MAGNOLIA HOME: BIRCHGROVE

TYPE: Residential Renovation

SCOPE: Interior Design, Furnishing, Object and Art

CONCEPT: Magnolia

PHOTOGRAPHY: Chris Warnes

The concept Magnolia was developed as a representation of family life. The Magnolia flower was also a colour reference, with its many shades of white, punctuated with green and tawny brown.

Magnolia Home, situated on the Birchgrove peninsula has undergone a major transformation from a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, single storey, freestanding brick cottage built in 1925, to a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with a second storey addition and extension.

Owned by husband and wife doctors, their brief was to create a light and serene environment using natural materials like timber, stone and greenery whilst remaining sympathetic to the architectural style of the surrounding environment. They needed to comfortably accommodate the family which included four children, a dog and the regular additional guest, in a stylish but functional relaxed home. Their particular love of wainscoting was an immovable element in the design brief along with an abundance of natural light and space maximisation.

Breathing air and life into every room with a neutral aesthetic using texture and material as defining features, our focus was to delicately stitch together the past and present. To that end the front and original part of the house largely maintained its original period references with the long hallway leading out to the new, more contemporary part of the home. Bespoke design elements incorporated the Magnolia concept including Magnolia lead lights and custom designed handrail.

The overarching design narrative is of an oasis of calm energy. Character pieces, sophisticated colours, playful textures and refined materials deliver a space where the new is now an integral part of the whole, breathing life back into a tired worker’s cottage.