Tag Archives: Home Tours

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Home Tours: The ‘Dolphin Sands Studio’ In Tasmania

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The Local Project – At the end of an undulating path is Dolphin Sands Studio, a small cabin that floats atop the dunes and looks out to The Hazards mountain range and the Peninsula beyond. From the open deck of the cabin, the doors open up to the main living spaces of the studio cabin.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Tiny Cabin on a Hidden Beach 00:31 – The Location of Dolphin Sands 00:45 – A Walkthrough and Around the Cabin 01:04 – The Spacial Components 01:24 – Conceived as a View Finder 01:59 – Utilising as Few Materials as Possible 02:20 – Room for Two 02:48 – Providing Protection 03:05 – The Triangular Form 03:28 – The Architects Proud Moments

Consisting of a kitchen, living space and bedroom – with an adjacent bathroom – the cabin home holds everything the occupants need in one space. Located on a hidden beach in Tasmania, Australia, Dolphin Sands Studio by Matt Williams Architects has been conceived as a viewfinder – giving the occupants unmatched views across the bay. Completing the architecture and interior design, the architect worked alongside the builder to consider how the triangular form of the remote cabin could embrace its surroundings.

This was done by employing a large south-southeast facing window and using as few materials as possible to create a calm space for the occupants. Built on an exposed site, Dolphin Bay Studio embraces its surroundings by inserting itself as one with the landscape. Conceived as a solid tent, the cabin home allows for protection from the elements while maintaining an immediacy with the landscape.

Employing sustainable materials, Matt Williams Architects establishes that the materials work in tune with the weather while not taking away from the experience of living in the unique beach cabin. Capturing the golden sunrise every morning, the position of the cabin home allows the occupants to completely embrace the spectacular views and become one with the community. Though Dolphin Sands Studio is small in scale, the location and proximity to the bay brings external space for the occupants to enjoy.

With a desire to reduce the impact on the terrain, as well as flora and fauna, the architect and builder created a minimally impactful home that inserts itself into the bay. Also offering an escape from the worries of everyday life and the bustling cityscape, the cabin is a uniquely designed home that considers more than its occupants. With an offer of serenity, sustainability and waterside living, Dolphin Bay Studio pushes towards what is possible when designing and living sustainably.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Architectural Tours: An 8′ Wide House In Toronto

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This ultra-narrow house looks modern on the outside, but inside it’s a cozy and welcoming home with multiple levels designed around a meandering set of stairs that run up the center of the home. With lots of wood, exposed copper pipes, and small dimensions, the owner often describes the house as feeling like a boat or a treehouse.

While it might seem like the house was recently built as an in-fill house or accessory dwelling unit, there has actually been a narrow single-story structure on the property since at least 1880. It wasn’t until 1980 – a full century later – that the then-owner, an architect, applied to the committee of adjustments to build the house as it is today.

With such a long and narrow floorplan, an important feature of the house is the full glass walls and skylights at both ends of the house, which lets natural light flow into each room and prevents the house from feeling dark and confined.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Home Design: Pavilion House In Avalon, Australia

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The Local Project – An interior designer’s own holiday home, Pavilion House reflects a studious approach to the relationship between architecture, landscaping and the internal environment. Crafted by Nina Maya Interiors and Maya Sternberg Architects, the home captures an escapist experience using an array of sculptural forms.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Interior Designer’s Family Holiday Home 00:35 – Introduction to Nina Maya Interiors 00:55 – The Location of the Home 01:11 – A Brief Based Around That Holiday Feeling 01:47 – Pavillion Style Architecture 02:06 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:23 – Evoking a Ubiquitous Feeling 02:43 – The Connection Between Indoor and Outdoor 03:15 – The Landscape Architecture 04:05 – A Light-filled Home 04:27 – The Hand Carved Coffee Table 05:14 – Organic, Round Soft Forms 05:34 – Nina’s Favourite Features

Situated in Avalon, a coastal suburb of Sydney, Pavilion House stands as an interior designer’s own holiday home, settled in close proximity to the beach. As the beach house sits far back on a 1000 square-metre block, a house tour of the residence begins with a sense of land, space and privacy reminiscent of a luxury hotel. Architecturally, the building champions a pavilion style with an orderly spatial layout and front façade comprised of glass.

