Architects: Adam Kane Architects
Year: 2020
Photographs: Timothy Kaye
Manufacturers: Brodware, Carlier and Co, Lovelight, New Age Veneers, Scanlan Makers, made by storey
Builders: Technique Construction Group
Architecture And Interior Design: Adam Kane
Interior Design: Annie MacLean
City: Barwon Heads
Country: Australia
The Barwon Heads House, a residential project designed for a young couple in Barwon Heads, has transformed a period home to embody a relaxed, coastal lifestyle. The design integrates old and new elements, enhancing indoor-outdoor connections and providing ample space for entertaining.
Designed for a young couple, it captures the relaxed coastal lifestyle of Barwon Heads. The design brief included transforming the space to facilitate entertaining while maintaining a strong connection between the interior and exterior, and blending old with new. Upon entering the restored period home, a light interior contrasts with new charcoal floorboards. Heritage features, such as original lining board ceilings, period skirting, and architraves, have been preserved and integrated with the updated design.
Access to the addition is through an enclosed corridor lined with black mottled joinery panels. This corridor conceals doorways to the rumpus, laundry, and storage areas, creating a sense of compression before releasing into the living room. The corridor directs the line of sight to the main space, where the gable opens up, emphasizing the transition from old to new.
Entering the main space provides a feeling of release, with a double-height 6.5-meter American Oak-lined raked ceiling. The changes in volume and height enhance the sense of space. Timber lining and cladding blur the boundary between inside and outside, delineating zones and contributing to the home’s relaxed ambiance. The desaturated timber ceilings and joinery are complemented by silver travertine slabs, burnished concrete floors, and hand-scratched solid plaster walls in a soft, warm ‘bone’ color. Linen sheer curtains add comfort and warmth.
In the main room, a large travertine-lined island bench serves as the centerpiece, seamlessly transitioning from kitchen bench to dining table through a discrete floor-level change. This creates an informal area for entertaining and gathering, offering a refined solution to varying benchtop heights. The back-bench joinery extends into the living area, connecting the two spaces. Natural light floods the main space through 4.5m high large glass sliding doors, embracing the outdoors and appreciating the coastal beauty.
Barwon Heads House showcases a family home that complements the coastal environment and the existing weatherboard cottage. Textural, natural materials were chosen to suit the setting and provide durability. The home’s interplay of light and dark, solid and void, and materiality creates a unique experience for guests and occupants for the foreseeable future.
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