Envelop House

The owners were downsizing from a substantial property, and the house is a “forever home”, with single level future-accessible living and an appreciation for the arts and craft heritage features of the original building. Skirtings, cornices, decorative ceiling strapping and roses are retained or re-instated in original rooms. A heritage quirk of coved corners to the principle rooms has inspired the curved-corner detailing of new interior spaces, including the boldly curved glazed courtyard wall and circular skylight beyond. Diagonally dispersing living and kitchen/dining rooms around the glazed curved wall and north-facing courtyard provide more intimate zoning, and an ability to separate more intense cooking activities from the rest of the house. The interior metaphorically hugs the courtyard, inviting dappled sunlight from borrowed landscape throughout the day to the living and dining spaces that both open to the garden. The kitchen is located behind the dining with access to a smaller garden that provides opportunities for growing herbs and brings late afternoon sun into the living zone. Storage is tucked away in the corner of the herb garden, and as a timber feature in the entry carport an outdoor shower provides a space to wash off on return from the beach.

Envelop House resonates with calm and meditative white spatial materiality cocooned between Blackbutt timber floor and ceiling and feature curved corners, enveloping the senses. The new interior layout mimics the glass courtyard curved wall with an opposing curved white wall, allowing nuance to the unusually diagonally dispersed spatial relationship of living and kitchen/dining areas. Excellence is achieved through this spatial clarity and rigorous reductive detailing. White walls, joinery and doors provide clarity and spatial expansion; light grey stone to the kitchen adds richness and reinforces the spatially meditative atmosphere. Furniture with curved or radius elements is selected in timber or colours to complement the blue-green courtyard landscape hues, with locally designed sofa and occasional tables, rugs and other soft furnishings that create a light warm feel and encourage the flow of space. Lamps and pendant lights are circular, and dimmable recessed light fittings are visually subtle and provide controlled lighting. The generous ceiling height is maintained in the new areas and interior and exterior are integrated by high levels of natural light, large slide-away glazed doors and continuity of the materials. Finally, finger tiled curved corners provide intimacy to bathrooms and laundry, and curved-corner skylight-reveals envelop bathers in natural light.

Sustainable design is fully integrated with the spatial and experiential design. New and existing construction is highly insulated. Double glazing is inserted into existing timber windows and high-performance aluminium framed double glazing are utilized for new windows and doors. The new roof area is fully utilised for solar panels. Highly efficient heating and cooling systems are provided, and low dust hydronic heating utilised. An under-deck water tank is used to flush toilets and water efficient taps and shower heads reduce potable water consumption. A rain garden reduces the extent and improves the quality of storm water runoff. Australian hardwood timber flooring is FSC certified and water based low VOC paints improve indoor air quality. Additionally passive sustainable design principles informed the arrangement of the rooms on the site. The courtyard garden is located at the northern corner of the site and the living areas envelop the garden. Large windows combined with roof overhangs provides controllable year-round solar aspect to the living spaces. Another courtyard outside the kitchen brings afternoon sun (with an external blind for western sun) and cross ventilation to catch afternoon sea breezes that are a feature of the bayside microclimate.

Envelop House resonates as a calm and meditative main bedroom suite that goes its own way, creating a unique balance of space, light, materiality and texture with the orchestration of main bedroom, ensuite and walk-in robe. Drawing inspiration from the heritage feature of the coved principal room corners, the ensuite corners have a gentle radius, reinforced by the subtle vertical curved patterns of the white Inax finger tiles. The vanity picks up on the blackbutt timber bedroom floor with its veneer ,with textural stone top, and the tall mirror has radius’ to top and bottom to create a figurative approach to the vanity mirror. A feature skylight over the shower enclosure has a long linear shaft that penetrates through the full extent of the heritage roof, drawing beautiful and subtle natural light with a disc of blue sky above, and together with the curved warmth of the tiles, enveloping the senses.

Floors:
• Secret nailed tongue and groove Blackbutt Australian hardwood
• Artedomus Urban Grey porcelain tile to bathrooms
Walls and windows:
• Austral Bricks Castelana from the La Paloma range to new brick walls
• Artedomus Inax Yuki Border
• Schuco Concealed top and bottom rail double glazed sliding doors
• Concealed glazing channel double glazed fixed windows
Ceilings:
• Blackbutt prefinished tongue and groove engineered boards
• Existing and new cornices, strapping and ceiling roses to retained rooms
Joinery:
• Timber Veneer - Elton Group timber veneer, Evenex Tuscan Oak
• 2 Pack shop applied finish – Dulux Lexicon Quarter
• Stone benchtop and splashback - Honed Super White Dolomite
Appliances:
• Dishwasher – Miele
• Oven – AEG
• Rangehood – Qasair
• Cooktop – SMEG
• Outdoor kitchen cooktop – Franke
• Sinks – Franke
• Morso Modern cast-iron fireplace by Castworks
Sanitaryware:
• Basins – Caroma Cube 500 undercounter
• Taps – Astra Walker Icon
• Filter water – Zip
• Outdoor kitchen tap – Milli Inox mixer in SS
• Toilets – Caroma Urbane concealed cistern
• Heated towel rails – Hydrotherm
• Shower Grate – Roger Seller Grata tiled insert linear grate
Door Harware:
• Designer Doorware
Lighting:
• Downlights – Bright Green D700 – White to white ceiling and black to timber ceiling
• Island Bench pendant – Davoluce Lighting Black Aluminium linear pendant.
• Bedroom Pendants - Richmond Lighting, Hand Blown Glass pendant fitting in Milky White.
• Bedside table lamps; Ross Gardam Silhouette Table Lamps
• Floor Lamps; Flos IC Floor Lights by Michael Anastassiadis from Euroluce
Furniture and styling:
• Jenny Jones’ Ephesus rug in Linen
• Toulouse 3.0 seater - with x2 cushions in blue from Anaca Studio
• Zoe side table in black/hazelnut from Anaca Studio

• Emi pod low clear oak from Anaca Studio
• Narcisse mirror - Espresso finish (dark brown) from Anaca Studio
• Arper outdoor furniture and Noon arm chair by Ross Gardam from Stylecraft
• Throws and bed linen from Nest South Melbourne by Saarde and St Marc
• Bath and hand towels by Saarde from Nest South Melbourne
• Feature vase in light blue from Dinosaur Designs, classic ciuved glass vase low vase from Aoitala
• Oak circular table and oak with green upholstery dining chairs from Home Concepts
• Sideboard, bench seat and bedside tables from RJ Living

Ceramics by Three Bowls Full and Kristin Burgham

Original oil Paintings by Greg Wood from Otomys Gallery

Tracey Lamb Sculptures from Madam Hunter (Gallery / Art Consultant)
o 2 x small sculptures, steel, enamel paint and timber o 1 x Large Sculpture with two pieces
o 1 x Polished Steel Grouping of 3 pieces
o 1 x Polished Steel Grouping of 2 pieces
o 1 x Enamel painted Grouping of 3 pieces (coloured pieces)
o 1 x Orange Painted Timber 'Girl' Sculpture

Renee Mitchell Sculptures from Madam Hunter (Gallery / Art Consultant)
o 1xDJBunny
o 1 x Yellow perspex bunny o 1 x black perspex bunny o 1 x clear perspex bunny