Entering Pavilion House, occupants find the kitchen and dining room, followed by the living quarters and, further back, all bedrooms and bathrooms. As an interior designer’s own holiday home, the residence effortlessly proposes a luxury living experience influenced by hotel designs from around the world. A seamless connection between indoor and outdoor space is maintained using doors which stack to their sides – opening the home to the external environment – and a sophisticated treatment of landscape.

Balancing aesthetics and functionality, Pavilion House is a prime example of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Having excavated a large portion of the front of the property, Nina Maya Interiors builds a refined outdoor dining area surrounded by palm trees, white pebbles and a custom marble table. In addition, the landscape features a firepit area and outdoor spa space, complete with a bar, vanity, free-standing bathtub and rain shower. The lighting of Pavilion House also nods towards its status as an interior designer’s own holiday home. In the lounge, a continuous skylight runs seven metres across the length of the room, inviting natural light to play across the plaster wall.

Raw finishes combine with a restrained colour palette to enhance the calming quality of the sunlight and sculptural furniture within the interior design. Exuding a sense of relaxation, Pavilion House is an uplifting iteration of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Nina Maya Interiors forges a strong connection between both the internal and external aspects of the home, establishing a coherent place of retreat.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Views

Architecture Tour: Grove House In Sydney, Australia

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The Local Project = Located in Sydney’s east, Grove House is a garden home that possesses a sense of community through its connection to the shared grove between the surrounding heritage houses. Supplying architecture and interior design, Clayton Orszaczky delivers a family home that wraps around its occupants like a cocoon.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Inner-City Garden Home 00:27 – The Architects 00:47 – Preservation of the Heritage Aspects of the Home 01:02 – A Walkthrough of Grove House 01:44 – The Clients 02:09 – Connecting to the Garden 02:27 – The Grove, A Community Garden 02:54 – The Landscape Designers 03:06 – A Contrast Between Old and New 03:34 – The Use of Concrete 04:06 – The Key Relationship Between Form and Lighting 04:30 – The Architects Favourite Moments

As the house tour begins, the desire to keep the original fabric of the house – while sensitively connecting to the new additions – can be seen through each design choice of the garden home. Inside, a careful consideration of materials and space has been infused from the original formal rooms to the dining and family living room and into the extensions.

However, it is the original timber staircase greeting guests from the entrance that establishes a graceful connection between the original home and new additions. Directly responding to the clients’ desire to connect to the gardens and grove beyond, Clayton Orszaczky encourages the new additions of the garden home to directly respond with the original fabric. A core aspect of the home, the kitchen and dining space connects to the gardens through large glass doors and windows which directly draw in both northern and eastern light.

A further dialogue between the existing home and the new was addressed by specifically choosing to emphasise the contrast of eras through the use of off-form concrete, steel windows, timber veneer, black porcelain and modern furniture. Collaborating with Tanya Wood Landscape Architect on the ground level and roof garden design, Grove House establishes a renewed connection between home and garden. Looking at the garden home from the grove, it can be seen that the soft form of the exterior contributes to the grove and the shared community space.

Continuing the house tour from the back fence to the shared grove, an immediate connection with the landscape, surrounding greenery and neighbours can be experienced. Throughout the house tour, the transition between the existing and new areas of the garden home are seen through the proportional ratios. Specifically choosing to speak to this dialogue between old and new additions, Clayton Orszaczky has used concrete for mass – similarly to how masonry was used in the original home.

Additionally, continued references to the terrace house form is seen within the new additions and the renewed relationship between light and form further contributes to the connection within the home and to the garden and grove.

