Top Ten Homes of 2017 · The Doll's House

Our TOP TEN homes of 2017 wouldn’t be complete without this absolute #DREAMHOUSE – the playful, creative Northcote home of artist, curator and author Tai Snaith, her partner Simon Knott of BKK architects, and their two young sons Leo and Gil.

Known as ‘The Doll’s House’, this lovingly handcrafted home speaks volumes about the creative family who live here.

Written

Lucy Feagins

Supported by Dulux

The Northcote home of Tai Snaith and family. Tai hand-glazed the tiles used in the kitchen splashback (there are 520 of them!) and worked with tilers to arrange them in this pattern on-site. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The fireplace is from Cheminees Phillippe, ‘Slow Motion Catastrophe’ (melted ice-cream) lamp designed and made by Tai, her partner Simon Knott, and Rory Hyde. Artworks by Nathan Gray (top) and Sarah CrowEST (bottom). Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The northern-facing facade of Tai Snaith‘s ‘Dolls House,’ complete with ‘Playschool’ windows! ‘My veggie garden is to the right (with two avocado trees) and the garden bed on the left I plant seasonally with bulbs, snapdragons, etc,’ mentions Tai. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The east-facing window on the new part of the house. Porcelain floor tiles by Academy Tiles. Artwork by Nathan Gray (top) Sarah CrowEST (bottom). Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Chairs by Svend Skipper (pink) and Grant Featherston (cream) upstairs, alongside art by Tai (left) and Adam Lee (right). Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Writer

Lucy Feagins

2nd of January 2018

When two talented creative minds come together to design a house for their very own family, the results are bound to surprise and delight. Such is the case with the Northcote home of artist, curator and authorÂ Tai Snaith, and her partner, Simon Knott of BKK architects.

Known as ‘The Doll’s House’, the home comprises a charming Californian Bungalow facade at the front, and a bold new addition out the back, with that amazing fairytale pitched roof! Flanked at front and rear by lush, productive gardens, this is a dream family home for Tai and co.

‘Our house is very much about play and creativity’ explains Tai. My practise as an artist is grounded in play, and our two boys do nothing but play. Simon was quite inspired by the idea of original Dolls Houses being spaces of imagination and flexibility’.

For the full story and many more photos of this truly unique Melbourne home, do revisit the original story!