Subtly Animated – Bondi Terrace by Studio Quarters

Originally a house of prayer, Bondi Terrace is transformed into an expressive family home, capturing the personalities that live within. Studio Quarters combines a subtle and restrained approach alongside a soft and playful engagement with colour to create an ideal base for everyday rituals.

Located in the same-named inner Sydney area, Bondi Terrace breathes new life into an existing series of heritage spaces, still retaining the original detailing and essence of its previous chapter. Whilst its former life was one of reflection, meditation and internal focus, the new occupation as a home for a young and growing family needed a more openly connected approach. Like many rowed terraces of its time, the lack of natural light and internal flow were the first elements to be corrected. A deliberately light palette created the foundation and an ideal platform to commence layering elements and embedding depth into the home. Studio Quarters focuses on a curious and controlled engagement with colour together with interesting geometries to populate the internal spaces, emphasising an overall sense of scale and volume.

A deliberately light palette created the foundation and an ideal platform to commence layering elements and embedding depth into the home.

As a re-sculpting of the exterior and interior, Bondi Terrace retains nods to the past, seeing the new insertions take influence from the detailed level of craft and handmade approach. Newly introduced elements throughout also capture a bespoke nature and are uniquely conceived for this home, playing with the idea of joinery as more than an extension of the architecture but also as furniture itself. Long linear legs support pieces whilst a uniting materiality throughout reinforces the contemporary nature of the newer features.

Opening the home both internally and to the surrounds formed a key directive of the brief, creating enhanced bonds between the natural and the built. The introduction of multiple glass doors allows light and visual access, reflecting a more contemporary way of life. The newly formed kitchen to the rear becomes a central gathering space, allowing a free flow of activity out into the rear landscaped courtyard space. The curves identified in the original home are translated through a more modern lens – both in the furniture and the newly designed pieces brought in – connecting across eras.

The curves identified in the original home are translated through a more modern lens – both in the furniture and the newly designed pieces brought in – connecting across eras.

As a celebration of what existed before, Bondi Terrace carefully weaves in new elements through a respectful and sensitive lens. Studio Quarters has created a carefully posed equilibrium between old and new, allowing both to harmoniously coexist.