Homes, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Home Tours: Moltrasio Villa On Lake Como, Italy

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A gem of late-nineteenth-century architecture, designed by architect Guido Sartirana, is currently for sale in Moltrasio, by the wonderful waters of Lake Como. This is a place that certainly needs no introduction, the undisputed pearl of the most beloved lake in Italy, one that has always been an elegant and exclusive destination thanks to its breathtaking views and its ancient noble homes surrounded by centuries-old gardens. In this dream setting, this villa for sale is in a unique position, directly overlooking the lake and surrounded by a private park measuring over 5,000 sqm. Directly by the lake, the property’s dockyard offers the exclusivity of reaching it by water in total privacy, aboard private boats. Built at the end of the 19th century on a project by a well-known Milanese architect, this villa is characterized by its richly decorated facade with Renaissance-style motifs, enriched by sloping wings and an extraordinarily panoramic corner tower. A huge terrace right in front of the lake, ideal for enjoying romantic drinks at sunset, leads us to the entrance on the ground floor, which is home to a spacious living area, made extraordinarily bright by big French windows. The terrace also leads to the lower level and to the beautiful pool area, to an outdoor kitchen and to the caretaker’s apartment. The main villa is flanked by two other buildings, a small castle and another independent house, located in the property’s grounds, which are an authentic haven of rest in which to enjoy the magical atmosphere of this place in the privacy of your own home.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Tours: Lower Shotover House In New Zealand

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The Local Project – In crafting Lower Shotover House, the architect designs a hidden home that offers a dramatic interior landscape to complement the impressive external context, ensuring it was built for residing in place. Crafted by Bureaux, the home embraces a natural materiality as the means to connecting to the outdoors.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Hidden Home 00:26 – Bunkering Into the Side of the Hill 01:00 – The Materials Used 01:40 – The Importance of Creating A Robust Home 02:10 – The Soft Pools of Light Throughout the Home 02:30 – Creating a Warm and Dramatic Feel 02:58 – The Building Aspect 03:29 – The Views from the Upstairs Bunk Room 03:51 – The Green Roof 04:17 – A Dramatic Kitchen 04:29 – Finding Joy in the Movement Between the Tight Spaces 04:51 – Creating A Timeless Masterpiece

Based in Queenstown, Lower Shotover House faces north, overlooking the Shotover River and Coronet Peak. The architect designs a hidden home that takes inspiration from the old musterer’s huts settled on the mountainside. Capitalising on the protective quality of the hill, the structures look out upon the landscape with a feeling of safety. Importantly, the architect designs a hidden home that utilises a stone composition and a house tour reveals the resulting echo of the rugged surrounds, as well as the proposition of permanence.

In materiality, Lower Shotover House reflects a playful interpretation of the natural context. The architect designs a hidden home that sees stone, black travertine and charcoal timber interior linings combine to establish a cosy interior design. Crafted in recognition of the clients’ lifestyle, Bureaux enforces a robust material palette that can withstand the markings of an active family in a timeless fashion. A dramatic home, Lower Shotover House features rich timber walls, carefully framed windows and pools of soft lighting.

The architect designs a hidden home in which residents are led through the interior with ease; a project where nothing is over-lit and the architecture captures both the compression and expansion of space. Residents must ascend a step in order to enter the kitchen, suggesting an element of theatricality within the experience of the home. As the architect designs a hidden home, they consider the relevance of orientation to the outcome. Lower Shotover House faces north and, as such, measures are put into place to retain heat and maximise the impact of the sweeping views.

