Light & Shade
Both gallery and sanctuary, this airy contemporary home combines artistic interiors with leafy outdoor areas.
ARCHITECTURE + INTERIOR DESIGN Giorgi • LANDSCAPING Bryden Landscaping • IMAGERY D-Max Photography • WORDS Elizabeth Clarke
Nestled in leafy Dalkeith, this unique home designed and built by Giorgi injects new energy into its classical streetscape, rethinking what a contemporary family home can look like. Its expansive, curved façade, complemented by soft colours and textures, is anchored by a gently rounded stone-clad wall. Established trees frame its robust structure, softening its silhouette and creating the impression it has been a part of the neighbourhood for years.
"The residence is a carefully designed response to the owners’ vision,” says Jill Owens, Giorgi Interior Designer. “It seamlessly blends functionality, artistic expression and innovative design that enhances daily family life."
As you step inside the home, you're greeted by a voluminous gallery foyer, where a majestic jacaranda tree is perfectly framed. Combining impeccable craftsmanship and natural materials, the space exudes a moody and immersive ambience.
The ground floor surrounds a spacious central courtyard, strengthening the connection between the house and the garden. At one end there is a generous garage, theatre and workshop, while the family's social areas, bedrooms and home office flow together at the other. On the level above, among the treetops, are three more bedrooms, including the master suite.
The family’s living and dining areas are characterised by transparency and lightness, thanks to their architectural design and floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows that open out to the courtyard. In the dining space, softly plastered walls, raked ceilings, timber panelling and polished concrete floors create a sense of quiet glamour and refined comfort.
“The home serves as both a gallery and sanctuary,” says Giorgi. “The owners have a strong appreciation of Italian design, as shown in their selections alongside paintings, sculptures, established trees and architectural details that create an environment of artistic appreciation and personal expression.”
The adjoining kitchen features seamless custom cabinetry that pairs beautifully with a rugged stone island bench and rich timber panelling. Expansive glass openings allow the kitchen to view the outdoor areas, which are enclosed by graceful curves of timber, stone and soft, lush landscaping.
What stands out in this home, given the intricacies of the structure and design, is how effortlessly it relates to its environment, with natural light from strategically placed windows and light wells, and numerous sightlines between inside and outside spaces. The home’s interior zones are cleverly delineated by rectangular pillars, floor rugs and a purposeful arrangement of furniture rather than solid partitions that would minimise the generous volume of the home's overall space.
With its emphasis on site, proportion, line, light, materials and texture, this home offers both simplicity and complexity, creating a distinctive family haven with true longevity.
With its wide, monolithic, curved façade and organic, sweeping curves, the family home makes a powerful statement on its leafy Dalkeith street.
An expansive gallery features high, curved ceilings swathed in Venetian plaster. A large arched window frames a mature jacaranda tree outside, serving as a beautiful focal point. The rich timber wall panelling adds dramatic contrast and anchors the space. IMAGE. Jody D'Arcy
“Every furniture choice in this space is intentional, with only a minimal amount selected,” says Giorgi of the living area that features Arketipo’s Starman modular sofa and Rumors coffee table, and Cattelan Italia’s Sting side tables, all from Ultimo Interiors. The Terrazzo rug is from Armadillo.
Where the interior living space opens to the outdoors, Arketipo’s Jupiter armchair from Ultimo Interiors provides a cloud-like spot to recline. The floor light is by Bontempi from Ultimo Interiors.
The open-plan kitchen reflects a moody Japanese theme and utilises textures and materials that evoke a sense of organic warmth and tranquility. The kitchen looks out onto the living space and to the outdoors beyond to a mature tree, alfresco area, swimming pool and verdant landscaping.
With strict lines and minimal styling, the kitchen features a seamless cabinetry bank, an island bench made from Buffalo Stone granite slab from Eco Outdoor with an extrusion in Dekton by Cosentino, and stunning timber panelling. Tucked behind it is a scullery and fully equipped laundry. The Aegis vase by Lost Profile Studio from Mariia Gabriel adds organic warmth to the space.
In the dining room, a Lost Profile Studio pendant from Mariia Gabriel hovers over a Cattelan Italia Skorpio dining table and dining chairs from Ultimo Interiors.
Looking from the children’s wing across the parents’ wing is an artwork by Marco Grassi.
The boys’ bedroom is designed to resemble a moonscape, featuring deep, dark colours and soft textures to create an immersive environment. The walls have a rugged texture achieved with a custom polished plaster finish by Troweled Earth that creates depth, movement and texture, which contrasts beautifully with the Hale Mercantile Co. French linen and organic cotton bedlinen from editeur. The plush chocolate brown velvet headboard is from Natuzzi. The Cattelan Italia Smoked Oak and Graphite bedside tables, and Tom Dixon high-gloss taupe bell table lamp, are from Ultimo Interiors.
“The brief was to create a serene and moody retreat using warm, natural tones and organic textures to evoke a sense of calm,” says Giorgi of the master bedroom overlooking the trees. Custom textured polished plaster finish by Troweled Earth creates a soft, sumptuous backdrop for Cattelan Italia’s Cloud Pendants from Ultimo Interiors. The Super King bed by Arketipo and the Flou Foglio bedside tables, both crafted from a single sheet of curved metal, are also from Ultimo Interiors. The bedlinen is by Hale Mercantile Co. from editeur.
The home’s bathrooms are dark and contrasty, with scorched timber finishes for the cabinetry, large-format tiles and smaller kit-kat-shaped mosaics from Ceramic Tile Supplies.
Light pours into the shower space through a soaring circular skylight lined with tiles from Ceramic Tile Supplies.
The swimming pool area is partially covered and enclosed by walls made of curved timber panelling and Aspen Stone by Mataka.
The outdoor space features a refined palette of raw materials—including textured stone and sculpted concrete—creating a timeless aesthetic, reducing maintenance and environmental impact.
“It seamlessly blends functionality, artistic expression and innovative design that enhances daily family life.”
—JILL OWENS, Giorgi
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