Turramurra House by Rich Carr Architects

With their adult children moving out, a Sydney couple charged Rich Carr Architects with rethinking the family home. The result is the striking but considered Turramurra House.

Located on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, Turramurra House once accommodated a family with young children, providing areas dedicated to homework and play. As the children, now grown, prepare to move out, their parents recognised that the home needed to adapt to their changing lifestyle. “The clients came to us with a simple yet layered brief,” says Richard Carr, director of Rich Carr Architects. “All they wanted was an adult home.”

The design created a series of more sophisticated interiors, elevated through warm, natural materials and new appliances.

The design process involved celebrating the memories embodied in the existing architecture while creating a series of more sophisticated interiors, elevated through warm, natural materials and new appliances. In addition, the home has been crafted to offer a welcoming environment for the children to return to.

In contrast to most contemporary homes, where the entryway is bright and invigorating, Turramurra House begins on a calm, subdued note, with an entry drawing light from the room ahead. Leading past the main bedroom, this space includes the living, kitchen and dining areas and sits at the rear of the home. In the living area, which is at the bottom of a double-height volume, Rich Carr Architects enhanced the sense of space by utilising oversized glass doors that open to the garden and pool.

“It is the point where the old part of the house meets the new part of the house … we spent quite a bit of time going through the layout and how everything is placed.”

Even the more practically focused rooms have been beautifully elevated. Nestled between the main bedroom and living areas, the laundry features a Miele washing machine and dryer selected for their capacity to deliver high performance with minimal noise. The appliances are thoughtfully positioned beneath a dolomite benchtop, adjacent to elegant timber joinery. “Surprisingly, the laundry is one of the clients’ favourite rooms in the house,” says Carr. “It’s near the entry and acts as a mudroom, but it’s still like a bit of a retreat.”

To maintain the familial essence of the home, Rich Carr Architects ensured that the kitchen was well-suited to family gatherings. “It is the heart of the home, yes, but it’s also the hinge of the home,” explains Carr. “It is the point where the old part of the house meets the new part of the house … we spent quite a bit of time going through the layout and how everything is placed.”

Integrated Miele appliances establish a decluttered kitchen, allowing focus to remain on the richness of the stone and timber surfaces.

The reimagined space contains a butler’s pantry hidden behind joinery, forming a secondary food storage area. Alongside the pantry, integrated Miele appliances – including pyrolytic and combi-steam ovens – establish a decluttered kitchen, allowing focus to remain on the richness of the stone and timber surfaces.

While embodying the parents’ vision of a luxurious Sydney home, Turramurra House remains an inviting place for the entire family. By revitalising the home with a focus on materiality and function, Rich Carr Architects effectively retains its emotional significance.

Architecture by Rich Carr Architects. Appliances by Miele.