While stone walls and a green roof influence the thermal quality of the building, doors measuring three metres high can be pushed back in order to control the thermal climate of the interior. The green roof also engages the surrounding hillside mass, blurring the boundary between landscape and home. Immersing occupants in the mountainside experience, Lower Shotover House forms the ideal place of retreat. Through a process of consideration, the architect designs a hidden home that, though contemporary, is ultimately defined by a prevailing sense of timelessness.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Tours: Light Mine House In Northern New Zealand

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Sitting above the dunes on a plateau, Light Mine is an extraordinary home by Crosson Architects that embraces expansive views of the Coromandel Peninsula. Entering from the southern end of the house, the Light Mine house tour unfolds like a book, seeing Crosson Architects offer a carefully planned story from beginning to end.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Extraordinary New Zealand Home 00:43 – An Extraordinary Site 01:12 – A Choreographed Journey 01:30 – The History Behind the Gold Mining 02:10 – The Light Shafts 02:48 – Tying the Material Palette into Context 03:02 – Cladding Built From the Land 03:32 – Moulding and Blending into the Location Overtime 03:48 – The Extraordinary Craftsmanship 04:33 – A Reference to the Interior of a Gold Mine 05:08 – The Variations of Light Quality

Separated into interconnecting pods, Light Mine is a single level family home that takes inspiration from the dunes and headlands behind and becomes a unique structural form for future generations to enjoy. In designing the home, Crosson Architects looked to the gold mining history of the area, finding inspiration from a historical drawing of a gold mine shaft. As such, the architects have designed a series of geometric pods. Serving as unique structural elements, these inserts work together to break up the horizontal design of the extraordinary home.

Embraced by the clients after many conversations with Crosson Architects, the diagonal inserts offer a sense of scale and character to the home that relates to the surrounding landscape. From within, the diagonal shafts bring a playful and unique movement of light that instils changing characteristics; placed strategically over the living and dining areas, they offer variations of light as the sun shuffles through the extraordinary home.

Notably, the light shaft in the main bedroom offers glimpses of the night sky, capturing the Milky Way and stars above. Understanding that the extraordinary home needed to meld and blend into its surroundings over time, Crosson Architects has used reclaimed local native tōtara timber for the exterior cladding, enhancing the home’s horizontality and settling it into its surrounds. Overall, a cohesive approach to colour and materiality ensures the home reflects the surrounding landscape. Dark timber has been employed on the exterior, referencing the rock of the headland behind; inside, the use of light timber speaks to the sand dunes beyond.

The band sawn timber used extensively throughout the interior design creates a warm reprieve from the outside. In contrast, the kitchen and bathrooms feature dark timber veneer, which also nods to the gold mines while creating visual interest in each internal space. Challenged to design something that was both memorable and laid back, Crosson Architects has delivered an extraordinary home, which references Light Mine’s historical context and incorporates the changing colours of the day to emphasise its unique character.

Gardens, Homes, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Home Tours: The Gardens Of Saitama In Japan (2022)

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The Open Gardens of Saitama private residences:

0:00 Ms. Mizue Takahashi ‘s Residence (Herbal House), 7:31 Interiors of her house, 11:05 Her garden at Night

13:23 Ms.Yoshie Saito’s Residence (Garden Cafe Green Rose)

27:07 Ms.Mariko Gonda’s Residence（Le Jardin Secret）

Saitama Prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo area. In Saitama City, the Railway Museum traces rail history from the steam engines to bullet trains. Kawagoe city is known for well-preserved Edo-era buildings. West, the 3 Kuroyama Santaki falls cascade down mountains. Chichibu city is home to the 34 Buddhist temples of the Kannon Pilgrimage. Near Kinsho Temple, the Iwadatami rock formations line the Arakawa River. 

