Layered Rigor – Wiltshire House by Maryanne Taskovski Architect and Jillian Dinkel Designs
As an expression of the original character and charm of the early Federation-style home, the redesigning of Wiltshire House combines a modern vitality through a detailed rigour. Maryanne Taskovski Architect and Jillian Dinkel Designs layer the resulting home in texture, textiles and warmth, adding to the existing and facilitating a contemporary occupation.
Nestled into the inner west of Sydney, Wiltshire House sees a contemporary extension of the original home. Initially designed and built in the Federation style, the new reimagining of the residence aligns with a more modern way of life. Embedded with detail and uniquely crafted elements, the new insertions balance references to the old, allowing harmonious coexistence. In an intended celebration of the structure’s different eras, a darkened palette is overlaid at the front of the home, transitioning to lighter tones through the house to culminate in the shared rear living space and kitchen. With architecture by Maryanne Taskovski Architect and interior design by Jillian Dinkel Designs, the residence emerges as the sum of its parts, each deeply considered and contemplated.
Wiltshire House aims to maintain a connection to its classical past. The redesign maintains a separation between the intimate and open areas whilst new material inclusions of steel and glass doors create dynamic visual extensions to the outdoors. The newly sculpted kitchen brings natural stone into the mostly timber and plaster adorned home, elevating the palette and texture of the space to create a varied visual experience.
With the addition of a newly formed courtyard space, the living areas can be opened and extended into the outdoor space, removing traditional boundaries to facilitate indoor-outdoor living. The relationship between inside and out, the built and the natural, was important for the flow of movement and in how the home functions. The material connection within the interior was a key aspect of the redesign. By allowing the original detailing, cornicing, patterned ceilings and timber fretwork to remain in place, the new elements sit highlighted in contrast, rather than competing, to achieve a cohesive result.
Balancing the traditional and the contemporary, Wiltshire House carries the spirit of the original into the present. Maryanne Taskovski Architect and Jillian Dinkel Designs extend the relevance of the home, ensuring the history of the residence’s past remains prevalent.
