Displaying posts labeled "Modern"

I don’t know about your part of the world but here in Australia “Hamptons” can be a dirty word. There is a group of people who will paint any piece of old furniture white, toss in a mix of coastal influences and load the look down with disparate blue and white china and throw cushions. Rugs will be striped, pineapples and parrots may or may not appear (an Australian touch perhaps?) and the only deviation from the universal blue and white palette is the occasional soft grey (usually painted over old kitchen cupboards). Then there are those who despise this faux Hamptonization of the local vernacular architecture. They believe the Hamptons look looks best in, well, the Hamptons … where meanwhile there is a change afoot. This modern barn home (yes actually on Long Island) by Michael Del Piero breaks the stereotypes. No clichéd blue and white, no beachy-keen tchotchkes or striped cotton rugs. Instead there is a wonderfully airy and bright home, richly textured, approachable and sophisticated, simple yet beautiful and as for the outside space … the perfect spot to spend your summer. A new Hamptons look I wouldn’t mind being adopted in other parts.

This industrial loft-y home in Montreal’s Mount Royal neighbourhood is the home and workspace of architect Natalie Dionne and her family. It’s brilliant U-shaped design allows the urban environment to be blocked off and for the outdoors to be enjoyed in peace. I love courtyards!!  And with lots of sliding and garage-style doors, it brings the outside right in. In this climate, this is a unique feature that makes this a really special home.

Light reacting with the surfaces of this house just like light bouncing onto clouds, that was the concept behind this house in Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Openings facing east allow sunshine to pour in, while a courtyard at the centre of the two sections of the building increases the flow even more. With the downstairs dedicated to public spaces, including a double height living area, the upper level’s bedrooms, timber batterned for privacy, are accessed by a staircase and walkway beneath a glass skylight. There’s that word again … “light”. It’s what this fabulous contemporary home is all about.  Cloud House, again by Akin Atelier.

I dream of living in a home with a black exterior. This one in Summit Park, Utah by Park City Design + Build would certainly be a dream to own. Nestled among pine trees it blends into the landscape with the help of its cedar-clad exterior. It is currently for sale via cityhomeCOLLECTIVE. The TreeHaus is a site driven, highly responsive design + build project.  Reacting to the steeply wooded site, the house is arranged in a series of cubic geometries that imbed themselves into the thermal comfort of the hillside, coupling the stepped retaining walls as external boundaries.  Socially, the spaces are arranged so that the primary public living areas are vertically sandwiched between to levels of private spaces, utilizing the stepped rhythm of the form as deck and patio space to create an open indoor outdoor experience.   

Stalking number 2 is a Victorian era freestanding house in St Kilda. It’s just a few hundred metres from the famous Luna Park funfair, the beach on Port Phillip Bay and Acland Street’s fabulous food (not counting the Golden Arches just a few doors up!). Historic facade and modern interiors mean the best of both worlds but I’d need to inject just a little more of my own personality into it. Don’t miss the video because I think it showcases the property so much better than the photographs. Link here while it lasts.