Homes

Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter

They don’t make apartments like they used to.  Sean and I couldn’t quite believe our eyes when we recently visited the apartment of Melbourne artists Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter in Balaclava.  It is just SO wonderfully generous in its proportions, bigger than most houses we shoot, in fact.  Updated with restraint, and decorated with a respectful nod to its ’60s roots, today’s home strikes the perfect balance.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins

The Balaclava apartment of Melbourne artists Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter and their daughter Roma.  Above – living room.  On the art shelf, paintings from left to right by Lisa Radford, Ross Coulter, Renee Cosgrave, Alasdair McLukie, Merryn Lloyd, Kate Smith, Steven Rendall and Ross Coulter. The Australian cedar oval table is a family heirloom, whilst the chairs were picked up from Sacred Heart op shop in St Kilda.  Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

On the art shelf, paintings from left to right by Merryn Lloyd, Kate Smith, Steven Rendall and Ross Coulter. The Australian cedar oval table is a family heirloom, whilst the chairs were picked up from Sacred Heart op shop in St Kilda.  Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Artwork detail, featuring work from left to right by Kate Smith, Steven Rendall and Ross Coulter. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Living room.  From left to right artworks by Michael Ciavarella, Meredith Turnbull, Milly Cobb, Meredith and Lisa Radford. Coffee table made by Ross Coulter. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Sitting room.  Artwork on the bookshelf from left to right, Melinda Harper vase, Turnbull/Coulter candelabra, Sean Peoples resin vases, woven basket from Yirrkala Art Centre, Nhulunbuy, Bridie Lunney bronze and stone sculpture, Inuit figures from Nunavut territory Canada, Meredith Turnbull sculpture and fragments from ‘Concrete Boat’ by Ross Coulter, Michael Ciavarella and Alex Ippoliti. Large panel by Meredith Turnbull for the Sievers Project, CCP, Melbourne. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

 

Sitting room detail.  Planet lamp from Chapel St Bazaar, Maidenhair fern, Meredith’s collection of Sight and Sound magazines from early 1990s onwards. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Morning light in the living room (which opens on to the private patio garden). The Australian cedar oval table is a family heirloom, whilst the chairs were picked up from Sacred Heart op shop in St Kilda.  Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen with original floor tiles, splashback, cabinets and blind!  La Sorrentina coffeemaker (‘best wedding gift ever’ says Meredith!), harlequin op shop cookie jar, vintage Japanese earthenware pot for utensils, Arts Projects cat tile by Brigid Hanrahan. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Dining room. Thonet bar stools and chair, artworks by Dane Lovett (left) and Beth Caird (right), re-potted rescued Dracaena and laminex table. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Master bedroom.  Artwork by Meredith Turnbull above bed, Grandmother’s crochet blanket, op shop table and lamp.  Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Powder room adjacent to bedroom. Handmade rabbits by Jenny Turnbull, family heirloom Victorian wood inlaid sewing box, Oxfam woven basket.  All built-in cabinetry original.  Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bathroom – original vanity, wallpaper and bathroom fixtures. Lemon button fern. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Meredith’s home studio. Screens by Meredith Turnbull. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Ross’s study / studio, with paintings by Michael Ciavarella (left) and Anita Foard (right). Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Baby Roma, Ross and Meredith at home! Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Writer
Lucy Feagins
25th of February 2015

Built in the late 1960’s, the apartment of Melbourne artists Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter in Balaclava is BIG.  The home comprises two generous living spaces, the biggest kitchen I have ever seen (in either a house or an apartment!), a dining room, 4 bedrooms (two are used as studio / workspaces), an entrance foyer and a lush private patio garden.  Once inside, it really doesn’t feel like you’re in an apartment at all.

Meredith and Ross live here with their gorgeous five month old daughter Roma, and have been here for two and a half years.  When they took possession of the apartment, they also bought number of key furniture pieces from the previous owners, resulting in a lovely and somewhat unexpected mish mash of older style furniture and  contemporary details, alongside an impressive collection of artwork by creative friends and contemporaries.

Though they have have retained many of the original 60’s features here, such as the glam lighting fixtures, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and carpet throughout, some things did have to go!  The bedrooms, living areas, bathrooms, laundry and the foyer were all heavily wallpapered when Meredith and Ross moved in – they stripped most of this wallpaper back themselves, and had most rooms painted white.

The pair designed a floor to ceiling bookshelf for the living room, which was built by Meredith’s cousin John Sweeney, a builder/carpenter.  One particularly clever addition was the art shelf, which spans two walls in the second living area – an ideal flexible solution to display the pair’s ever growing collection of art and collectible objects.

Many of Meredith and Ross’s possessions are time-honoured pieces with real sentimental value – there is very little ‘brand new’ about this apartment. ‘We have combined inherited with new furniture, op shop and vintage finds alongside things we have built or made ourselves’ says Meredith of her eclectic home. ‘We have bentwood chairs with late sixties brocade couches. We love books, indoor plants and are always rotating and featuring our growing collection of artworks by friends and artists we love’.

The kitchen table is a particular favourite, an early 1960’s patterned laminex table with brass legs which was inherited from Meredith’s paternal Grandfather.  The large white glass-topped coffee table is also a treasured piece, originally made by Ross for an exhibition he curated which featured artwork by both Meredith, Ross and their friend Sean Peoples at Sutton Project Space – the table is a nice remnant of that show, and has been with Meredith and Ross ever since.

With so many artworks by friends and collaborators represented here, its hard for Meredith and Ross to single out ‘favourites’ from their collection, but one particularly treasured piece is a diptych of contemporary Adam and Eve figures by their friend, local artist Michael Ciavarella. A Steven Rendall painting called ‘Succulent’ from 2006 is another much loved piece, having been included in Meredith’s first curated exhibition.

It’s so lovely that we’re beginning to see more and more late ‘60s and ‘70s homes being cherished and preserved in this way. As this apartment clearly demonstrates, there is so much to love about homes of this era, with their quirky original features, generous proportions, floor to ceiling windows and bucketloads of natural light.  ‘We love the original features, especially the tiles in the kitchen and the vanities in the bathrooms’ say Meredith. ‘It’s also a great family home because careful consideration has been given to both the shared and private spaces, and it’s easy to close a door and have some quite time or a room to yourself’.

Huge thanks to Meredith and Ross and Roma for sharing their inspired home with us today.

Ross and Meredith’s private patio garden. Photo – Sean Fennessy, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

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