Warm and Welcoming – House N by F3 Studio

Contemporary and welcoming, House N is the result of the renovation of an existing Edwardian home in Melbourne’s inner south-east. F3 Studio brings robust, warm materiality to the fore, creating a family home that connects with ease to its past while looking to the future.

The original Edwardian bones were the inspiring muse for the extension and renovation. Bringing together a sense of craft and warmth from the original heritage features, the resulting home sees an open and connected family zone reimagined around the theatre of the kitchen as the focus while also connecting outwards to the garden. F3 Studio combines an approach steeped in the resilience and the robustness needed by a family home together with warming elements that soften and invite.

The original Edwardian bones were the inspiring muse for the extension and renovation.

The forces underpinning House N are those of gathering and connecting. With the client an avid cook, the home needed to radiate from this one integral element. Taking inspiration from the theatre inherent in cooking, the senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – are all celebrated and heightened through the choice of materiality, the layout and the engagement with the surrounding key zones. Anchoring this space as the transition between the old and the new, the kitchen is announced by its own timber proscenium. Timber wraps up and over the kitchen space to signal the shift from old to new and create a stage-like focal point. From its large and unshakable in-situ concrete island bench, the kitchen also connects to the outdoor deck, offering an extension of the family zone beyond the built form.

The extension sees a new kitchen, pantry, laundry and powder room on the lower floor and the re-planning of two bathrooms on the upper floor. The ethos behind the new works was to propose solutions that were practical, resilient and inviting. Much as the original home embodies its own previous character, the newer elements needed to also have character without being time-specific and were required to connect to the old respectfully. The use of warm timber, in-situ concrete, red brick and monochrome joinery and tiles reflect a sense of longevity beyond the present.

Through restraint and careful deliberation, House N reflects the values of its owners and how they live and use their home. F3 Studio has brought together two different eras through materiality and thoughtful planning to propose a home that looks outward and onward.

F3 Studio combines an approach steeped in the resilience and the robustness needed by a family home together with warming elements that soften and invite.

F3 Studio has brought together two different eras through materiality and thoughtful planning to propose a home that looks outward and onward.