Gable House, Victoria Real Estate, Melbourne Home, Building Development, Architecture

Gable House in Melbourne, Victoria

24 Aug 2020

Gable House

Architects: Nine Muses Design

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Gable House: When competing priorities harmonize

Home to a busy family and their much-loved fur child, Gable House is a modern sanctuary and alter to serenity.

With a pilot, teacher and teenager in the mix, the design had to cater to a few different circadian rhythms. To achieve this, the house was carefully zoned into separate living areas. A second bathroom adjoining the guest room accommodates pilot Mark’s unusual shift-work hours.

Seemingly contrasting priorities of separateness and togetherness were at play for the modest-sized site. The family wanted:

1. Individual spaces to retreat/ study/ sleep
2. A light-filled hearth to the home, with kitchen and dining offering a place to congregate and connect.

The kitchen-outdoor connection was significant for Chrissie, who loves to entertain. A street-side people-watching porch perch (sipping a sneaky coffee from the café next door) was another key agenda item.

THE SETTING:
Set on a compact site, the 4-bedroom home focuses on luxury and quality space. The budget concentrated on what mattered most to the owners – kerbside appeal and a communal indoor-outdoor living area with northern aspect.

Building beside a neighbourhood café with no front setback offered dual gifts. Not only could the home come forward in the site, the perfect Melbourne flat-white was also easily accessible.

THE COLLABORATION:
The joy of architect Jane Macrae’s work is the problem-solving and collaboration that comes from designing each house WITH her clients.

“I try to keep it real with my design approach,” says Macrae. “I figure, if the client loves it, it’s a success.”

“I make it my business to understand how my clients live and want to live. The fact that I now count many as friends is testament to great collaborations.”

“In this case, the owner Mark and I clicked right away and a great working relationship evolved. Mark is a very detail-driven pilot with a brain that is excited more by engineering than aesthetics – always thinking 10 steps ahead.

“He is one of those incredibly special clients – wonderfully trusting with the design, while making it his mission to ensure it was executed to perfection.

“Chrissie was more involved in the interiors and interested in the ‘feel’ of the space. They were a perfectly balanced team, each playing to their strengths.”

For Mark and Chrissie, the feeling is mutual.

“Jane was completely unfazed by the challenges presented to her,” said Chrissie. “She took our ambitious brief and maximised every element of the space. She made it easy.

“We don’t regret a single decision we made. It exceeds every expectation we had of what a beautiful and functional home could be.”

The Brief
The initial brief was for large family home that didn’t look ‘big’, and was respectful to the scale and style of the streetscape.

The owners wanted to strike a balance between “respect to location and history” and “being of its own time”. Add a walled garden oasis and cathedral ceilings into the mix and it was ‘challenge accepted’!

Design Aesthetic
The client favoured a mix of white, crisp and modern on one hand, and traditional weatherboard/ gable forms on the other.

In Chrissie’s words, “Something modern and minimalist, which could nestle convincingly among single-fronted Victorian cottages.”

The clients came to the table with clear ideas, but were keen to be challenged. So, while the design has stylised some fairly conventional forms, the house is full of modern features. The result was a home in harmony, with its own distinct character.

The Non-Negoatiables
o 4 bedrooms
o 3 bathrooms
o 2 living zones
o Double garage
o Second bathroom adjoining guest bed to cater for Mark’s shift work
o Open plan kitchen / dining/ living area, flowing into a peaceful north-facing courtyard.

Design Challenge
The major challenge was the desire for a spacious family home with double garage on such a compact inner-urban site. At first it sounded like a tall ask.
The solution was to capitalise on the precedent of the adjoining cafe with no front setback. This allowed the build to come forward on the block. In the process, the client gained distance and privacy from the two-storey rear neighbour, and allowed light into living zones.

Owner’s Favourite Feature
“We love the façade, with its timber wraparound, bold staircase and imposing front door,” says Chrissie. “It has a ‘punch in the face’ impact that attracts the attention of every passer-by.”

“Inside, the house is a soothing haven. Every day we appreciate Jane’s consideration of window placement, lighting and the soft finish of the spotted gum flooring.”