A Leading Architect’s Compact And Clever Fitzroy Family Home
A Leading Architect’s Compact And Clever Fitzroy Family Home
Homes
by Lucy Feagins, Editor
Karen designed the table with SJB Stainless Steel in Thomastown as part of a series of them also in her office. Light shade from Lantern Shop. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.
The outdoor bath is a pig’s trough from Ag Crete: ‘We rolled it in through the front door!’ says Karen. Exterior furniture is Palissade from Hay. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.
Cloud modular sofa from Prostoria. ‘Jojo and I got the colour samples separately and unanimously agreed on the purple,’ says Karen. ‘I think you don’t choose the colour, the colour chooses you. It’s big and bold and makes the living room feel generous.’ Benches designed by Karen and built by Kennedy’s Timbers from planks of blackbutt with a Danish oil finish. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.
Hay for Ikea floor light. The rechargeable lantern light from &Tradition was a gift from Karen’s staff. Prints from The Australian Print Workshop: left by Kate Butler, right by Wayne Viney. The rug is a traditional Welsh bedspread Karen inherited from her uncle. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.
National Tiles tiles with fitted with charcoal grout. Vipp salt and pepper shakers from Cult. Japanese dolls were gifted by Karen’s sister who collects them from the flea markets around Tokyo. Chopping board from Iittala. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
Bench designed by Karen and built by Kennedy’s Timber. ARTEK K65 stools. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
Oven from Ilve. Rangehood from Qasair. Fuck Yeah plate by Lucas Grogan. Shelf brackets designed by Brendan Ravenhill Studio for Areaware. Tap by Astra Walker. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
An excellent view to the garden. All of the interior is finished in Dulux Lexicon in various strengths. Kitchen handles are Fisher & Paykel fridge handles adapted to suit the joinery. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
‘Series 7’ by Fritz Hansen chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen. Mud Australia bowl. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
Spiral staircase from Enzie. Lampshade from Lantern Shop. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
A prized possession chair is a Hans Wegner CH25. The mushroom light is from Ikea. Karen made the shelves. Art from left to right: Jenny Bolish, Mark Strizic, Polly Borland. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
Chair is an Eames rocker by Vitra. The sliding screen is made from unfinished cedar battens. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
Sink is Scola from Duravit. Taps are Astra Walker with custom painted pins to match the door. Chair from Thonet. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files
The Fitzroy home’s exterior. Photo – Cheyne Toomey of Spacecraft Media.
In 2006, when Karen Alcock and her partner Jojo were looking to buy a house in Melbourne’s inner North, they quickly watched prices rise by $50,000. Desperate, the couple opted to inspect the literal cheapest house for sale in Fitzroy at the time.
‘Because it was one bedroom, it was in our price range,’ says Karen, principal of MAArchitects. ‘The laneway location probably put a few people off, [but] what they didn’t realise was that it was its best asset.’
They bought the property, and went on to undertake a major renovation in 2010, just after their son Luca was born.
‘We moved out, knocked everything off from the ridge back, and were able to tuck in an upstairs bedroom and ensuite and renovate the lower level,’ Karen says. ‘To keep the height of the building down, we created a split level on the ground floor so the upstairs bedroom could tuck behind the existing roof with an east-facing window poking over the ridge.’
It’s been a slow process, with the garden and kitchen taking the most time to refine. ‘It’s one thing to design a house for clients. but much more difficult to design a home for yourself. You have so many ideas!’ says Karen. ‘We spent a few years just building things and playing around to see what worked and what we liked.’
A particular challenge was deciding on a suitable interior scheme for the kitchen. As it turns out, simple is best. ‘When we first moved in we did a refresh of the kitchen, and I made Jojo paint it three times because I couldn’t make up my mind (she wont let me forget this),’ Karen says. ‘It was then I realised that I like white. Keep it simple and add the colour with art and furniture.’
The couple have styled the home with a variety of thoughtfully selected pieces, from a Hans Wegner CH25 chair, to $10 lights from Ikea. ‘We choose things that are something or nothing – they just can’t be mediocre,’ Karen says. The main paint colour on the walls and panelling is Dulux Lexicon.
In 15 years, this house and its owners have changed a lot. ‘We came here just two of us, and we will be leaving as a family of three with two dogs!’ says Karen. ‘The only reason we are moving is because we bought a Labrador and learned how to garden during lockdown.’
The two-bedroom house goes to auction next week!
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The Cultivation of great design
If the many items of exquisite beauty that furniture curator Richard Munao has around him, it is fitting a crystal ball is not among them.
This is largely because foresight has always been one of the 52-year-old’s more consistent companions.
It was there when, as a teen, he defied his Italian father and Greek mother’s advice to pursue his dream of becoming a certified cabinet-maker.
It was present, when nearly 20 years ago, he poured every penny he could scrape together to open up a high-end furniture business in a Sydney suburb better known for its gang warfare than for its commercial enterprise.
And it was front and centre when the Cult chief executive persuaded an up-and-coming Danish brand by the name of the Republic of Franz Hansen that he was the man who could convince Australians of the value to be unearthed in its product.
But there has always been method to his madness.
