Inside a Colour-Rich Melbourne Family Home by Studio Tate

Few designers get to return to their work as a guest. For Studio Tate founder and director Alex Hopkins, weekends at this Malvern home have become a fixture long after its completion.

Approached to design a family home for her brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Gemma, Hopkins knew the stakes were different from the outset. “Designing for family can be a little bit nerve-wracking,” she says. “So from my perspective, this had to be a success.”

A collaboration between Studio Tate and architecture practice Lovell Burton, Malvern House III was designed for a family of five, with connection to the outdoors, vibrancy and a sense of personality at the heart of the brief. Pastel grey-blue cabinetry, glossy marine blue bar interiors, Norwegian Rose stone and deep forest greens move through the home, while Tongue & Groove Bistre timber lines the kitchen ceiling and reappears as the floor finish upstairs. “As your feet touch the timber upstairs, there’s a shift in how that feels,” Hopkins says. “It’s a space for retreat.”
Credits
Location: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong Country / Melbourne, Australia
Interior Design: Studio Tate
Architecture: Lovell Burton
Landscape Design: Amanda Oliver Gardens
Build: Bacchus Constructions
Filmed and Edited by: Nice Film Co.
Photography: Anson Smart
Words: Nicole Toma