Located in Sydney’s dover heights, the story of this home, carefully composed by Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem and the team at YSG studio, is one of transformation, with a subtle, inviting palette with furniture, objects and artwork.
The 825-square-metre house underwent considerable structural changes to create a series of soft, light-filled spaces that connect and flow effortlessly. Several internal walls were removed, and the ceiling was raised in the kitchen/living area and formal lounge room by the fireplace for an open flow.
Inspired by mid-century influences of Charles and Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Eileen Gray and Isamu Noguchi, Yasmine and her team have given this five-bedroom family coastal home a not-so-coastal aesthetic through custom furniture, finishes and structural nooks.
‘The entire house speaks to craftsmanship, with the indelible mark of artisans found on almost every hard surface – from the shimmering strokes of the Marmorino plaster walls and ceilings to the caramel borders on the nursery walls,’ describes Yasmine. sandstone plinths were chiselled by stonemasons to create a naturally eroded appearance, whilst the animated veining and lively tones of over ten different types of stone featured throughout infuse the spaces with energy (including the bath enclosure in ‘his’ en suite, which pours across the floor to announce the entrance of the wall-less space).
The overall approach to materiality is grounded in tonal and textural variation. ‘Perhaps my favourite detail,’ says Yasmine, ‘was the inter play of polished and raw surfaces resonating in the kitchen with an enlarged oxidised.
Throughout the home, surfaces are embellished by tonal and tactile variations to delineate open zones, such as handmade terracotta tiles lining walls and floors. Binding the home internally and externally with their undulating matte surface, they complement areas of retained flat travertine that clad the entire house.
Vertical timber battens perform a similar integrating role – from bracing the entrance gate and providing shade and privacy on the street-front balcony to retaining private internal areas without wall construction. Wall sconces and upstanding lamps were selected to consciously pool light in velvet depths as opposed to installing integrated ceiling lights. as a counterbalance, gently rounded edges soften features such as the arched walkways and doors, banquette seating in the living area tracing a curved wall, plus a hemp-rendered fireplace with integrated seating perch and bookshelf.
‘The interior has a retro-informed aesthetic: ‘“cali-cool”. I think there is an element of old school hollywood in there, in the most casual of ways, peppered with heady ethnic twists,’ says Yasmine ‘The principal colour palette of plum, rose and pistachio had to complement the existing travertine flooring that we could not remove, and somehow, over time, the colours naturally stepped into a more masculine or feminine role depending on their location.’
