Architecture

A Dazzling (Yet Inviting!) Family Home

The house you grew up in forms a key part of your identity, creating your definition of what a home is, and how this should feel. 

This theory underlies all of architect Pete Kennon from Kennon’s residential work, including this renovation and extension of a Victorian house in Toorak. Constructed by DuoBuilt, this house is the beginning of a family legacy that will adapt to the changing needs of the client’s three children, from pre-school into adulthood.

Written
by
Amelia Barnes

This family home in Toorak is designed by Pete Kennon of Kennon+. Photo – Derek Swalwell

The core material of the extension is insitu concrete. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Owners Joey and Jane Scandizzo with architect Pete Kennon. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Timber floors add warm to the largely brutalist inspired interiors. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

‘I wanted to detail the structure to have a strong presence and a sense of permanence, however feel lightweight and calming,’ Pete Kennon says. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The work of Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer influenced the use of concrete. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The house is a reinstated double fronted Victorian with a two-storey contemporary addition. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The home is calming yet able to withstand the family’s boisterous young boys! Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

‘It was critical to layer the interior with many softer tones and warmer materials for a femininity to pair with quite a strong masculine structure,’ say Pete. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Rich layers and textures are showcased in the bedrooms. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

‘It was critical to layer the interior with many softer tones and warmer materials for a femininity to pair with quite a strong masculine structure,’ say Pete. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Elegant bathroom interiors. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The pitched roof form of the extension was larger driven by the narrow site in an endeavour to create volume. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Floor-to-ceiling glass frames the backyard. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Poolside in the backyard. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The poolside terrace is in keeping with the home’s interiors. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The original Victorian facade has been maintained. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Greenery soften the home’s exterior. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

The house is a reflection of the owner’s past, present and future. Photo – Derek Swalwell. Styling – Room On Fire

Writer
Amelia Barnes
28th of June 2020

Whenever architect Pete Kennon from Kennon meets a new client, he asks about their future, but an equally important consideration is their past. In the case of Joey (Joey Scandizzo Salon founder and Eleven Australia co-founder) and Jane (TV personality and model) Scandizzo, he discovered Joey grew up in an Italian family in a house his father built, while Jane had grown up on land near Mount Macedon, with animals, and close connection to the natural environment. ‘These upbringings already provide insight into what their definition of home is, and how a home should feel,’ Pete says. ‘It is these environments that are subconsciously their understanding of home, and what home should feel like to them.’

This history underpins Pete’s design of the couple’s Toorak home – a renovated double fronted Victorian home, with a new two storey contemporary addition, constructed by DuoBuilt.

Joey and Jane had two children with a third on the way at the time of building, so the home needed to accommodate their future growth. ‘The house’s purpose is a beginning of a family legacy – to facilitate and optimise the practical goings on of everyday life, however also to build a place that would form the identity of the children,’ says Pete. 

Drawing on the aesthetic of Joey’s childhood home, and inspired by the work of Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, Pete selected in situ concrete as the primary material for the extension. ‘I wanted to detail the structure to have a strong presence and a sense of permanence, however feel lightweight and calming,’ he says. ‘Concrete can often feel quite brutal, so it was critical to layer the interior with many softer tones and warmer materials.’ The addition of timber flooring, alongside a varied materials palette including marble, leather, linen and textural soft furnishings provides balance. Meanwhile, the distinctive pitched roof form in the extension creates volume and adds drama, giving this project its unquestionable WOW-factor!

While the contemporary architecture of this extension is worlds apart from the home’s original Victorian facade, both are inherently classic. There’s no doubt this is a home that will be loved and for generations to come.

See more Kennon projects here, and DuoBuilt projects here. 

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