there. It looks new in materiality and execution rather than form.”
The sides of the house are clad in sheet metal and the front and back elevations in shiplap timber. Solar panels are fixed to the new roof and a skylight brings natural light into the upper storey.
The entrance is at the side of the house, identifiable by a colourful mural titled Urban Flora by Alex Scott Douglas. The mural invites family, friends and neighbours down the side lane and into the house as a gesture of the family’s strong desire to connect to their community.
“In a majority of our jobs, we tend to reverse the traditional ideas inherent in the layout of older houses,” Paul says. “The entry to a Californian bungalow is typically through the formal front door. But the old idea of coming in the front door where you find the ‘nice room’ – which the children aren’t allowed in, that has the crystal cabinet and granny drinking sherry – is broken down.”
“In a majority of our jobs, we tend to reverse the traditional ideas inherent in the layout of older houses,” Paul says. “The entry to a Californian bungalow is typically through the formal front door. But the old idea of coming in the front door where you find the ‘nice room’ – which the children aren’t allowed in, that has the crystal cabinet and granny drinking sherry – is broken down.”
This entrance leads to a door at the side of the living room, so that visitors enter directly into the family area, which can easily adapt and become community space.
There’s a multi-purpose space with built-in joinery around the perimeter providing window seating, storage and a place to play. Large windows open the living area to the garden, strengthening the connection between indoors and out.
The living area is part of an open-plan space housing the dining table and kitchen, which also connects to the garden.
“The owners have three young children and their family life centres on the kitchen. They are also very keen cooks – they preserve fruit, make kombucha, keep bees and chickens, and grow a lot of herbs and vegetables,” Paul says.
Gardiner Architects designed a large, open kitchen with a walk-in pantry and plenty of work space and storage. The kitchen island has an overhanging worktop so kids, family and friends can gather around it.
Deep blue paint on the rear kitchen wall provides a calm backdrop and demarcates the space.
Worktop in London Grey, Caesarstone. Blackbutt Natural Feature Grade veneer, Ventech.
Deep blue paint on the rear kitchen wall provides a calm backdrop and demarcates the space.
Worktop in London Grey, Caesarstone. Blackbutt Natural Feature Grade veneer, Ventech.
“This strong colour contrasts with the glass and timber that opens to the outside, but it’s recessive rather than trying to stand out,” Paul says. “By being recessive, the belongings and features become the heroes in the space.”
The kitchen sink faces the garden to allow for easy supervision and communication when the kids are playing outside.
It also provides a servery window to the outside decked area for alfresco dining and entertaining.
“The outside space is just as important as the inside for the family. Their garden works hard to provide space for everyone,” Paul says. This area includes a play house, trampoline, edible garden and chicken coop.
A sliding glass door opens the dining area to the deck, and the fold-back windows in the living room let the family’s inside activities spill outside.
“There’s a variety of spaces where family, friends and neighbours can gather and sit in an informal setting, connected to both inside and the garden,” Paul says.
“There’s a variety of spaces where family, friends and neighbours can gather and sit in an informal setting, connected to both inside and the garden,” Paul says.
The living area at the front of the house is a rich and colourful space that merges the heritage elements of the bungalow with the family’s personality. As in the kitchen, dark blue wall paint provides a backdrop for the family’s belongings.
“We want the house to match the owners’ personalities and allow them to adapt the spaces over time,” Paul says.
“This family are great collectors and there are always craft projects, children’s art and toys around. We prioritised making small gestures, avoiding the house feeling contrived, where everything has its place. Instead, a backdrop is laid that allows the house to evolve and change alongside the family.”
Lumi pendants, Gineico Lighting.
“We want the house to match the owners’ personalities and allow them to adapt the spaces over time,” Paul says.
“This family are great collectors and there are always craft projects, children’s art and toys around. We prioritised making small gestures, avoiding the house feeling contrived, where everything has its place. Instead, a backdrop is laid that allows the house to evolve and change alongside the family.”
Lumi pendants, Gineico Lighting.
The parents’ bedroom is at the front of the house, and their en suite has a view to a hidden courtyard garden that provides further indoor-outdoor connection.
The wallpaper in the cloakroom also brings the outdoors in with a vibrant botanical print.
Botanica Jungle Fever wallpaper, Emily Ziz.
Botanica Jungle Fever wallpaper, Emily Ziz.
The central hallway is truly that: it connects the front and back of the house, inside and outside, and upstairs and down, allowing strong visual connections between different areas and a sense of spaciousness.
The brick wall acts as a spine through the middle of the home and provides texture and thermal mass, as does the concrete floor. Having the two storeys spaced around the stairwell also creates a thermal chimney effect, flushing out hot air and regulating the internal temperature.
A small, triangular window at the top of the stairs provides a glimpse of the sky, and the landing offers space for the children’s books and toys.
Ceiling fans, as well as highly insulated external walls, keep the house comfortable throughout the summer, without any need for air conditioning.
Ceiling fans, as well as highly insulated external walls, keep the house comfortable throughout the summer, without any need for air conditioning.
The gabled roof shape creates interesting and dynamic ceilings in the children’s bedrooms and bathroom. Blue mosaic tiles provide a punch of colour and fun in the bathroom, and a skylight brings in natural light over the bath.
An upstairs deck looks over the garden and is bordered by a rooftop garden with space for beekeeping.
“We always find joy when we get to work with clients who are members of their community and who prioritise creating spaces that bring people together,” Paul says. “Whether it’s a playground, a childcare centre or a residential project, the architecture can support activities that allow for and inspire connection. Seeing value in community connectivity allows a project to move beyond hero architecture.”
Tell us…
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Tell us…
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A couple, their three children, and the family’s chocolate labrador, Molly
Location Melbourne, Australia
Size Four bedrooms and two bathrooms; 230 sq m
Architect Paul Gardiner of Gardiner Architects
As with many Californian bungalows, the original house had small, dark rooms. It also didn’t provide enough space or opportunity for the family to grow and evolve, or to connect with their community. This provided the overriding concept for the reconfiguration of the house and two-storey rear extension.
“The driving force was creating a house linked to the surrounding community, with easy side access straight into the heart of the house,” Paul says. “A strong relationship to the external environment through well-utilised garden and deck areas, along with controlled sun access and views, also informed a multitude of design decisions.”
The owners also wanted an energy-efficient house to reduce long-term costs and maintenance.