Rural Retreat – Peninsula Farmhouse by Swell Building Group and Articolo Lighting

Inspired by the rural landscape of the Mornington Peninsula, Peninsula Farmhouse encapsulates generously proportioned volumes alongside a simplicity of form that is traditionally found in Belgian farmhouses. Swell Building Group meticulously blends materiality and natural ambience to ensure a seamless melding with the home’s surroundings.

Whilst remaining authentic to the home’s rural roots, atmosphere and soul, Peninsula Farmhouse displays contemporary architectural detailing in conjunction with thoughtful planning. Designed for a family of five, the residence balances elements of scale, natural beauty and material craft, culminating in considered moments of quality and softness.

The internal volume – bookended by sleeping quarters – enhances the premise of retreat and restore, forming an organic buffer whilst continuing to weave natural, rural honesty in an organised restraint.

A restorative palette of carefully selected materials is threaded throughout the residence, seeing slight variations used for spatial demarcation. Natural stone features as a kitchen splashback and island benchtop, contrasting toned veining with the sleek finish of dual rangehoods and a tiled island plinth. The same stone continues into powder and bathrooms, using vanities as an appreciation of natural figuring and subtle colours inherent in the material.

Forming the heart of the home, living areas explore volume, natural materials and a connection to nature through generously proportioned openings that capture a composed landscape. The internal volume – bookended by sleeping quarters – enhances the premise of retreat and restore, forming an organic buffer whilst continuing to weave natural, rural honesty in an organised restraint. The utilisation of design techniques through shared zones with large volumes ensures elements feel proportionate and in tune with the project ideology. Feature lighting by Articolo is also deliberately selected to play an integral role in the residence’s atmosphere, eschewing calm, quality and balance throughout.

Feature lighting by Articolo is also deliberately selected to play an integral role in the residence’s atmosphere, eschewing calm, quality and balance throughout.

Working with artisans around the globe to create lighting collections both organic in form and nuanced in nature, the collaboration between Articolo and Swell Building Group was seemingly inevitable. Achieving harmony between inside and out, this collaboration celebrates the play of light – both natural and introduced – across days and seasons throughout each individual space. Collaborating from early stages, decorative lighting fixtures were sourced from Articolo to ensure consistency of finish and to enhance the artisanal nature evident throughout the residence.

Custom fixing methods sees structured framework offset the organic lines of the Moni Pendant over the dining table, matching the scale and drama of the vaulted room. A kitchen sconce converses with a larger version sited on an exposed brickwork wall to the opposing end of the living room, its suspended glazed bubbles echoing the stippled finish on the adjacent fireplace. Nicci Green, Founder and Creative Director of Articolo, recalls, “I worked to develop a cohesiveness between elements of scale and natural light [in conjunction with Swell Building Group to ensure a] sense of continuity using the same Mid Bronze finish throughout the home, marrying one space with the next.”

Through selective materiality and form, Peninsula Farmhouse balances the elements woven as a common thread throughout internal and external spaces alike, creating a restful family home. Working with artisanal makers such as Articolo Lighting, Swell Design Group ensures the residence is true to both its rural locale and contemporary way of life, enduring for generations to come.