Ricotta House
In Canberra, a classic Spanish Revival residence gets a contemporary facelift by Paul Tilse Architects and the home’s owner, Sarah Gibson of Design By Them.
From the street, Ricotta House appears to be just another century-old Spanish Revival residence in Griffith, one of Canberra’s original suburbs. In reality, it’s a sophisticated exercise in illusion – an elegant reinvention of its 20th-century form. Designed by Paul Tilse Architects in collaboration with the owner, furniture designer Sarah Gibson of Design By Them, the revitalised home and its extension embody Gibson’s modern yet grounded approach to materiality and form.
Conceived as a courtyard home, the design pulls the extension back along the southern boundary to carve out a generous north-facing courtyard, seamlessly linked to the original structure via a patio. While contemporary in function, the new addition remains deliberately discreet, respectful of the original home. “We call it our sneaky big cottage,” says Gibson, “because it appears small from the street and reveals itself as you move through, unfolding layer by layer.” The courtyard idea extends below ground, where a sunken atrium draws daylight and greenery into the basement. This lower level, cleverly tucked beneath a permeable mesh, houses a fully functional living space that remains virtually invisible from above.
The original home’s distinctive curves find new expression in the extension, woven in via subtle, playful gestures that bring depth and character. Through a careful interplay of texture and proportion, the designers have created a home that retains the warmth of a cottage while functioning with the ease and generosity of a larger family dwelling. It’s a place where everyday life, creative work and multigenerational gatherings flow together naturally – helped by the fact that both Gibson and her husband’s parents live just a few streets away, forming what the couple affectionately call their “happy Bermuda triangle”. The plan also accommodates two dedicated home offices for Gibson and her husband, along with a self-contained guest suite on the lower level.
The interiors strike a thoughtful balance between old and new, blending Design By Them samples, prototypes and custom pieces with vintage finds that Gibson has gathered over the years and which now have room to breathe in the expanded home. The Featherston Scape dining chairs, sourced from several different sets, were restored by local craftspeople, while the Camaleonda sofa underwent a similar revival in Sydney, brought back to life by Design By Them’s trusted upholsterers. The result is a layered, lived-in aesthetic that feels both deeply personal and quietly refined.
The floor is a custom-mixed terrazzo made from local quartzite and a white-coloured concrete base for a warmer feel. The cabinetry’s timber veneer is Eveneer Almond, selected for its timeless hue, somewhere between a lighter ash and a darker walnut. Colour was reserved mainly for the bathrooms and the hallway, where Elliat Rich’s Weaver cabinet in Ultra Blue is topped by a bespoke mirror, created especially for the home by the Alice Springs-based designer.
Working within the area’s strict heritage controls proved to be one of the project’s biggest challenges. “We had two rounds of knockbacks,” says Gibson. Rather than resist the limitations surrounding the facade, the team chose to embrace them. The rendered texture was reinterpreted in a contemporary way, paired with a crisp roofline and seamless detailing. While the windows had to remain rectangular, this requirement was cleverly addressed through a cavity sliding door by Vitrocsa, achieving a clean, contemporary frontage.
The basement, too, was born out of constraint: heritage guidelines capped the buildable footprint and required a certain percentage of garden space. Instead of following the common Canberra approach of creating a basement garage, the team transformed the space into a fully functional lower level for living and hosting. The result is a home without a garage but with a generous carport and a lush garden that wraps around the house. Thanks to heritage setback requirements, the front garden is unusually large, allowing the patio to open directly to the street. “It’s funny but many of our favourite features came directly from working within those constraints.”
Architecture by Paul Tilse Architects. Interior design by Paul Tilse Architects and Sarah Gibson of Design By Them. Build by Brother Projects. Joinery by Created Joinery. Windows by Vitrocsa. Artwork by Joanna Lamb.
