Holistic Cohesion – Rowena Parade by Cantilever Interiors

Words by Jasmine Ashkar
Photography by Martina Gemmola
Interior Design by Kylie Forbes
Styling by Kylie Forbes
Furniture by Stylecraft
In Partnership with Cantilever Interiors

Within each residence, the kitchen exists as a beating heart, enlivened by the sharing of meals and inherently facilitating togetherness. Acknowledging the importance of this space as a domestic sanctuary, Cantilever Interiors specialises in the reverent craftsmanship of user-centric kitchen joinery to augment function and aesthetic appeal. Design-driven and sensitive to harmonising with the entire anatomy of an abode, Cantilever’s touch ably transcends the kitchen to offer an exceptional service that encompasses whole-home joinery coupled with interior design.

Benefitting from Cantilever’s dual perspective, Rowena Parade is a light-filled urban weekender revamped for its newly retired owners. Located in the lively suburb of Richmond, in inner Melbourne, Rowena Parade offers its occupants a haven for entertaining friends and family amidst the city’s vibrancy. An established building, the home initially featured an interior slathered in 1990s gloss and a dated kitchen eager to inherit a fresh identity.

Benefitting from Cantilever’s dual perspective, Rowena Parade is a light-filled urban weekender revamped for its newly retired owners.

Originally called upon to administer kitchen renovations, Cantilever saw the project evolve into a comprehensive refurbishment that harnessed both the company’s meticulous joinery fabrication and interior design prowess throughout the residence. Tasked with cultivating Rowena Parade’s revival, Cantilever Creative Director Kylie Forbes reveals that, “the benefit of this combined service cannot be understated. Our ability to design the joinery and interior throughout the home allows a truly nuanced approach to a project, embracing our clients’ needs formally and controlling the quality of the outcome.”

Spanning the kitchen, living, dining and sitting rooms, bathroom, hallway, ensuite and master and guest bedrooms, the transformation was seeded by a glimpse of striking stone. Splashed by the veining and speckles of hues in mossy forest green, ambered champagne, moody blue and rich brown, Verde Fantastico Granite captured the clients’ attention during their selection of a kitchen countertop for Cantilever’s celebrated Tableau Joinery System. “Our clients loved our Tableau Joinery from the outset and could imagine how its furniture-feel and deliberate set-down from the ceiling would integrate into the home seamlessly,” recounts Kylie. “There is often a starting point for a project beyond the functional floor plan and brief. The stone was case in point here; our clients fell in love at first sight, and the chord was struck.

With the stone informing the palette and joinery throughout, Cantilever has tactfully negotiated a home of luminous vitality.

With the stone informing the palette and joinery throughout, Cantilever has tactfully negotiated a home of luminous vitality. The setting is grounded by a foundation of natural finishes and bedighted by the influence of the stone’s rich tones and the sumptuous tactility of Tableau’s curves. Designed to “feel like tailor-made furniture”, Kylie says that “the repetition of Tableau joinery in the kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms unifies Rowena Parade’s shifting colourway, offering a consistency of detail and quality of finish across the residence. This project presented the opportunity to design new product offerings not yet articulated with the system, which is a joy of working within both a product collection and custom joinery capacity.”

Injected with judiciously selected artwork, lighting and furnishings to complement its vibrant yet pared-back spaces, Rowena Parade actualises a narrative of spirited compatibility. Moving through each room reveals the authentic synergy that permeates the design whilst yielding stimulating intrigue and undeniable individuality. Activated by the creativity that underlies Cantilever’s design language, sun tumbles through the home’s windows, highlighting each touchpoint and affirming its contribution to the setting.

Originally called upon to administer kitchen renovations, Cantilever saw the project evolve into a comprehensive refurbishment that harnessed both the company’s meticulous joinery fabrication and interior design prowess throughout the residence.

Holistically considered, Cantilever’s approach utilises the mastery of its team to articulate a wealth of joinery manufacturing and interior design knowledge in each of its whole-home projects. Rowena Parade stands as a delightful example, with its thoughtful curation of elements forging a cohesive ecosystem of dynamic function, tonality and exemplary style.