We are here for the second Bayview One episodes starting with the first of the interior spaces – our entry way and downstairs living / dining.
So lets get straight into it – as we all know you’re all dying to peak inside!
THE FLOORING – GROUND FLOOR
We decided very early on to go with polished concrete on the ground level of the home as it is extremely easy to live with – especially with 3 very active kids. The concrete we went for was a standard blend but of course to the correct MPA for a mechanically polished floor. We wanted to ensure it still felt ‘light’, so we sprinkled washed white quartz stone into the concrete while the concreters were screeding. The end result is fantastic and we were both pleasantly surprised how even the spread of quartz was! The guys at Pour & Polished Concreting did a great job!
ENTRY WAY
If you watched our first episode then you would know that brick was a real hero in our design! When we first started designing the house, we knew we wanted to carry some of the architectural elements of the brick through to the interior to allow for a cohesive flow. I love the way the open and airiness of the space offers a warm welcome to guests and sets the tone for the rest of the home.
As you walk in, you are greeted by the large timber pivot door from Duce. One of our favourite entry details is the door handle which we designed and had custom made by our metal fabricator T&H. We opted to inlay an offcut piece of marble from the kitchen into the D shaped round handle.
We added some beautiful ceramic wall sconces by Anchor Ceramics from Janie Collins which created a tactile feeling and floods light down the brick wall. We really wanted to champion Australian Design as much as possible in our home so working with suppliers like Janie Collins was a perfect fit! Being a large entry, we had the width in the hallway to enable us to add a seating area in the form of a timber bench that we then layered with some styling items and plants. It serves as a great spot for the kids or guest to sit or take off their shoes. We added a simple mirror that doubles as a coat / hat rack designed by Beatrix Rowe for Grazia & Co. I think it just adds a fun element whilst also bouncing light in the space. We love Georgie Wilson and when we found this gorgeous artwork of hers we knew it would be the perfect piece for the entry to our family home!
THE VOID
As you turn the corner from the entry, you’re greeted by a massive void area that opens up above our open plan dining and lower living area. It gives the home a sense of space and openness which is crucial when designing on a small lot 405 sq/m block like ours! We played on the height in the void by using vertical cladding, which draws your eye up to the large Velux skylights in the ceiling above. The vertical cladding also hides a secret door to the powder room, which sits just in front of the living areas.
The polished concrete floors carry through to the powder room, and being an entertaining space we went with an in-wall cistern in this bathroom. We did a custom curved vanity top with an integrated Staron Solid Surface basin from Austaron Surfaces. You will see we have actually used Staron throughout the entire house. The soft curved ends throughout many areas within the home where made easy using Staron solid surface!
We love a matt white on white look, so we went with Sussex’s circa basin-mounted mixer in the powder room. We use Sussex for many of our projects and again, love that they are Australian-owned so it just made sense that we partner with them for our very own new build.
We love having a little bit of fun in a powder room, so we added a cute Muuto mirror, and one of our favorite wall sconces by Volker Haug – the Discus wall sconce. It has this soft sculptural aspect and layers in a touch of brass and rose marble. It all sat so perfectly against the Artedomus border mosaics that we specified for this bathroom.
THE LOWER LIVING
Moving into the lower living area, this is where we as a family spend a lot of time so having an open plan concept was important. When designing our living room, we went back and forward on whether we would include a fireplace or not. After a lot of back and forth we ended up opting for a gas Lopi fireplace and we are so glad we did as we use it throughout all the winter months. When we first started developing the plans, we had a flat wall above the fireplace. But with the size of this room, I knew we needed some added dimension. We built the firebox out a little bit so we had a break in the walls, and continued with the brick architectural element. We also used another off cut of the marble from the kitchen to create a plinth.
As this is the main living room/tv area, we needed a large TV – but there is nothing worse than seeing a TV take centre stage of a living room! So it was essential to make sure it blended into the design and remained as hidden as much as possible. We went with the Samsung Art TV, so it looks like a piece of art whenever we are not watching it!
LET’S TALK FURNITURE
When selecting furniture for any space, we always start with spatial planning to ensure the room’s flow. There were a few things we were set on from the beginning, and our large curved sofa was one of them. The kids fell in love with it when we visited the Jardan showroom one Saturday, and I loved its form and the fact that it didn’t need to be fluffed and fussed over when hopping on and off the sofa. It was an excellent foundation for the room that we could base all the other decisions from.
We wanted a relaxed textured look with the rug but still wanted a pop of color given all the harder finishes were so neutral – I love how the rug breaks up the solid color of the sofa! The feature armchair from Fomu allowed us to mix in some wood tones, and I love the sculptural element it adds to the room. Our coffee table was specified from En gold and I love that it has a strong presence whilst still not overpowering the rug’s detail.
Moving into the dining area, this space is all about the large void. The space called for something large, so we suspended an oversized Japanese-inspired lantern pendant from Twenty Twenty One. We wanted something large that was textural and minimal yet still created impact! We love that it pulls you into the centre of the void while also locating our beautiful oak dining table. Our dining table is large eight-seater, so there is plenty of space for guests – and we went with the Thonet chairs from James Richardson Furniture as I am a massive fan of a classic shape and touch of rattan.
Thanks so much for joining us for the first of our interior room reveals. We will be heading into the kitchen soon so stay tuned for that!
