Today’s home tour is all about appreciating the value of heritage in the 21st century. Dot + Pop curator Eve Gunson and her partner, registered builder Matt, expertly remodelled this Victorian home and shopfront to create a contemporary masterpiece. Adding a modern extension, natural materials blend with heritage features to give this home a new life.
Eve takes us on a tour around this terrace house renovation as she shares the design process and style choices with us. Hold on to your hats friends, this one is a beauty!
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From a deteriorating 1880’s home to a 21st century marvel — the clever mix of contemporary style with heritage elements make a uniquely stunning home.
“Our goal for this home is to honour the old while marrying it with the new. Originally this house was a dilapidated 1880s single fronted Victorian that had been transformed into a shop in the ’50s. We had the privilege of bringing it back to life and into the 21st century.
“Both Matt and I love minimal contemporary areas. We believe that less is more when designing and styling, and took that with us when creating our home.
“We design our own homes to have a pared-back interior aesthetic which highlights and compliments the use of natural materials. Generally, we favour timber and stone throughout our builds.
“The intention is to create a house that is aesthetically pleasing, has great bones and is refined. I would like to think that our styling is timeless, contemporary and reflects us and our family.
The entire build took just over 1 year, including a gap when our son Patterson arrived into the world.
The biggest transformation of all is the exterior. The facade Eve and Matt created is a far cry from the blue shopfront they purchased.
“This property is situated on a corner block. This meant we had the opportunity to design a building that was not only stunning internally but also one that had street appeal. We’ve never been able to do this before as most single fronted Victorians mostly sit side by side.
“We ensured that the materials we chose for the external and boundary walls would reflect and complement the interior design scheme.”
With so many statement pieces in this terrace house renovation working effortlessly together, we wanted to know Eve’s favourite.
“The master bedroom could be my favourite room in the whole house as I just adore the heritage features! The fireplace is the main feature of the home. Other favourites have to include the ceiling rose, the grand cornices and skirting, and the intricate architraves!
“When designing the bathrooms we considered the house’s minimal aesthetic. We chose a large formate textured grey tile for all bathroom and wet areas. We paired the tiles together with black tapware, black vanities and super white marble bench tops. There was to be no chrome in the making of these bathrooms.
“The kitchen is the heart of the home. Because of that, we wanted to create a space for mingling, chatting and cooking. We went for an as large as possible island bench. Then, we integrated the appliances to keep the look as minimal as possible.”
This home’s design makes the most of beautiful natural light to balance the dark elements, creating the illusion of height and space.
“The stairs and void area have to be my ultimate favourite part of the house. The oversized windows allow an abundance of natural light and sunshine to stream in. The void gives the whole house a sense of height and space — something which can be rare in these single fronted Victorians.
“A small but mighty dining space sits between the kitchen and lounge. We opted for a timber table to add some much needed lightness against the darker tones of the kitchen.
“The nursery has become a room that I have spent a lot of time in since becoming a mum and I am just so in love with the light. All day it has the most beautiful dappled sunlight streaming in through the oversized window. I was intent on creating a space that was calming, peaceful and enjoyable to be in. Tones of grey, mustard, yellow and timber bring the space to life in a fun yet sophisticated way.”
Thank you to Eve for letting us take a tour through the Albert Park project. You can follow Eve on her Dot + Pop instagram here, or check out her website here. Did you love exploring this terrace house renovation as much as we did?! What’s your fave feature? Tell us in the comment section below.
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