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Dorset by Studio Welgus
A home in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs is reimagined by Studio Welgus, its expansive spaces imbued with warmth from Elton Group’s rich timber veneers.
The timeless appeal of Dorset, a Georgian-style residence in Melbourne’s south-east, has been reconceived for present and future living with a thoughtful refresh by Studio Welgus. Neoclassical joinery design sits at the heart of the home’s redesign, achieved using Elton Group’s timber veneers, which are complemented with other natural materials including engineered timber parquet flooring and Calacatta marble. Working in harmony, these materials bring warmth and intimacy to the home’s spacious proportions.
Studio Welgus was engaged by the client to recut the home’s floor plan and update its interiors. The studio’s principal, Michael Welgus, began by reconceiving the residence’s layout, focusing on axial vistas to elongate sightlines and connect the homeowners with the surrounding landscape, while retaining symmetry and the existing classical architecture. “Formal design qualities have been woven into the spatial planning to ensure a level of proportion,” says Welgus. “This results in a sense of immersivity that makes larger spaces feel comfortable.”
In line with Studio Welgus’s typically restrained approach, trend-based interiors were eschewed, centring the home’s Georgian-style vernacular in the redesign. Intimacy and warmth were established in Dorset’s large open-plan spaces with natural stone, 2-pac finishes and Elton Group’s Eveneer Prefinished timber veneers in Fango. These pushed the ‘restrained’ design narrative the homeowner and designer were aiming for, while retaining the tonal balance that’s synonymous with classical interiors.
Predominantly used for the joinery in the home’s expansive kitchen, the Fango veneers were chosen for their tactility and tonal connection with the solid parquet flooring. “It was important for the kitchen to be monolithic and perform as a utilitarian space,” says Welgus. “With its direct proximity to living areas, we wanted its materiality to dissolve into its surroundings to showcase the book-matched stone splashback.”
With its warm colourway, the veneer leans into the home’s classical influences, bringing a layer of texture and depth that plays off the Calacatta Gold marble benchtops and splashback. And while the aesthetic role of the veneers is key, they also serve an inherently functional purpose: not only are they sustainable and environmentally traceable, but Elton Group’s prefinished veneers don’t require additional polishing and can be used across multiple surfaces, from wall and ceiling panelling to joinery and furniture.
Welgus says veneers are a “common thread” tying many of his studio’s projects together. “Any opportunity to provide natural materials into a palette can directly assist peoples’ innate inclinations to affiliate with nature and our environment, making homes feel warmer, inviting and comfortable.”
Interior design by Studio Welgus. Build by Kendan & Sons. Lighting by Giffin Design.
