St Peters addition by Max Pritchard

While retaining the original cottage and maintaining the buildings street presence architect Max Pritchard has infused this house with beautiful light and an elegant sensitivity.

Bringing the outside in is achieved with a clever and generous use of glazing including: glass walls, highlight windows, glazed corridors and even a lowlight window in the bathroom.

A cantilevered timber bench creates a poignant sense of balance and tension in an otherwise serene space.

This major addition creates a sense of space, by minimising the visual barrier between inside and out, and continuity by its elongated elements that seem to float in space and penetrate through the glazing.

These horizontals of stainless steel, a blue bulk head and beams of wood, against the predominantly white cupboards, walls & splashbacks creates the experience of existing in, and moving between, a warm 3-dimensional mute-toned Mondrian painting.

The persistent relationship of interior and exterior spaces is elegantly captured in this floor window in the bathroom.

The relationship between inside and out is ever present through the luminosity of light that pours in through every glazed pore while the strong and elongated horizontal elements continuously draw the eye ever outward. The line of being inside or outside is beautifully blurred and one is left with simply enjoying the space holistically.

Hope Street project by vittinoAshe

This sublime and restrained renovation project by vittinoAshe studio is essentially an upgrade and reinvigoration of existing site conditions, tearing down the old and recreating anew. The clean unfussed lines and minimal adornment create a serene space for relaxed living and contemplation.

Raw materials

A definite signature of this project is the sensitive use of raw materials and matte finishes including concrete, timber, tiles and matte milk paints. The continuity of these simple materials and beautiful textures, inside and out, creates a cohesive and grounded building.

Timber

A oblong of timber floor delineates the kitchen space, timber lined open shelves frame the kitchen cabinetry, blonde timber ceiling panelling hover over the open plan living, timber window and door frames on the main house and studio interconnect with a timber trellis. Timber permeates the structure and spaces, it really is the lifeline and fabric of the building. An elevated void above the length of the kitchen has been created into a diffused light box that draws softened light down into the heart of the home.

Combining old and new

After all the interim additions were demolished the original house and a grapevine were the only surviving features on the site. The old grapevine now grows on a trellis organically linking the main residence with the studio at the rear of the block.

This warm and spare bathroom with formed concrete walls, simple tiles and minimalist approach has a soft uncluttered feel.

Details

The whole project is highlighted with some beautiful utilitarian details like this use of exposed copper pipe for the outdoor shower and tap

and this fold out desk at the end of a bench

A beautiful tile-lined sky tunnel above the shower

Clever cut out handles on the kitchen drawers

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