In Melbourne’s Toorak, Curation Design Studio renovates a 19th-century workers’ cottage, honouring the home’s heritage features while bringing it firmly into the contemporary realm.
In 2020, Charley Mort and her fiancé, Ben Vieth, began buying and renovating homes in Sorrento on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Three homes later, Mort and Vieth, founders of Curation Design Studio, stumbled across an 1885 Victorian workers’ cottage in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak that oozed potential. The interiors had been renovated, however they desperately needed an overhaul, while the exterior remained largely untouched, with myriad heritage features intact. “We could see the potential in the front facade and garden as soon as we saw the property,” Mort recalls. “But it was the rear facade, with its soaring doors and arched windows, that really made us fall in love with the home.”
The dated, dark interior was updated to a light-filled contemporary space where high-end furniture and fittings elevate the home at every turn.
Mort started by boosting the home’s curb appeal, refreshing the tired exterior with an elegant neutral colour scheme which includes striking, diamond-shaped tessellated tiles from Victorian Mosaic Tiling. Inside, the transformation is more radical: the dated, dark interior was updated to a light-filled contemporary space where high-end furniture and fittings elevate the home at every turn.
A long hallway takes you past two bedrooms, one with a gas open fireplace and the other with a study nook, then the laundry and bathroom, which boasts a curved Venetian plaster wall and a round bath. The living space at the rear features floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that open to the alfresco space and the back garden. Upstairs, the master suite has several skylights, an ensuite and a built-in dressing-table finished in Italian chartreuse marble.
“Nero’s Opal range is very simple yet refined and the colourway adds an element of interest while remaining subtle and timeless.”
Lightening the space was key: for example, the original darker timber flooring in the hallway was replaced with light-toned French oak boards, which complement the new Venetian plaster walls. Muted grey carpet in the bedrooms was swapped out for terracotta-coloured carpet downstairs and a chic neutral cream upstairs. Italian travertine benchtops and woodgrain cabinetry bring brightness to the kitchen while additional skylights and floor-to-ceiling steel windows maximise natural light.
To elevate the kitchen and bathrooms, Mort turned to Nero Tapware’s ultra-contemporary Opal range, which incorporates a multi-faceted, textural design featuring diamond prisms with multiple angles. “I chose the range not only for its unique bronze colour, which isn’t too bright – it’s more of a muted deep hue – but for the detailing and sleek design,” she says. “It’s very simple yet refined and I think the colourway adds an element of interest while remaining subtle and timeless.”
“We found an original ceiling rose that had been covered up along with old wallpaper that we peeled off and salvaged. It was quite incredible to see the memories that the home carried.”
The house threw up several surprises during the renovation, which was focused on preserving existing heritage features. “When we started pulling down a wall to extend the kitchen, we found a false ceiling so we were able to lift the ceiling heights to the same levels in the front of the house,” Mort explains. “As well, we found an original ceiling rose that had been covered up, along with old wallpaper that we peeled off and salvaged. It was quite incredible to see the memories that the home carried – it made us appreciate the home’s history and pushed us to ensure the end result was something that could be admired for years to come.”
