An enchanting family home filled with colour, shape and texture

Presenting an elegant and neutral interior design scheme punctuated with powerful pops of colour throughout, this beautiful home in Port Melbourne was built for a young family of four by the architecture and interior design experts at Adele Bates Design. Situated upon a 300-square metre parcel of land measuring six metres wide and 50 metres long, this home required careful spatial planning and clever arrangement to maximise space and liveability.

Bryan Yen, senior interior designer at Adele Bates Design, was brought onto the project after the clients had purchased land and already had initial house plans drawn up. “The clients found us through a magazine feature, and the early iterations of the house plans included a lot of rooms and bedrooms, but they were all small and felt closed in,” says Bryan. “Our objective was to reduce rooms and create spaces that felt airy and open.”

The shape of the land posed some challenges while fulfilling the client brief, but was solved with smart spatial planning and custom joinery. “This was achieved through an intimate understanding of the clients’ requirements and how they planned to use each space,” says Bryan. The house plans were altered to swap an enclosed staircase for an open one along the wall, and to position the open plan kitchen and family room towards the back of the home so it opened up to the backyard. 

A formal living area, three bedrooms, a study, laundry and three bathrooms were also accommodated. A studio space has been built above the garage and currently functions as a home office, but is versatile enough to become a guest room or fourth bedroom as it has its own bathroom. “The house is long and narrow, so it was tricky fitting everything in and making all the space count,” says Bryan. “But now it’s a very family-friendly, liveable space.”

The homeowners requested an interior design scheme that was stylish, social and relaxed with a sense of casual luxury. In response, Bryan constructed a layered solution from elevated materials that create feelings of intimacy and space in equal measure. “The clients loved modern architecture with clean lines, sleek angles and white exteriors,” says Bryan. “To juxtapose this, the interior palette was selected to create a sense of drama and opulence, while still being functional.”

Separate formal and family living zones allowed Bryan to apply comfortable and functional materiality in high-traffic areas, while a more dramatic arrangement is reflected in others. “Our approach to styling was to establish a playful character through form and colour while being fit for purpose for both adults and children long term,” says Bryan. Furniture showcasing rounded forms contributes to achieving comfortable clearances and flow throughout the floor plan, which can be a bit tight in places, says Bryan. “This technique makes the spaces feel more generous in proportion. From a visual aspect, the soft, rounded forms stand in contrast to the strong rectangular forms of the joinery,” says Bryan.

Marble and polished plaster offset the dark floors and joinery on which the scheme is built. Statement accent colours, art and tactile furnishings are integrated throughout to reflect the clients’ personalities. In the bathrooms, marble and tiles are complemented by simple yet elegant joinery and custom brushed rose gold fittings.

While the artful arrangement of colour, texture and shape is undeniably the drawcard of this project, the entrance of the home and the front formal living room has emerged as the design hero of the build. “As the front door opens inwards, directly into the formal living room, we installed a floor-to-ceiling Pietro Russo shelving unit to define the entry space while maintaining visual openness,” says Bryan. “The shelving unit is a fantastic design that provides a great backdrop to the furniture, and a place to display objects and art.”

Bryan reports that the clients were thrilled with the end result and that the firm will miss working with the homeowners now the project is complete. “We have a beautiful relationship with the clients, they are always receptive to new concepts and ideas,” says Bryan. “The clients’ response to the design is just brilliant; it’s why we love what we do.”

See more work from Adele Bates Design on ArchiPro.