Fremantle home

Author. Jamie-Lee Harrison     Category. Architecture + Interior Design

We were given a challenge - To create a modest, laid-back homely feeing, but yet also something that imbues a minimalistic space and elegance for our client’s new home away from home.

Our client is a single FIFO worker with a roster of 4 & 4 whom wanted the house to be instrumental in readjusting his mindset back into the city-based existence for the coming month from a hard swing away.

Together with Philip Steiskal Architecture we got to work on creating this space for the client and fulfilling exactly what he wanted.

The Architecture

It all starts with the foundation. The house was built with the a few key points to keep in mind.
Plenty of privacy, low maintenance, spaces for intro- version as well as spaces for socialising but most im- portantly lots of natural elements like timber, concrete and greenery.

Starting from the solid front door with a high light window, you pass through a narrow space consisting of a brick floor and walls, passing a pond with vege- tation visible through a frameless glass door. A right turn leads you into a circular space which has been created as the library – which doubles as circulation nexus.

From here you go straight ahead into an open living room – then turn right for the spiral staircase or left for the kitchen.

The kitchen is dimly lit with cross ventilation which has a built-in dining bench to save space.
The living room is where is gets brighter through the many windows and a skylight.

Heading to the first floor you are surrounded with lime-washed timbers and white walls also consisting of many windows to add to the openness. The focus is downwards and outwards.

Across both levels of the house there is a full width operable lattice screen which provided sun protection and privacy for both levels.

The client wanted to kick off his shoes, walk in off the beach and have his friends over without worrying too much. The elements of concrete floors, brick splashbacks and plywood accents were designed with this in mind.

This Freo home is both grounded and robust, yet with a considered approach to how it will be experienced by its owner, who sought something extraordinary.

Sustainability

Creating a sustainable house has never been so important and that was constantly on Philip’s mind when creating the design of the house. This project has been designed to maximise passive temperature control by adding a few elements. Ample thermal mass, cross ventilation, evaporative cooling, operable sunscreens, plant life and highly effective ceiling fans.

Furniture & Styling

Once we saw the direction the design was going in, we couldn’t help but jump on board and get to work on completing this project.

The furniture choices were easy when we had such a simplistic and raw place to work with. Keeping in mind the clients wish with wanting natural elements, we chose the Shen concrete table with its puristic, minimalistic lines paired with the gentle curves of the Tami oak chairs. In keeping with the space-saving functionality of the built-in bench, the Shen Concrete Table has 2 slim drawers on each side that can keep cutlery and placemats handy. The combination contrasted well and by adding the oak it helped balance out the coolness of the concrete table and floors.

Another key point for the client was the need for subtle drama to engage the senses and make a statement in a gentle way. For this we decided to go for the velvet Bale Sofa paired with a beautifully designed yet timeless Mango Armchair. The Bale in blue velvet with its curved form, delicate brass legs, and soft sheen of the velvet contrast yet softens the unique rectilinearity of this living space. The Mango lounge chair was a natural fit, with its unique organic design and powder coated legs which tied in with the other black accents.

These two items alone bring together both spaces, however by adding the natural tone of oak with the Humla Coffee Table. It helped draw the eye from the dining and helped create the link between each space. We decided to take advantage of the high ceilings by adding the Humla Side Table alongside the Humla coffee Table to create a ‘low’ nest to exaggerate the height

Furnishing upstairs was easier as all we had to factor in was the brightness and the blank white walls. Wanting to bring downstairs up, we chose to use the Crimson Queen Bed with its dark walnut timber base and black legs. We then added the Tip Toe Bench in an upholstered fabric at the end of the bed to bring some warmth, as well as functionality to the room. to This allowed the feeling to stay soft but also allowing us to be bold with colours