A Modernist-Inspired Bungalow – Rose Bay House by Ricci Bloch

Words by Bronwyn Marshall
Photography by Tom Ferguson
Build by AJA Projects
Styling by Ricci Bloch

Transforming a wearied bungalow into a refreshed Palm Springs-inspired family home, Ricci Bloch brings a considered approach to context that reflects the importance of maintaining connection to both the streetscape and the home’s past.

Set within the frame of the original 1930s bungalow, the new design of Rose Bay House takes inspiration from Palm Springs modernism. The resulting home sees the expression of horizontal lines and brickwork combine with an informal approach to landscape and boundaries between the two. Through a considered approach to its current Australian context, and through an acknowledgment of the importance of its original comprising parts, the streetscape and its storied past is not only maintained, but heralded. Ricci Bloch then suitably approaches the integration of new and restoration works through a muted and contemporary palette.

Set within the frame of the original 1930s bungalow, the new design of Rose Bay House takes inspiration from Palm Springs modernism.

Intended as the clients’ forever home, the design sought to avoid building vertically. Although this decision was primarily driven by the desire to maintain the home’s accessibility and ease of use over time, it was the preservation of the Californian bungalow frontage, maintaining its parts uninterrupted, that was the deciding factor. The design brings together the new and the old through the application of light colours, and the expression of architectural elements through changed materiality. The addition, built by AJA Projects, holds the new home office, bedrooms and bathroom, while the living, dining and kitchen zone allows for strategic separation under the umbrella of a connected home.

Set within the frame of the original 1930s bungalow, the new design of Rose Bay House takes inspiration from Palm Springs modernism.

Ricci Bloch undertook both the architecture and the styling, and it is the seamless approach to the landscape design by Myles Baldwin Design and Starr Landscapes that brings the exterior and interior together as one Externally, Rose Bay House references the other modernist homes along its street, though with a refreshed palette. Timbers, concrete and stone combine with ceramic accents and textural elements to add interest and define zones through light and dark elements in materiality. Meanwhile, internally, the flow of each of the spaces from one to the next was key to the ingraining modernist principles.

Internally, the flow of each of the spaces from one to the next was key to the ingraining modernist principles.

Ricci Bloch brings a considered approach to context that reflects the importance of maintaining connection to both the streetscape and the home’s past.

Ricci Bloch undertook both the architecture and the styling, and it is the seamless approach to the landscape design by Myles Baldwin Design and Starr Landscapes that brings the exterior and interior together as one.

The design brings together the new and the old through the application of light colours, and the expression of architectural elements through changed materiality.

Not only did the choice to maintain the existing avoid additional costs but it also minimised wastage of new. The resulting re-planning of the existing based on a modernist approach now connects the home and instils an easy sense of movement throughout. Applying a pragmatic approach that speaks to the intrinsic heritage of the existing home, Ricci Bloch’s considered planning sets the home up for the its next fruitful chapter.