Masculine Energy by Kennon

This Kennon project shows there’s no need to be afraid of the dark, with a tenderly cocooning abode crafted from a deep and moody palette.

Capturing light is an enduring issue with Victorian terrace homes, like this one in Melbourne’s Middle Park, but design house Kennon chose to steer into the skid. While bringing natural light into every corner of the east-west site, they also acknowledged and embraced the darkness, creating a home that achieves warmth and life via richly textured materials and dancing shadows.

“A household of direct, bold and confident people, our design was a reflection of their characters.”

Reaching a new chapter in their lives, the homeowners wanted to breathe new life into their home, respecting its history while adapting it to suit the current and future needs of their family. The dwelling needed an enhanced balance of privacy and openness – intimate nooks to retreat and inviting communal spaces to connect. To preserve the home’s historic integrity, Kennon left the exterior and many interior walls untouched. A basement was dug to achieve the extra space needed without sacrificing the garden, which has been reworked into an outdoor gathering space, with a fireplace and curved concrete seating.

Inside, the aesthetic is distinctly masculine – a perfect fit for this male-dominated household – and was driven by the homeowners’ adventurous spirit. “A household of direct, bold and confident people, our design was a reflection of their characters. The clients leaned towards and felt more comfortable when we presented darker, moodier design ideas,” says design principal Pete Kennon. “This led us to a palette rich in bold hues and robust textures. The clients were heavily involved in the decision-making, which naturally drew out an identity of their preferred aesthetic.”

“The softness emerges from our careful selection of materials – warm timber accents and inviting furnishings that gently contrast with the deeper, bolder hues,” says Kennon.

This rich palette ranges across a spectrum of greys and moody hues, from the inky sitting room in hand-trowelled plaster to the microcement finish on the cabinetry and grey-toned marble used throughout. “We weren’t afraid of the dark and instead leant into it, allowing the natural sunlight to balance the interplay of light and dark.” Rather than dimming the light, this palette gives natural light a starring role. Sunlight is a key player, as it enters through windows and shutters, filters through sheer curtains and brings a continually changing drama to the textured surfaces.

This emphasis on texture brings a tenderness and cocooning tranquillity to the dark palette. “The softness emerges from our careful selection of materials – warm timber accents and inviting furnishings that gently contrast with the deeper, bolder hues,” says Kennon. There’s a gracefulness in the feather-light curtains dancing in the breeze, in the striations of grey, brown and red that run through the marble slabs and in the voluptuous curve motif repeated through furnishings, arched doorways and rounded marble ledges.

“Ultimately, the softness in the project is a characterisation of our studio, where the masculinity of the clients and Kennon’s softness meet.”

“Ultimately, the softness in the project is a characterisation of our studio, where the masculinity of the clients and Kennon’s softness meet. The home is bold in its design yet soft in its outcome.”

Architecture and interior design by Kennon.