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Design: St. Vincent Place In Albert Park, Australia

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The Local Project – Following three years of curation, St Vincent’s Place emerges as an award winning home, peppered with art and designed to promote conversation. Crafted by B.E Architecture, the restoration project employs expressive pieces with consistency, enabling the building to be navigated with ease.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Award Winning Home 00:21 – A Restoration Project 3 Years in The Making 00:58 – Building Aspects From the Ground Up 01:31 – Compatibility Within the Home 01:46 – A Walkthrough of the Historic Section of the Home 02:03 – The Modern Section of the Home 02:18 – Reinterpretations of the Historic Aspects 02:46 – Encouraging Conversation Through Building and Design 03:36 – A Range of Surprising Features 04:45 – Peaceful Curation and Arrangement 05:09 – A Journey With the Client

Originally owned by a convent, St Vincent’s Place is comprised of three buildings set side-by-side, situated in the Melbourne precinct of Albert Park. The heritage façade – the only historical element that could be retained in the award winning home – represents a significant contribution to the architecture of the area, presenting a combination of stone and delicate black metalwork. Traversing two design styles in a singular project, B.E Architecture dedicates the front of the home to heritage recreation whilst providing a modern extension.

The front of the award winning home captures a formal entrance and living room and upstairs, a master bedroom and dressing room. A studious approach to restorative design is reflected in the treatment of cornices, skirtings and architraves, as well as doorjambs, doors and flooring. In contrast, the back of the building captures a contemporary interior design including a downstairs pool, onsen and steam room, elevated with tiling and considered lighting.

Several features of St Vincent’s Place indicate the designer’s penchant for aesthetic flair. Inspired by pioneering artist Sigmar Polke, sliced agate doors filter natural light with an array of neutral tones. In addition, a large text piece reading ‘Heaven is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens’ sparks curiosity from its reference, size and impressive incorporation into the award winning home.

“You do feel the magic of how these elements come together here,” says Broderick Ely, Design Director at B.E Architecture. “We curate, we arrange and manipulate these items so it sits very quietly.” Using the even application of decorative elements, B.E Architecture establishes a coherent and award winning home. St Vincent’s Place is structured to gently guide occupants towards its many hidden gems, enabling the mind to wander in unison with the body.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Tours: Fisherman’s House, Parramatta River, Sydney

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Sitting on the edge of Parramatta River, Fisherman’s House is a unique underground home with a sense of the unexpected. Without revealing all at once, the waterfront house is a unique underground home by Studio Prineas that instils moments of awe within every level.

Video Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Underground Home 00:30 – The Waterfront Location of the Home 00:45 – The Original Timber Cottage 01:04 – A Minimalistic View On Arrival 01:35 – A Longstanding Friendship Between Architect and Client 02:05 – Working with an Open Design Brief for the Home 02:33 – The Original Steel Cladding 02:46 – Restoring and Reusing Original Materials from the House 03:28 – Careful Contrast of the New Wing to The Cottage 04:08 – Taking Pride in Preservation and Creation 04:30 – The Swimming Pool

Fisherman’s House is one of the last remaining timber cottages in the area that sits nine metres below the road, hidden from the public eye and offering a serene escape from the city. The client – an engineer and family friend of the architects – delivered an open design brief and sense of freedom for Studio Prineas to organically explore what the unique underground home could become.

The main desire for the client was to have the living spaces facing the water; while there was no desire to keep the original cottage, this was something that Studio Prineas knew they needed to maintain. Throughout the restoration process, removing previous cladding revealed the original weather boards underneath; inside the home, the original timber flooring and lining boards were saved to bring back the lightness of the architecture. With waterfront views from the kitchen, living and dining spaces and entertainment deck, the interior design of the original cottage defers from the new wing.

Additionally, the glazed link is a vertical connection from the original cottage to the private living spaces above. From the lightness of the timber cottage below, the upper levels speak to the rockface behind whilst offering a more grounded appearance with darker timbers. Employing concrete ceilings with rough sawn Oregon formworks that brought a timber look and imprint on the concrete, Studio Prineas established a differentiating space that still feels connected through minute details.

Conserving the history of the cottage whilst creating a contemporary unique underground home for the clients, Studio Prineas were able to embody many design ideas that they have been establishing over many years. As one of the more memorable aspects, the pool acts as one of the last additions of the unique underground home. Unexpected and holding much of the original cottage’s history, the pool offers an enchanting place to sit and watch as the sun sets over the home.