Timber & Tones House
A melting pot of Italian restaurants, eclectic cafés, verdant parks and heritage homes, Sydney’s Leichhardt layers Mediterranean charm with cultural histories and modern conveniences. Timber & Tones House by Studio Soleil reflects these surroundings, balancing old-world character with contemporary sensibilities.
For Studio Soleil, the priority was preserving the interbellum bungalow’s historic identity while embracing a bold, modern extension. “The challenge lay in marrying the two – ensuring each was respected in its own right yet cohesive as part of an overall design,” says Pia Watson, director of the studio. She and her team grounded the original home with heritage details while injecting playfulness, texture and intentional imperfection into the new addition. “The idea was always to celebrate the beauty of raw materials and the individuality of the family, allowing intrigue and discovery to unfold throughout,” she adds.
Watson describes the design language as humble and honest, with a playful edge. “The inspiration for this home was drawn directly from the clients – their warmth, creativity and enduring love of books and music,” she says. Steering clear of anything shiny or overly polished, she instead sought to create a home with soul, character and personality. The result is a space that mirrors the family’s creativity: imperfect, a little rough around the edges, yet rich with meaning. Her palette explores texture, where concrete, brick and stone meet warm timbers, moody hues and unexpected contrasts.
The flooring sets the stage for the home’s atmosphere. In the living areas, polished concrete with exposed aggregate forms a brutalist counterpoint to soft rugs. Engineered timber bridges the old and new halves of the home, while terrazzo enlivens the bathrooms, its speckled surface offsetting minimalist tiled walls. Texture continues throughout: raw brick walls in the dining area of the adjacent building, timber joinery and airy linen.
For Watson, functionality and sustainability went hand in hand, with every architectural choice made for both people and planet. “There was particular emphasis on passive design principles to optimise heating and cooling,” she notes. Windows and doors feature hydrocarbon double glazing with specialised reveals to reduce heat transfer, while brick walls were built in two layers to improve insulation and thermal performance. Bricks made from recycled material further reduced the home’s carbon footprint.
In the end, Timber & Tones House is more than a blend of old and new; it’s a lived-in canvas of contrasts, where heritage and modernity, function and feeling, restraint and play all coexist. Much like Leichhardt itself, the home thrives on its layers, telling a story that is at once timeless and refreshingly contemporary.
Architecture by Bullivant Architecture. Interior design by Studio Soleil. Build by Walker Build.
