This is a beautiful 1840's Cape Dutch farmhouse located in South Africa. I am totally smitten with its neutral decor and all the wood floors and beamed ceilings throughout. I could go on about it but I am slightly drunk (I'm writing this Saturday night) having spent a few hours hanging out at a Legion with some of my favourite people on this planet and it's got me thinking (I clearly don't drink much). I have a love affair with interior design (also pretty clear as Jo and I have had this blog for over 10 years) but this past week has really done a number on me. Hanging out at the Country Cat Sanctuary last Sunday whilst managing not to bring home any cats and staying late at work every day this past week with each day being more hellish than the next, and managing to find time on Wednesday evening to go see Kedi at the movie theatre which, being the crazy cat lady that I am, really moved me, and going to a vintage show yesterday and finally leaving 5 hours later where I got to meet some awesome new people (and one vendor I was hoping to visit with was at the hospital with a bleed in her brain) and spend some quality time having drinks with the always fabulous ladies of social enterprise HighJinx whose lives are devoted to helping others....it just makes me stop and think about the important things in life. I am grateful for this blog and this community and my passion for design. So enjoy these wonderful photos of Herbertsdale Farmhouse, and I hope it inspires you. Via VISI. (Photos: Jan Ras)
March 26, 2017
March 23, 2017
a dwelling project with wooden addition by Ola Studio
Ola Studio have completed a project called ‘Garth’ which is located in Northcote, Melbourne. Garth was once a frayed 19th century Italianate Victorian masonry building that has been restored and supplemented by a wooden addition to make more space for a family of five + two dogs.
The original dwelling is shaped in one solid form with all rooms contained within a single volume. When considering how to add to what was already there, a conscious decision was made to approach the design with architectural contrasts and similarities. The new building adopts the forms of the old, but varies their sequence and size to create a series of intimate internal and external spaces. Externally the new addition reads as a reserved collection of rigid forms stacked on top of, or next to one another, while the internal circulation functions as a seamless transition from one defined space to the next.
In contrasting the pale palette of the heavy masonry dwelling, the new build appropriates a lighter material in timber with a dark finish. The black textured finish is achieved by charring the timber which also preserves it. The heat converts the resin of the timber into cellulose which then becomes its own lacquer protecting the timber from weather and rot and effectively rendering the material as a zero maintenance timber cladding.
Similar in scale of footprint and mass, and both reserved and devoid of unnecessary detail, the two buildings sit side by side with a calm air of confidence and presence within their landscape.
Photography by Derek Swalwell