Lasting Resonance – Carlton North by Hecker Guthrie

From the reinvigoration of an existing Victorian-era stately home into a modern and contemporary place of residence, Carlton North emerges as a refreshing extension of its previous storied past. Hecker Guthrie fuses a respectful sensitivity to the existing heritage elements with a series of crafted gestures to conjure a home of lasting resonance.

Nestled into the established heritage milieu of Melbourne’s Carlton North, the home of the same name combines a respectful nod to its past together with a contemporary relevance and so speaks to both its past and its present through the lens of its current custodians. Originally built within the Victorian era, the inherited home expresses a detail and ornateness no longer endowed upon current residential abodes, and ensuring these details were preserved and integrated with modern sensibilities was key. A collaboration with Brayshaw Architects, Carlton North exemplifies a crafted approach, expressing the handmade and the inherent beauty of raw materiality. Hecker Guthrie draws on an intuitive understanding of space to propose a home of personality and charm – a series of spaces that are of no particular time but are firmly planted in their place and context.

Hecker Guthrie draws on an intuitive understanding of space to propose a home of personality and charm – a series of spaces that are of no particular time but are firmly planted in their place and context.

Built by Bacchus Constructions and with landscape by Kate Patterson Landscapes, Carlton North expands its previous footprint to wrap around its carefully curated courtyard garden. Key to the rear activation of the home, and the garden as a room in itself, are the positioning of the ice blue tiled pool and its formal arrangement of seating and traditional plantings that surround. Custom timber and glass doors open the muted and neutral brick extension to the natural elements, breaking the building’s overall mass and connecting this primary gathering space to the outdoors.

Tying the old to the new is the use of materiality and its extension of the space through time. Finely executed steel and glass thresholds and handmade ceramic tiles reference and celebrate the honesty of their comprising parts, while the muted oak flooring throughout ties each of the zones together organically. Taking inspiration from the Dutch and Belgian design masters, the overall tonality perfectly matches the calming and escapist feel wanted within a residential setting. The bringing together of classic references with natural textures and finishes then creates the ideal foundation for the less permanent elements of the home. Dotted throughout are injections of colour and character, as an expression of the personality of its owners.

The bringing together of classic references with natural textures and finishes then creates the ideal foundation for the less permanent elements of the home.

Carlton North is a beautifully sombre and personality-rich home that bridges time. Hecker Guthrie combines an attentive rigour with a true understanding of spatial sensibilities to conjure a home of lasting and relatable resonance.