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This grand Edwardian in Melbourne’s southeast suburbs has been standing since the 1890s.
The heritage-overlay property was once an original farmhouse, and the present-day bones and interiors were still in good condition, albeit a little too neutral for new custodians, who purchased the Hughesdale residence in late 2020. The family of four engaged Eclectic Creative interior designer Jessica Viscarde to renovate the front, while extending the rear with newly built spaces.
‘My clients wanted fun and colour whilst paying homage to the Edwardian bones,’ she says.
‘They wanted something to look like it had always been there and have a timeless feel, blending effortlessly with the existing architecture yet feeling fresh and contemporary.’
For a seamless flow between the existing front areas and the new extension, they went to the effort of custom staining Baltic pine flooring on-site, giving it an aged look. The arched fretwork in the hallway was also reinstated to reflect the elegant facade, while all the new areas feature skirting and cornices that were carefully matched to their original counterparts!
‘The main bedroom (formerly the parlour) has this incredible purple and green leadlight in the top of the windows, and the front entrance door has soft pinks and greens, so we wanted to weave this throughout,’ Jessica explains.
‘Our intention was to have the new living and the kitchen talking to one another, “having a nice conversation” as we always say.’
Jessica used pops of blue and green the owners’ favourite colours) to help make the interiors feel cosy and connected. Open shelving above both the kitchen and the fireplace also gave the owners a space to display their favourite objects, giving the open-plan space an inviting and ‘lived-in’ feel.
A custom-made petrol green sofa speaks to the ‘grounding’ navy-tones in the nearby kitchen island, and the client’s own eclectic artworks round out the colourstory that begins from the moment you step inside the light-filled house. ‘It was just meant to be,’ Jessica adds.
The team also discovered two original archways when creating the thoroughfare for the new walk-in robe and ensuite in the main bedroom, offering a peek into the glamorous art-deco style wallpaper. ‘It’s always such a delight peeling back the decades to reveal the original,’ Jessica notes.
The whole renovation took almost two years, but the painstaking attention to detail has made the resulting home something pretty special.
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