FOREVER HOME
Contemporary elegance meets heritage cues – design practice Biasol updates a spacious Spanish Colonial-style home in Bayside, Melbourne.
VINTAGE CHARM
For Melbourne design practice Biasol, this spacious home was an opportunity to engage with the
idea of
creating a forever home
tailored to precisely fit the busy family and lifestyle needs of
model and
designer Rebecca Judd and husband Chris. While Biasol has retained all the vintage charm and
warmth of the
original, Spanish Colonial-style architecture, it has layered in a contemporary and luxurious
Melbourne-modern aesthetic and created various connected yet self-sufficient spaces for
downtime, family fun
and socialising.
Project Type: Suburban Home
Location: Bayside, Melbourne
Design: Biasol
Photographer: Armelle Habib
ELEGANT & PLAYFUL
For Melbourne design practice Biasol, this spacious home was an opportunity to engage with the
idea of
creating a forever home
that is tailored to precisely meet the needs of model and
designer Rebecca
Judd,
husband Chris, and their busy family. Biasol has retained all the vintage charm and warmth of
the original
Spanish Colonial-style architecture while layering in an elegant Melbourne-modern aesthetic, and
creating
various connected yet self-sufficient spaces for family fun and socialising.
HEART OF THE HOME
The bright and vibrant kitchen is the gathering point and one of the most-used areas of this home. To maintain the aesthetic intention and achieve the functionality required by the family of six, the designers planned the space around a generous, furniture-like island and discrete butler's pantry, integrating appliances into the light, blonde timber of both areas. The Column Freezer and DishDrawer™ Dishwashers in the butler's pantry create an out-of-sight zone for the messier aspects of cooking, while the twin Column refrigerators integrated side-by-side in the kitchen cater to the needs of a busy family. The most visible appliances are the two Minimal style ovens. They were specifically chosen for their monochromatic design, which echoes the kitchen's black accents, and their lack of metallic finishes, which doesn't interrupt the cohesive material palette.
CONNECTED ENTERTAINING
Given the family's love of hospitality and entertaining, Jean-Pierre explains, “it was
important that
there
was a constant connection to food, drinks and entertainment...No matter what zone you are in,
between the
kitchen, bar or outdoor area, you can see through to another two areas. That level of visibility
ensures you
are always connected.” In the varied entertaining spaces, the same approach to product
integration has been
followed. While the kitchen is bright and spacious, the bar employs marble and dark joinery to
create a
deeper, moodier sense of sophistication. An integrated CoolDrawer™ ensures functional
self-sufficiency and
aesthetic cohesion – as it does in the club
area with tennis court views. Nearby is
an outdoor
kitchen,
with a powerful DCS grill barbecue positioned beneath the verdant arches.
ENHANCING FAMILY LIFE
In this forever home
, even the more utilitarian spaces are treated with invention and
consideration.
“Each
space is unique and fit for purpose, so the connection is in the detail – common elements
such as the
custom
gold brass handle, for example, were designed to work across all joinery, walk-in robes and
storage units,”
explains Jean-Pierre. The consistent detailing approach and elements also extends to the
laundry, mud room
and storage units. The laundry, located adjacent to garaging, is streamlined for functionality,
amenity and
organisation, with twin front-loader washers and twin dryers providing abundant capacity for
cleaning and
garment care for all the family. The mudroom, with generous pouffe to sit on while removing
footwear,
contains lockers for everyone to keep their shoes and coats neatly stored away.
