Connected Warmth – Clareville Residence by Lubu Design

Retaining its old-world charm, Clareville Residence takes inspiration from its existing character and handmade elements to reimagine its next chapter. Lubu Design underpins the home with a newfound openness that ensures connections internally and out to the incredible views beyond.

Tucked into the sloping terrain overlooking Taylors Point Wharf, Pittwater and Lion Island, Clareville Residence took formation as a multi-level family home in need of a renovation. Together with an adoration for the area and of the storied past of the residence, the focus was to overlay a more personally reflective sense of self, opening the home and allowing for a more contemporary occupation. Through the lens of a young family who love to entertain, Lubu Design brings a playful combination of pattern and texture to create a warm and congenial home.

Through the lens of a young family who love to entertain, Lubu Design brings a playful combination of pattern and texture to create a warm and congenial home.

Aligned along the waterfront, each level is endowed with enviable views out over the harbour. Animated by the moving vessels and people who pass by throughout the day, the home becomes a watchpoint yet feels removed due to its elevated nature. Wanting to embed flexibility throughout, an interior intervention replans the existing home, creating new opportunities for gathering by removing the formal separation that existed prior. Where the original kitchen sat disconnected, it has been moved to a more central location and connects to the dining and living spaces. Throughout the home, creating opportunities for connection became a driving pursuit for the team, as well as allowing for unencumbered access to the outdoors.

Whilst the base palette of the home is formed from a collective of complementary neutrals, additions of a more elevated and nuanced nature ensure that everyday rituals are made to feel exceptional. From bespoke joinery and custom hardware and fixtures to the use of natural stone and handmade ceramic tiles, each surface has been considered as an interconnecting element that has its own distinct engagement with light and air that is enlivened by movement. The coming together of natural elements with more polished and sleek insertions creates an offering of balance, whilst the incoming natural light and ventilation fills the home with an undeniable lightness throughout.

Throughout the home, creating opportunities for connection became a driving pursuit for the team, as well as allowing for unencumbered access to the outdoors.

As an escape from the city, Clareville Residence is the occasional home of dreams with a clear European influence through a depth of texture and the embedding of a narrative. Lubu Design ensures views out and free-flowing movement drove the outcomes within the home, binding the structure with a newfound openness and warmth.