Saturday
Dec152012
Now where was I?
Sat, 15 Dec 2012
Ah yes. Real estate stalking. My last for the week is this inner city Melbourne warehouse. The long time home of an artist it is a wonderful mix of Victorian era industrial, warm timbers and garden oasis. Rambling vines soften the facade while soaring tree ferns shade the inner courtyard. Hard to imagine that you are in Fitzroy almost in the shadows of the city skyscrapers. A little jewel on the hard gritty streets. Link here while it lasts.
Reader Comments (7)
So very 1970's, but sparkling and fresh!
Lots of charming features : huge space, high ceilings/beams, woodwork/exposed brick, big windows/amazing outdoors, the overall feel: 'barn' meets 'loft' meets 'tropical villa'.
That said, the layout is a complete architectural mess. Stereotypes are created for a reason, master bedroom should be upstairs in that big, yet intimate space, along with a nice big, spa like master bath with direct access to the terrace, and a closet, I mean there's no closets in this huge house, and the master is 3/4?!? Kitchen/ dinning area should be right underneath it, where the library/guest BR is now, so you can open sliding doors and feel like you're cooking/dining outside. Library should replace the most out of place depressing, cubicle type 'study' area/ laundry, half bath?!? Study/office should be upstairs by the window in the master, overlooking the lush, inspiring outdoors. The right wing 2nd bedroom/bath remains there as a guest BR, the rest of the space should be an open concept great room, incorporating living/family room, kitchen/dining and library all in one. Who buys a huge loft and divides into cubicles:) An artist? :))
I'm so glad the designer went with what felt *right* instead of unimaginatively following some narrow-minded set of rules about how things "should" be. This is a gorgeous house. Trust an artist to think outside the box--well done!
This was a gorgeous house before 'the designer' got in there. You are given a huge 200 sq m open concept house, yet you end up with 10 small spaces, tiniest bedrooms you can barely fit a bed in, minimal closet and storage space, a jail cell office-study with no windows, zero privacy when open the front door to the street in an urban area, !!! only 1.5 baths( 1 shower ha-ha ?!? the space needs 2.5) A guest BR with no bath. Groundbreaking:)).
And Mrs. Rose above, calls all that "a layout that feels right", "breaking the narrow-minded rules" I bet you're a 'designer' yourself
I would put the library in prime position myself -- it is where I would spend the most time, and having a patio at hand would be marvelous. The layout is unusual, but workable, I thought. The public space upstairs, the private space taking the main floor. Practical. As is a small bedroom -- room for a bed and a few clothes, what more do you really need? For some, it isn't about taking up space for a hardcore impression of privacy-first, or to store personal items where no one else can see them!
The interior of the house looks so spacious and neat. Very vintage indeed because I can see the Victorian theme in some parts of the house.
This warehouse used to belong to a friend of mine the Australian artist, Brian Seidel. He was the one who converted the warehouse into what it is now. The current owners/vendors just furnished it. The large living room (pix 5) was indeed Brian's studio for many decades. What is not well-known about this place is that it was the very first warehouse conversion ever in Fitzroy. The City Council at the time would not allow for warehouses to be residences, so Brian told authorities that he was the live-in caretaker. Initially he only was allowed a small care taker's flat and gradually added small rooms as he could afford it. They had to be kept small to pass council regulations that it was primarily a studio . . . of course, the times have changed and so have building and zoning regulations.
It's really important to consider the historic reasons why a building is as it is!