Personality and Variety – Budge Over Dover by YSG Studio

Filled with texture and sculpted elements, Budge Over Dover is the result of YSG Studio’s curatorial approach, which brings together materials, forms, objects of interest and curious gestures to propose a home bursting with personality and tonal variety.

Located in Sydney’s Dover Heights, Budge Over Dover is a story of transformation and connection. With considerable structural changes internally, the existing home takes on a new life through a more deliberate and directive floor plan that responds to its occupants and the way they engage with their home. Unfolding as a series of spaces that connect and flow effortlessly between one another, the home is opened up from within and becomes outward facing, addressing and engaging with the world beyond the built edge. From the changed entry experience to the visual connections of sightlines throughout the newly open and inviting home, YSG Studio draws on an expertly curatorial approach to create a home of many curiosities.

Spread over its substantial site, the generous home stems from an initial brief to connect and breathe new life into the living areas and connect them to the garden and upstairs balcony. Inherited as a dark and confused plan of small and disconnected spaces, significant structural changes were needed to infuse a contemporary relevance into the home. Internal walls were demolished and the ceiling raised in the kitchen and living spaces to create a natural flow between them. The previous liberal use of travertine was replaced with a softer approach, sculpting spaces and structural elements to create interest and movement.

The overall approach to materiality is one grounded in tonal and textural variation as a means to add depth and richness through subtle perceived movement in finishes. Natural patinas are expressed and emphasised with the fusion of some existing elements (such as the travertine in select areas) and more earthy elements such as the hand-made terracotta tiles in the dining space. Throughout, there are deliberate contrasts created through opposing finishes, such as the smooth and the textural, that aid in emphasising and celebrating their differences. The result is one of balance and harmony, in both colour and tonality where depth of colour is used to create a hierarchy in spaces and direct views outward.

Budge Over Dover combines a subtle and inviting palette with furniture, objects and artwork imbedded with rich personality. YSG Studio has opened and connected through sculptural gestures and formwork to create a home of harmony, both within itself and with its natural surroundings.