{"id":142905,"date":"2025-09-14T15:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/142905\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T15:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:58:13","slug":"temple-house-is-a-masterclass-in-volume-and-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/142905\/","title":{"rendered":"Temple House Is a Masterclass in Volume and Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Temple House<\/a>, designed by James Reid of Melbourne-based architecture firm J Kidman, is a prime example of the adage, \u201cless is more\u201d. Built for an art-loving couple and their three children, the Hawthorn home doesn\u2019t aim to impress with sheer size or ostentation. Instead, its big sculptural voids, carefully placed light wells and deliberate changes in ceiling height create what Reid describes as \u201cpoetry\u201d.<\/p>\n

The brief was to create something that could awaken the same feelings as standing in front of a great work of art. \u201cThey wanted the house to engage all the senses, but not shout for attention,\u201d Reid says. <\/p>\n

The project started, Reid says, \u201cas a very practical response to the site\u201d. The block\u2019s northern street frontage meant that the typical suburban approach of a house up front and a backyard behind would leave living spaces in shadow. \u201cWe inverted that,\u201d Reid explains. \u201cWe weighted the house back into the site, so the front yard becomes the main outdoor space. It brings northern light into multiple parts of the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That inversion also changed how you enter the home. \u201cYou actually have to bring people to the middle of the property to enter the front door.\u201d <\/p>\n

Once inside, the hierarchy of space becomes clear. \u201cA poorly done house is just one-note,\u201d Reid says. In Temple House, bedrooms and back-of-house areas are smaller, simpler and more contained, while social spaces open up vertically. The main living space \u2013 kitchen, dining, lounge \u2013 is a double-height space, but Reid resisted the temptation to go big. \u201cBig doesn\u2019t necessarily mean better,\u201d he says. \u201cIf every space is monumental, it just becomes vacuous. You need contrast and containment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In larger spaces, Reid used single-height window lines rather than floor-to-ceiling glass. \u201cIt\u2019s counterintuitive, but it contains the space,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt makes the void above feel more precious, because you\u2019re not competing with a giant wall of glass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, ceiling heights drop, and spaces become more enclosed. \u201cIt\u2019s about rhythm,\u201d Reid says. \u201cThe voids [in the living room] feel bigger because you\u2019ve come from somewhere smaller. You\u2019re constantly adjusting your sense of space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Materiality helps too. Warm timbers and softly textured renders \u2013 brought to life by interior design firm Golden<\/a> \u2013 along with textured furnishings and lighting by interior designer Tali Roth<\/a> all work to avoid voids feeling harsh or cold. <\/p>\n

Light wells are placed to shape movement. \u201cLight tells you where to go,\u201d says Reid. A sheltered threshold draws you in, the central courtyard floods the middle of the plan with sun, and sightlines connect you back to gardens as you move through. \u201cWe were deliberate about those moments of pause,\u201d Reid says. \u201cIt\u2019s like walking through a gallery \u2013 you don\u2019t just see everything at once, you experience it piece by piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Reid, ceiling height is as valuable as floor area. \u201cOften the vertical dimension can give you more than the horizontal,\u201d he says. \u201cVolume can give back more than footprint.\u201d He acknowledges that many people struggle to value space they can\u2019t \u201cuse\u201d for furniture or storage, but argues that empty air above your head is part of the luxury. <\/p>\n

\u201cSpace doesn\u2019t have to be filled, it\u2019s where your mind can roam.\u201d In a home, that might mean using a taller ceiling in a key living area to open it up, then dropping the height in a study or bedroom to make it more intimate.<\/p>\n

For those without a double-height budget, the principle still applies. A single high point over a stair, in a dining nook or via a skylight can bring a sense of generosity. Equally, leaving a wall bare so light can wash across it, or pulling furniture away from windows, can create breathing space. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a feeling that\u2019s heightened as time shifts throughout the day. At Temple House, morning light filters through the courtyard, while in the afternoon the upper volumes trap a warmer glow. In winter, the more contained areas feel cocooning, while summer draws the family outside into the sunlit front garden.<\/p>\n

As Reid puts it, \u201cLuxury is having space that serves no function other than to make you feel good.\u201d It\u2019s a definition that resists pressures to maximise every square metre, and instead embraces grandeur through unused space.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in Domain Prestige<\/a>, in partnership with Broadsheet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Temple House, designed by James Reid of Melbourne-based architecture firm J Kidman, is a prime example of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-142905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}