Barcom Terrace

by Arent & Pyke

Barcom Terrace by Arent & Pyke is the ultimate conversion of a Grande old Dame of heritage architecture into a family home, the decorative elements are defined through texture and materiality to create a stunning dialogue that flows throughout. Key to the firms decision making process was a determination to retain and enhance the most loved classical aspects of the house, while changing up the scale of the spaces and introducing materials and details that would feel relevant to the young family who are going to live, grow and make endearing memories here.

Arent & Pyke developed a strategy to pair lofty and architecturally rich spaces, with heritage detail of ornate cornices and skirting boards, where texture and refinement contrast and enrich the whole. The project ultimately proved monumental in scale, massive in scope and satisfying in evolution.

The firm’s major stratagem was to refine the spatial arrangements to direct the flow of family life through two distinct volumes: a traditional front of house area and a lofty more industrial zone. Once this was established they developed an aesthetic of contrasting experiences that visually flowed and connected.

The result is a beautiful dialogue between the classic period details of the main body, where the rooms are clearly defined, and the open plan kitchen dining and sitting wing, where volumes are exaggerated and expanded.

Arent & Pyke were determined to make this vast house feel very much like a family home. They used elements of texture and materiality to drive a sense of nostalgia, without being cluttered or overtly referential. Through refined and textural surfaces, a heightened sense of contrast is achieved to ensure that all parts feel at home in the architectural shell.

Furniture and lighting are deliberately sculptural with each bringing a single block of colour to the design. As the construction progressed we also took advantage of a significant room under the house to create the cellar, bar, and a casual lounge, including the pool table.

For the recreation room the tones of existing stone walls are referenced with rugs that define space while imparting a textually rich undercurrent. In keeping with melding 1800s grand living within a contemporary frame, the design celebrates a return of the boudoir.

The Master suite, comprising walk in robe, bathroom, bedroom and front balcony, embraces graciousness and grandeur that resonates with the scale of the house. Rich in materiality, with painted walls, timber floors, tiles and the freestanding sculptural bath, the deliberately strong and masculine language of steel framing is balanced by the romance of floor to ceiling curtains in soft white linen, while a large black timber door visually ties this suite to the whole.

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