By fully committing both himself and his design nous to his business, Munao is today at the helm of a burgeoning and successful retail empire of five stores with representation across six states and two countries.
With additional distributors in Canberra, Adelaide and Perth, Cult works with some of the world’s most influential furniture and lighting producers with prominent Scandinavian brands HAY, Carl Hansen & Sons and Erik Jorgenson, popular Italian labels Poltrona Frau, Cassina and Cappellini and award-winning Antipodeans Tim Webber and Henry Wilson among its impressive portfolio.
As if that were not enough proof of Munao’s purchasing prowess, he counts among his collection a unique precious metal item that no amount of money can buy – having been named the 2011 recipient of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik’s Medal of Honour in recognition of his work in promoting Danish exports.
Seeking to cater to both residential and commercial markets, Munao established Cult (which formerly traded as Corporate Culture) in a two-level 800 square metre manufacturing space in the inner west suburb of Chippendale in 1997. Annointing himself head buyer from day one, he selected Erik Jorgensen, Republic of Fritz Hansen and Stelton as the store’s foundation brands.
Clearly striking a chord with Sydneysiders excited by the prospect of being exposed to a new breed of furniture designers, the business grew organically opening in Melbourne in 1999, Brisbane in 2005 and making its way across the Tasman to Auckland four short years later.
“The bulk of our designs are sourced from Denmark and Italy – two countries that both have strong design culture and have produced some of the world’s best designs. A lot of the most iconic Italian and French design that today are carried by brands like Cassina, were designed in the 1920s and 1930s such as LC collection by Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret,” he says.
“After that, the 1950s and 1960s were a very prolific time for design in Denmark with designers such as Hans J Wegner, Poul Kjaerholm and Arne Jacobsen leading the charge. The beauty of all these designs is that a LC4 chaise longue from 1928, Wishbone chair from 1949 and the Swan chair from 1955 are still as relevant and contemporary today as the time they were designed. All these designs have stood the test of time, and that’s what makes them true design icons.”
Authenticity is the trait that binds each member of the Cult family, yet despite this, one of the secrets to the Cult phenomenon is that each brand has its own unique personality and quality.
“While Carl Hansen & Son and PP Mobler are the hallmarks for modern Danish timber furniture, brands such as Magis continuously push the boundaries of innovation and technology by working with plastic, steel, iron or even a combination of materials”, he says.
Owing to the diversity of its offering, Cult’s price points are equally varied where the design conscious can pick up a HAY Clip Clip for around $14 to a Cappellini Progetti Compiuti chest of drawers that retails for $72,900.
Munao says the industry has changed significantly since he started out – most notably in the merging of commercial and residential furniture. Now, more than ever,there is demand for break-out, multi-functional furniture, furniture to suit smaller spaces as well as sustainable furniture.
But great design is “not about design for disassembly or out of recycling materials”, he has been quoted as saying. “It’s about design for longevity – to transcend the seasons and the trends.”
Being prepared to go it alone has also proved something of a pitfall to all Australian retailers looking to claim a stake in the fiercely competitive furniture market, with the growing creep of replicas flooding the market.
While the UK recently enforced penalties of up to £50,000 and 10 years jail for anyone selling fake furniture, no such laws exist in Australia. It is generally accepted that Australia lags behind in legislating this area as manufacturers of ‘fakes’ are allowed to market their design copies here as long as they are named ‘replica’.
It is a subject that gets Munao hot under the collar, so much so that, aside from being a regular lobbyist, he is also the founding partner of the Authentic Design Alliance and a regular contributor to panel discussions seeking to better educate the market.
Speaking to leading industry website, The Future of Space in 2014, Munao claimed that it took courage and investment for designers and manufacturers of original designs to bring products to market; for as many products that are successful there are products that do not succeed.
“Authentic, original design is important in many ways. Most original and authentic pieces have a greater life span than ‘replica furniture’, which is a more long term, sustainable option for our environment. Authenticity rewards the original designer with income through the sales of the product they designed and it encourages all designers to innovate.
“To me it seems criminal that one can sit on the fence and wait for an original to sell and then copy it; essentially this is theft of intellectual property,” he told the site.
Munao has further diversified the business over the past two to three years, starting up his own Cult brand, designed and manufactured in Australia but which will soon be launched in South East Asia, as well as launching an Australian-made AGxCult collection, designed by local talent Adam Goodrum, that Cult intends debuting internationally.
In addition, Munao also runs a program, dubbed Cultivated, which is a unique product stewardship program providing refurbishment and buy-back options of its furniture to clients.
Yet, despite the uncertainty of the global marketplace and turmoil within the retail sector, Munao believes there is still much to be achieved by the brands for which he is caretaker.
Late last year, he opened the first mono-branded HAY shop in Sydney’s Surry Hills – a fitting tribute given he was the first to commit distributing the brand outside of Europe. It was also the realisation of a dream that Munao had when the brand was first launched in 2002.
Plans are also in the pipeline to celebrate Cult’s 20-year anniversary by renovating its Chippendale headquarters and transforming it into an event-space for functions, photo shoots and exhibitions.
“I am proud of where we are today. Looking back over the last 20 years, it’s been such an exciting journey, yet I still believe that Cult has so much more potential to grow as a business.”
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