Tucked in the blissful streets of Toorak, Melbourne, Ottawa House looks like it has been lifted from a fairy tale book with its French Chateau build and gravel paved forecourt dotted with rows of red oak. Beyond the dreamy qualities unfolds an expert curation of defining stone qualities and flexible space arrangements made by Interior Design Studio . With an interior tailored with art-gallery qualities, I feel that I may have accidentally stumbled into Pemberley House from Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
This two storey Parisian-style residence was originally kitsch-heavy with exposed sandy façade interior, awkward kitchen arrangement and mismatched bathroom walls. Ottawa House is defined by its symmetrical plan generously holding three bedrooms and three bathrooms with a circular atrium in the centre. At the client’s request to transform the space as a celebration of the previous and current owner’s hospitality spirit, Fiona Lynch reorientated the kitchen with Boffi and Wolf/Sub-Zero fixtures to seamlessly merge with the living and external view. Former yellow walls are repolished with white plaster, becoming a new canvas while allowing light to exude a soft ambience.
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Perhaps because of the unforgettable existing marble bathtub, I could almost argue that it became the source of inspiration for the hero material. Volumes of marble are used in the bathroom and ensuite’s floating vanities, wall partitions, and as the countertop of the kitchen’s roughly chiselled stone island bench.
Additional rough-cut stone is placed at the flanking fireplace at the entrance foyer and the staircase, which is re-styled with charcoal polished timber and a custom bronze handrail. The selection of unapologetically cold material gives strength and awe to the interior – almost as if Ottawa House has been carved by a stone artisan.
The near monochromatic palette closely mirrors a deconstruction of marble’s characteristics. Against the white walls, black is distributed to the steel frames on the shuttered French windows, rails that frame the balustrade of the circular atrium, and black mesh ceiling above the kitchen area.
Complimenting the existing intricate blackened parquetry timber flooring, additional earthy and metal qualities are reintroduced to bring warmth and unify the overall ensemble. The living areas are accompanied by custom metal shelving, bespoke oak timber furniture pieces, and a limited-edition Apparatus Wall sconce made of bronze and horsehair. Graphic black bathroom fixtures from Boffi designed by Piero Lissoni decorate the wet areas, and custom circular mirrors from Agape and Gubi hover above the marble vanities. In the bedrooms, wheat-coloured linen curtains cast a soft glow against the textured wool carpets. Soot-coloured linen framed by delicate door pulls are also used in the custom cupboards. Maintaining consistency in materiality with a touch of luxury is a hanging Anders pendant by Pinch that gently floats by a stone fireplace.
Often oversaturation of marble can easily age the luxurious appeal of the architecture, but when nicely balanced out with purposely unrefined materials – it exudes a ‘rough around the edges’ quality. Ottawa House is a testament to Fiona Lynch’s masterful skills of stone application – I am left wanting more.
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