Houses: Kitchens + Bathrooms Issue 11 June

There’s a shift toward higher-density living in Australia – especially in the inner-city suburbs. Rather than moving to the outer suburbs for more space, many growing inner-city families are renovating their existing dwelling so it works harder, or living in a multigenerational home. This shift is affecting the way that kitchens and bathrooms are designed and subsequently used. Perhaps the most interesting change is that owners now plan to stay longer in their home and are therefore less concerned about appealing to the resale market. This leads to bolder design moves. Flack Studio’s Bendigo project (page 32) takes on jazz-club design vibes with moody, dark tones used in both the kitchen and the powder room. Arent and Pyke’s Croydon house (page 116) uses clashes of texture and colour in the bathrooms,…

01 HydroTap Design range The HydroTap Design range incorporates the latest technologies to instantly provide pure water. There are three elegant options to choose from: Cube (pictured), Arc and Elite. The range comes in a variety of finishes including bright chrome, brushed chrome, matt black and gloss black. zipwater.com 02 Phoenix bench and cabinets Poliform Phoenix benches and cabinets, designed by R&S Varenna, are distinguished by slim lines and handles with recessed profiles. The benchtops are six millimetres thick and the cabinet doors are available in steel, Corian ‘Glacier White’ and wood, including oak, elm and walnut. poliform.com.au 03 1930s Collection The 1930s Collection features the distinctive horizontal lines that characterize early Art Deco designs. The collection includes a lever handle, a door pull and joinery handles. Each element is designed to work in harmony and is…

01 Terrassa Bath Victoria and Albert’s Terrassa Bath is the newest addition to its Modern Collection. It has a rimless design, while a sculpted swage detail distinguishes the bath’s interior. The bath is deep and double-ended, making it perfect for one or two people. vandabaths.com/aus 02 Grates in bronze finish To complement the current trend in home design that uses metallic or bronze tones in kitchen and bathroom hardware, Stormtech now offers its wedge-wire grates in a variety of warm bronze finishes. stormtech.com.au 03 The Perrin & Rowe Deco Collection The English Tapware Company has released an Art Deco-inspired tapware collection. Originally designed for the Berkeley Penthouse Apartments in Ebury Square, London, the faceted pieces are now available in Australia and come in chrome and six other finishes, including raw brass. englishtapware.com.au 04 Storm terrazzo tile Fibonacci…

There’s a shift toward higher-density living in Australia – especially in the inner-city suburbs. Rather than moving to the outer suburbs for more space, many growing inner-city families are renovating their existing dwelling so it works harder, or living in a multigenerational home. This shift is affecting the way that kitchens and bathrooms are designed and subsequently used. Perhaps the most interesting change is that owners now plan to stay longer in their home and are therefore less concerned about appealing to the resale market. This leads to bolder design moves. Flack Studio’s Bendigo project (page 32) takes on jazz-club design vibes with moody, dark tones used in both the kitchen and the powder room. Arent and Pyke’s Croydon house (page 116) uses clashes of texture and colour in the…

Life is good here in Australia, but there is room for improvement. For one thing, the housing market is out of reach for most first homeowners. At the other end of the spectrum, the prospect of comfortable retirement is inching further away. Throw in unaffordable child care and aged care, and an off-kilter work–life balance, and there’s plenty to push design forward. Architecture is, after all, about solving problems. The projects in this issue unpack life’s complications and rewrap them in sustainability, better connections to community and family togetherness. Take, for example, the project by Architect Prineas (page 88). The practice renovated a family of four’s terrace to include a studio with a functional kitchen for visiting grandparents, au pairs and the kids when they grow up. Likewise, Andrew Simpson’s…

In 2016, the bathroom defies definition. Bathrooms are no longer abiding by the expectation of four walls and a ceiling – and they might not be home to the bath, either. Each of the three bathrooms within Josephine Hurley Architecture’s two-level residence in Sydney’s Edwards and Company building (page 124) rewrites the rules of bathroom convention, from the bath’s location in the main bedroom to the “two-way” ensuite that allows the basin to also be used from the adjacent bedroom, and a guest suite that steps out to a shower deck without missing a beat. Josephine says this boundary-blurring approach is all about sharing spaces. “Showers are large enough to share and conversations can happen over a bath,” she explains. “All of a sudden, baths become key sculptural elements that…