{"id":921297,"date":"2026-10-09T01:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/921297\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T01:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T01:46:13","slug":"toorak-house-by-pop-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/921297\/","title":{"rendered":"Toorak House by Pop Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

The light and airy modernist sensibilities of this 1970s Toorak home were qualities its owners very much wanted left as is \u2013 and rightly so. The original architect of the single-storey family residence had paid homage to that era\u2019s clean lines, open floor plan and flat-roofed forms, and its effortless appeal has withstood the test of time.<\/p>\n

All it needed was to be approached with a light touch and great deal of respect, which is exactly what Pop Architecture directors Katherine Sainsbery and Justine Brennan did. \u201cOur clients\u2019 brief called for long-term adaptability and improved liveability, while maintaining architectural integrity,\u201d explains Katherine. \u201cSo rather than impose a new architectural language, we grounded the project in a close reading of the existing house, responding to its spatial clarity, material warmth and relationship to light at a micro scale.\u201d Nowhere is this more evident than in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

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The room\u2019s timber joinery was carefully restored and the existing detailing \u2013 including the pantry\u2019s integrated storage and stainless-steel-lined rubbish chute \u2013 preserved, strikingly highlighting its original character. Such preservation also proved cost-effective. Elsewhere in the kitchen, Katherine and Justine removed more recent updates and insertions that had diminished the clarity of the original design intent. This measured approach makes the pared-back material palette shine, and the horizontal profile of the joinery units remains a perfect complement to the existing brickwork flooring, which extends into the dining and lounge areas. The only elements that needed to be replaced were the outdated appliances.<\/p>\n

In the ensuite, interventions were judiciously made. The toilet and shower locations were swapped to create a more generous shower, and all fixtures, fittings and the vanity have been upgraded. A new powder room was introduced in space borrowed from the side of the hall. The main bathroom required a more substantial reconfiguration, with Katherine and Justine rationalising multiple entries into a single one. This allowed for a larger shower area and vanity and improved privacy, without diminishing accessibility from the two adjacent bedrooms. The existing timber-lined ceilings and walls were also sanded and resealed to stunning effect, accentuating the dramatic volume of the bathroom\u2019s pop-up skillion roof.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur bathroom strategy focused on resolving long-standing spatial inefficiencies, while improving usability and material continuity across the home\u2019s wet areas,\u201d says Justine. \u201cTogether, the bathroom works demonstrate how small but precise interventions can significantly improve liveability, while respecting the integrity of a carefully composed modernist house.\u201d Restraint and sensitivity certainly characterised the approach, as well as the outcome, and for the clients, their quiet retreat now features all the comforts of a contemporary abode with the laidback charm of days gone by.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

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