Windsor
Within a heritage masonry home in the inner-Melbourne sanctum of Windsor, an interior palette of soft tones and natural textures unfolds, courtesy of interior designer Sienna Di Pietro of DiPietroPierce. Built by Lonsdale Building Group, the residence is a respectful and meditative addition to the streetscape.
Beginning with a compact two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage, this home has been extended to bring modern functionality, daylight and flow to its interior spaces. The scope of the renovation saw an extra bedroom and bathroom added, plus a double-storey garage, workshop and storage space to the rear, which has the capacity to be transformed into a self-contained flat in the future.
While the interiors were reimagined, the traditional heritage style of the exterior is carefully preserved and refreshed, allowing the home to keep its charm and character. In the open-plan living and kitchen area, natural materials form a cohesive textural palette, with parquet timber flooring in the kitchen speaking to the swirling patterning in the stone splashbacks and countertops, while timber cabinetry extends into a walk-in scullery to bring cooking mess away from the sightlines of the lounge area.
An L-shaped couch in rich cream accentuates the soft texture of the Venetian plaster interior walls, a look that is continued with the pale pinks seen on the stone patio area outside the doors, with its circular, sun-soaked alfresco dining suite. Curves are also a recurring feature, with a rounded shower wall in the bathroom and a pleasant wave-like plastered edge on the kitchen wall extraction unit.
Artworks bring colour and whimsy to the calming, subdued tones of the interiors, with a curated collection courtesy of artist Josh Fisher and 1301SW and Starkwhite galleries. In the living room, a Kaws Four Foot Companion in Grey is a true conversation piece, with smaller gold figures placed on the countertops, bringing contrast alongside the pale, sculpted ceramic forms of an Olga Etc Hydrangea Vase and Stephen Antonson plate.
Next to the couch, a vintage Gufram Cactus Coat Rack by Guido Drocco & Franco Mello brings a pop of bright colour, while in the entrance hall a vibrant work by artist Johnny Niesche stands proud on a side table, lit from above by a skylight and aided in the evening by a spectral themed Coral Ring Pendant light from SOKTAS. In one of the children’ s bedrooms, the wave edging of a Beatrix bedhead from McMullin paired with a bold blue Pedestal side table from Bonnie and Neil adds a sense of fun and curiosity against that beautifully consistent warm, neutral palette, which brings lightness and calm to this highly successful renovation and restoration project.
Interior design by DiPietroPierce. Build by Lonsdale Building Group. Landscape design by Nathan Burkett and By Fields. Render and polished plaster by Melbourne Render Co. Joinery by Ausmade Joinery. Artwork by Josh Fisher, 1301SW and Starkwhite.
