By Brooke Aitken Design
The San Francisco residence was a renovation brief with aims to rejuvenate a 1991 artist’s studio and dark room into a warm and inviting 2 bedroom residence. The focal point of the brief was the existing cherry tree, with this acting as the catalyst for Japanese design elements to be interpolated across the interior of the residence.
The carefully curated selection of art and furniture pieces includes works by local San Francisco artists, as well as Australian and international artists, strengthening both the aesthetic and conceptual harmony between cultures that plays out across the interior.
The use of deep cherry hues juxtaposed with natural tones is an ode to both the Japanese influence of the original studio, and the warm terracotta to the communal surrounds of San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge’s International Orange.Japanese inspired joinery is used throughout, with the kitchen purposely referencing folded origami sculpture and hand hewn timberwork. Textural wallpaper works in sync with exposed surfaces, echoing the balance of cultures and influences as seen across the interior.
We are architects who believe interior design is an essential part of the design equation for seamless, coordinated and strong conceptual visions.
Brooke Aitken Design is both an architectural and interior design practice that focusses on the combination of both to create beautiful rooms. We are one of the few architectural practices in Australia that can both build and furnish a project. We design from both the external-in and the internal-out, blurring the traditional division between architecture and interior design for a finish that is seamless in vision. We specialise in mid to high-end residential architecture and design but are also well versed in and welcome many other project types. Our preference for architectural projects are ones that extend to the interiors, yet we regularly undertake interior decoration without an architectural requirement.
Brooke Aitken heads a small boutique team of architects and interior designers that are well trained in quality design and construction methods. We enjoy problem-solving and providing our clients with a fresh eye with both professionalism and enthusiasm. We work at many scales, whether it be feasibility and strategic planning for a corporate client or procuring a single item for a residential client. The practice is passionate about providing a design service that best suits the project, the client’s brief, and their aesthetics.
We have a strong contemporary aesthetic that stands the test of time beyond stylistic fashions. We term this 'Soft Modernism'. However, in each project we aim to weave the client’s personality and tastes, which makes each design singular. Beyond aesthetics, our aim is to create livable, sustainable and practical spaces which relate to the brief, budget and site. We concur with the tenets Slow Architecture Movement and believe that renovation can often be better than replacement.
Colour plays an important role as do material and decorative choices, but all are determined by the conceptual design response at the beginning of the project.