An armchair located at the end of a wing in front of a large picture window suggests a main bedroom and ensuite beyond.Credit: Timothy Kaye
“The week can be fairly chaotic with work, so I wanted to create a place that felt a bit like a hermit,” says Kane.
And although grey can be cold and clinical, Kane saw the mottled grey plaster walls and brushed stainless steel as quite soft. “When the light hits the walls you get these wonderful soft hues as well as the silhouettes of the garden.”
Designed in an L shape, the relatively modest 250-square-metre house responds to garden views at every turn. For Kane and his team it’s this strict alignment of garden views that allows for different experiences of the home provided by the ever-changing light.
Spaces that are slightly off-centre eliminate the need for doors. An armchair located at the end of a wing in front of a large picture window suggests a main bedroom and ensuite beyond.
Likewise, the monolithic stainless-steel bench in the kitchen is the only object in the space, hinting that there’s a substantial back-of-house butler’s pantry nearby. The sink, fridge and pantry are enclosed. However, there’s also storage in the kitchen, along with a cocktail bar fully concealed behind polished, plastered doors that appear as one continuous wall.
Unlike most dining areas that form part of the open-plan living area, the choice here was to create a separate dining area.
The phrase ‘less is more’, a catchcry of the early modernists, can certainly be applied to the Grey House.Credit: Timothy Kaye
There’s a similar synergy in the treatment of the courtyard, with an open fireplace and plunge pool. Forget about potted shrubs lining the terrace, here there’s a concrete plinth to warm oneself by the fire, or alternatively you can relax in one of Willy Guhl’s Loop Chairs from the 1950s.
Materials such as stainless steel can be clinical. But when folded, chiselled (as in the ensuite vanity to the main bedroom) and even scrubbed with a wire brush, there’s depth and texture to be discovered.
The phrase “less is more”, a catchcry of the early modernists, can certainly be applied to the Grey House. The lounge area may only contain a singular modular lounge but views through the carefully orchestrated windows take one on a journey well beyond the traditional.
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