The Hampton House by Page Stewart

At first blush, The Hampton House, named after the eponymous beachside Melbourne suburb it inhabits, appears to be in harmony with its neighbours. It has the same weatherboard facade and the same Edwardian hallmarks, yet a closer glance reveals a distinction: a modern dwelling hides in plain sight.

The collective structure is a meeting of the past and present, achieved by the Melbourne-based design studio Page Stewart, which redesigned the existing home and conceived a monolithic extension to serve as two halves of a cohesive whole. Page Stewart used the original home’s generous volumes as the lodestar for the renovation and rear extension, at once retaining and reimagining its essence through contemporary interventions. One among these is the architecture enveloping the internal courtyard, revealing vistas of a luxuriant garden and serene pool. The illusion is that of multiple ‘outdoor rooms’, reflecting the studio’s ethos of indoor-outdoor living.

Page Stewart used the original home’s generous volumes as the lodestar for the renovation and rear extension, at once retaining and reimagining its essence through contemporary interventions.

Principal and interior designer Hayley Page puts a finer point on the subject. “The concept of living zones extends to the garden, where the architecture and landscaping flow into outdoor living and dining areas, a lounge and a multipurpose raised terrace,” she says, noting that optimising the garden for year-round use was a caveat laid down by the client. The practice’s other half, Katherine Stewart, elaborates: “As the year moves through the seasons, light inhabits different corners of the garden, revealing a new space for our client to spend time.”

The practice kept one foot in the past, aiming to preserve glimmers of history. The foyer, for example, received a new stained glass door that stays true to the home’s 1900s heritage, quietly setting the stage for the spaces beyond. The living room demonstrates similar restraint, with off-form concrete hushing the walls of the double-height void. “It serves as a beautiful canvas,” says Page, alluding to its muted tone and deliberately imperfect surface.

Page Stewart used the original home’s generous volumes as the lodestar for the renovation and rear extension, at once retaining and reimagining its essence through contemporary interventions.

As for the ceiling, the designers took cues from the seaside surroundings, specifying a textured timber ceiling to offset the crisp concrete walls and bring a tactile edge to the space. “This ceiling finish transitions into an exterior soffit, drawing the eye from the interior out,” explains Stewart. The pair espoused a similar approach for the furniture, enlivening one side of the kitchen with a chiselled stone island bench that mimics the angled exterior architecture.

The designers agree that the project was a lesson in paradoxes. “It was challenging achieving a balance between old and new, raw concrete and timber cladding, outside and inside,” reflects Page. “But it was definitely worth the extra attention. It shaped into a nice little sanctuary.”

Architecture and interior design by Page Stewart. Landscape design by Alto. Artwork by Studio Gallery.