Claremont House embodies innovative construction and thoughtful design. Aside from a material palette that will leave lovers of industrial chic simply drooling, what’s so extraordinary about this home is the way this contemporary industrial style juxtaposes the design’s rustic, heritage touches, reflecting the heritage house that once stood on the block.
In fact, Claremont House is the result of the subdivision of an old heritage property. In its place is this remarkable split-level, four bedroom home, developed and constructed by the award-winning Arklen, in conjunction with architectural designers, Blend Residential Designs. The owners were looking for something truly special, and they’re definitely not disappointed.
It was homeowners, Deborah and Guy Smart, who were instrumental in selecting the material palette, working closely with Mark Diedricks, Managing Director, Arklen. “I always give Deb the credit, because Deb knew what she wanted right from the beginning,” Mark remarks.
Though Deborah was seeking an industrial feel to the home, she was also looking for something hard wearing and low maintenance, being the Mum of three active children. But she also wanted warmth. Combining low maintenance industrial materials with a natural, heritage palette delivered just what Deborah was looking for.
You can see it’s a thoughtful, complementary yet contrasting palette. While beautifully smooth burnished concrete completes the floors, stairs and some feature walls on the lower and upper levels of Claremont House, textured Red Rustic brick tile herringbone flooring on the middle living space and alfresco area provide warmth and a textural contrast to the concrete. Brush box timber cladding on the walls and ceiling, and recycled bricks on external and selected internal walls, are set against copper doors and exposed, matt black powder-coated ducting units and steel beams.
“With the copper, concrete and all of the other beautiful materials complementing it, the house looks really sharp and clean but not too hard; it really has the balance right,” Scott Blackman, Blend Designs, comments.
Of course the heart of any home is the living space, which in this case stretches from the kitchen through to the dining room and the outdoor alfresco terrace. Rustic Red Brick tiles, supplied by Robertson’s Building Products, are used as a paver, which are particularly hardwearing from a practical point of view, and simply striking against the concrete waterfall island bench, adding a touch of warmth to the overall palette.
What is so innovative about this design is that, besides the Rustic Red brick tiles on the middle floor, there is absolutely no tiling in any of the wet areas. Using Marbellino on the walls, whose recipe dates back to the old roman baths, and a burnished concrete floor, Mark and his team were able to deliver a maintenance free, stylish bathroom.
Low maintenance innovation continues in the bedrooms, where Barestone, rather than gyprock, lines the walls. “It’s a super-heavy sheath that’s naturally finished so doesn’t require painting,” Mark explains. And that was music to Deborah’s ears.
Needless to say Deborah, Guy, Mark and Scott are all exceedingly happy with the end result. The whole project speaks volumes about having a great team who works well together, sharing ideas and thinking outside the box to arrive at a result beyond what they set out to achieve. It really is as simple as that, with spectacular results.
Developer/Builder: Arklen
Product: Rustic Red brick tiles
Photographer: Dion Robeson
Interiors: Anna Flanders