South Yarra House sees Christopher Elliott Design use materials of granite and timber to blend heritage elements with contemporary design.
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South Yarra House, recently completed by Christopher Elliott Design, is notable for its sensitive blending of Victorian era heritage elements with more contemporary design additions, custom furniture pieces, and one of Chris’ favourite features of the fit-out, the kitchen.
One of the design team’s immediate challenges was agreeing on which heritage aspects of the home to retain and how to transition other elements into a contemporary aesthetic that aligned with the early-2000s extension at the rear. “We didn’t want a huge contrast between the two” – rather, the strategy was to blend.
Together with senior interior designers Will Harrington and Charlene Antoneemootoo, Chris used natural stone and timber joinery to create a cohesive dialogue between past and present. “We used materiality to bridge these two aesthetics, incorporating a contemporary joinery design in the newer spaces, while working with a shaker frame detail for the more heritage aspects of the home.”
Chris and the team chose Zurano granite, applying it extensively throughout the living areas, the bathroom, and outdoor entertaining area, to unify the home’s duelling architectural eras. The team was drawn to the Zurano granite’s “rock solid” qualities and blueish-grey tones. “We influenced the material palette with an injection of a deep navy colour,” says Chris. The Zurano answered this call with its own rich navy veining, offset against tones of charcoal and grey.
Finding the perfect colouration required some back-and-forth with Artedomus, who undertook their own investigations to source a sparkle-free granite that would match the team’s specific colour palette requirements.
The Zurano granite truly comes into its own in the kitchen, bringing warmth and texture to the benchtop, splashback, shelving, and rangehood, where it contrasts with the sleek expanse of stainless steel. “Food is a passion for our client, so she wanted a kitchen that performs,” says Chris. “While aesthetics matter, she didn’t want to be overly precious about maintenance.” The stainless steel benchtop introduced a striking design element, and the hard-wearing Zurano granite provides a warm, textured counterpoint to its cool, pristine surface.
Chris and team have taken their ventures into granite one step further, to sculpt the freestanding kitchen island with a curved, stepped edge. “We played with curvature on that island bench to soften the form as it steps down into the lower bench. This gives it a sculptural form in the space,” says Chris.
The curved edge is echoed in the floating Zurano granite shelf in the adjoining dining zone; the material story continues into the loungeroom with a low-lying plinth upon which the fireplace is set, and the outdoor barbecue zone.
“When creating living environments, we like to use natural materials which have an authenticity to them, that allow for a more timeless design. Natural materials can be re-treated, natural stone can be refinished, or manipulated in the future to give them further life,” reflects Chris.
Words by Alice Blackwood
Photography by Jack Lovel