Project Galleries Residential

Beechwood
by KWD

Words by James Lyall Smith
Photography by Armelle Habib
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Some Big Decisions That Were Game Changers Were Things Like Changing All The Windows

For the Beechwood project Kate Walker of KWD navigates the difficult task of renovating her family home in the Victorian coastal suburb of Mount Martha, in the process creating the stunning residence she desired.


The inspiration for the interior came from the exterior. Kate endeavoured to create a functional floor plan that would be perfect for her young family and generate the space she desired. Essentially the interior was based on the garden. With particular care taken to ensure that every home had a view of the beautiful natural surroundings.


Steve Hofer from WKH Architects provided architectural guidance for the project. Kate and Steve chose to work with 3D Windows & Doors who they knew could create the perfect designs for a modern farmhouse feel. The landscape design was signed off before the interior. Kate and her team brought the outside in with shades of green, grey, white and terracotta that all create a modern farmhouse aesthetic. Beechwood really represents an emerging style of KWD that perfectly suited the coastal location with a distinct focus on the landscape design.


For the interiors Kate and her team wanted to showcase some incredible hard finishes developed exclusivley by the KWD. These finised included hand selected European oak flooring from Italy that has a subtle look without knots and distinct grain, sisal wall-to-wall carpets, custom made rugs and a beautiful range of tiles.


KWD handled all joinery for the project. This included a reworked kitchen design and the master suite to get the perfect result in terms of functional storage solutions. One of Kate’s highlights of the project was the whole design team and procurement team spending a Saturday and Sunday session together working on the specification. They crafted the enitre design over the two days and within one week the procurement team had the entire project quoted and the following fortnight all products were ordered.


The most dramatic change is in the master suite where the design team did some exceptional space planning and combined two rooms to make one large retreat. Kate Walker and her team designed custom joinery, with rattan insert doors adding texture, and the fabrics providing a subtle nod to classic British design.


The custom-made furniture featured throughout Beechwood was a collaboration between Sorrento Furniture and the KWD team. This created expertly manufactured sofas, armchairs, bedheads and ottomans that were perfect for each space.


The kids of the home instantly fell in love with the communal spaces and their own zones. There is so much space for them, with their own bedrooms and bathrooms, the family zone, dedicated outdoor entertaining zone, the in-ground trampoline and Aquacon swimming pool.


Ultimately the highly personal nature of this project shines through as Kate Walker brings to life a true forever home for her and her family.


Some Big Decisions That Were Game Changers Were Things Like Changing All The Windows
Engaging Experts To Make Your Life Easier And To Get The Best Possible Design Is Definitely Worth It
The Challenge For Me Was To Drill Down And Take The Advice I Give My Clients All The Time Which Was To Not Put In Everything On Your Wish List.
In Fact There’s A Lot Of Western Light In The Afternoon And All Day Sun, So Having An Expert Like Blac Design Create That Space Has Made Such A Si
And I Felt It Was My Turn To Enjoy The Products That I Specify For My Clients’ Properties In My Own Home
And Then We Added The Strapping To The Powder Room To Reiterate The Entrance.
And Whilst I Don’t Cook A Lot Myself, I Do Have People Cooking In My Kitchen And It Needed To Work For Them
Door Hardware From Domino Architectural Fittings, Joinery Designed By My Team And Built By Gravina, And Soapstone And Carrara From Gladstone Grani
The Things That Changed Along The Way Were Introducing Exciting Features And Making The Most Of Opportunities.
For Example, I Had Turned My Back On The South Facing Rear Garden Area Because I Thought It Was Dark
For Example, We Didn’t Initially Know That The Roof Space In The Entrance Existed. It Was Only When The Ceiling Was Demolished That We Realised We
I Also Had To Be Considerate To Supply Partners Who Have Supported Kwd In The Past And Who I Wanted To Support In Return
I Also Wanted To Showcase Some Incredible Hard Finishes That Kwd Has In Development And Test Them Out For Myself
I Became Quite A Demanding Client Of Kwd, Pushing The Team To Be The Best They Could Be And It Was Wonderful For Me To Be On The Other Side Of The
I Had To Be Clever With What I Left Out And The Things I Didn’t Put In Were Actually My Best Decisions.
I Had To Hone Down On The Style, Hone Down On My Time And Budget Constraints, And Get The Very Best Specification Within That Framework, And I Bel
And From There The Strapping Was Introduced To Make A Feature Of The Space.
I Really Pushed Us To Do A Lot Of Work In A Short Space Of Time To Show What We Are Capable Of.
In A Way I Was The Ideal Client Because I Didn’t Change One Element Other Than Playing With The Joinery Design.
Kwd Has A Very Talented Joinery Design Team And I Wanted To Push Their Boundaries.
Like The English Tapware Company Tapware, A Victoria & Albert Bath From Luxe By Design, A Sub Zero Fridge And Wolf Oven
Like The Hand Selected European Oak Flooring From Italy That Has A Subtle Look Without Knots And Distinct Grain, Sisal
One Of The Highlights Of This Project Was A Weekend Lock Down When The Whole Design Team And Procurement Team Spent A Saturday And Sunday Session
Sisal Wall To Wall Carpets, Custom Made Rugs And A Beautiful Range Of Tiles Which I Have Worked On Importing With Earp Bros And National Tiles.
So I Feel Really Confident That If You Trust The Design Process And The Decisions Made By The Professionals, You’ll Get A Great Result.
The Kitchen Colour We Chose On That Weekend Is What We Used And The Tiles We Selected Went In
Engaging Professionals To Do Their Job Has Meant That A Lot Of Things Have Turned Out Better Than Expected.
We Did The Whole Design In Two Days And Within One Week The Procurement Team Had The Whole Project Quoted And Within Two Weeks Everything Was Orde
We Reworked The Kitchen Design 12 Times And Also Reworked The Joinery In My Master Suite To Get The Perfect Result In Terms Of Design And Storage
I Had Lived In The Space In My Mind’s Eye For Three Months, So For Me It Was All About The Anticipation Of Completion So I Could See The Vision Re
I Have A Unique Ability To Visualise The End Look Before A Project Starts So By The Time Everything Was Done
Probably The Sticking Point In The Whole Project Was Where To Put The Jetmaster Fireplace, And Also The Design Of The Kitchen Joinery
The End Result Is A Triumph. I Had A Bee In My Bonnet About How I Wanted To Kitchen To Work
Which Was Enormous, And Also The Entrance Which Was A Surprise Packet
Engaging Experts To Make Your Life Easier And To Get The Best Possible Design Is Definitely Worth It
I Also Had To Be Considerate To Supply Partners Who Have Supported Kwd In The Past And Who I Wanted To Support In Return
The End Result Is A Triumph. I Had A Bee In My Bonnet About How I Wanted To Kitchen To Work
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