Elwood House by AM Architecture
luminous, floating, reaching out to landscape
Elwood House living room with white timber framing, glass doors and a view to the pool

Elwood House

Elwood House is a stately California Bungalow by the beach, where new works bind heritage and garden into a cohesive whole, via an exciting new renovation and addition.

Melbourne Architecture. Shadowplay on textured stucco wall, leading to outdoor shower and swimming pool.

Melbourne Architecture. View from heritage renovation of connection to outdoors.

The new spaces achieve a strong connection to the existing heritage dwelling through a consistent character and intensity of detail and material.

                                                                                      The white timber detail on the new addition references timberwork on the heritage renovation and splays out to the garden like a Japanese roofline.
Melbourne Residential Architects. The Master Ensuite. New interior elements reference timber mouldings in the heritage architecture, and textures of white ceramic and soft marble, make further connection to the building's history.

Subtle heritage references allow the new interiors to sit comfortably with the heritage dwelling, creating a cohesive whole.

New elements have been drawn from heritage detailing, such as an existing pergola on the original façade, stucco surfaces, intricate timberwork, and the heavy brick base –  all reinterpreted in a unique architectural expression.

Elwood House, Corridoor from kitchen to bedrooms.
Elwood House reference image: white timber bungalow eaves and angled roof brackets Heritage details of the original Californian Bungalow
Elwood House reference image: California Bungalow gable with timber brackets and a brick arch Textured cement render, brickwork, & timber detailing
Elwood House reference image: white vertical timber lining boards Regency timber shiplap
Elwood House reference image: white timber corbels on a bungalow verandah Original timber moldings
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Heritage details of the original Californian Bungalow

The conceptual heart of Elwood House is a ceiling of broad white floating rafters that reference a pergola on the existing dwelling. The floating ceiling plane reaches out into the landscape, unifying interior and exterior living, old and new architecture.

Melbourne Architects. Elwood House Living Area and floating roof edge, showing connection from Living to garden with fireplace.
Melbourne Architects. Subtle textures of white combine with pink hues of the flooring and lighting at the meals table.

A custom table designed by the architects extends marble from the kitchen to meals.

Residential Architects. A restrained palette, textures of white used in the kitchen at Elwood House. Kitchen joinery extends outside and becomes the outdoor barbeque.

“…..the new addition at Elwood house literally breathes fresh air into this home. When the doors are open the outside merges with the inside and the airflow promotes relaxation and wellbeing.”

 

Architecture at the Heart of the Home by Jan Henderson and Dianna Snape. Published in 2021 by Thames and Hudson.

The island bench connects to ceiling rhythms and references the curved timber moldings of the heritage architecture
The meals table was designed by the architects using excess marble from the kitchen, and forming a connected part of the architecture.
The heritage entry to Elwood House is lined with timber mouldings, picture rails, and timber batten wall panels. It is this high grain of detail and quality that provided the character inspiration for the new architecture.

A restrained palette, textures of white and subtle pink, allows the green outside to become a central experience of the home.

Melbourne Architects. The Master bedroom at Elwood House is a tactile combination of white stucco, white rhythmic rafters, and soft fabrics, connecting vividly to the green of the garden outside.

Happy kitty

Melbourne Architects. View from the walk-in robe through the master bedroom and the garden beyond. Soft textures and ceiling rhythms create beautifully tactile spaces, extending outside to welcome the outdoors in.

Soft textures and ceiling rhythms create beautifully tactile spaces, extending outside to welcome the outdoors in.

Residential Architects. Textured stucco walls rest on a solid red brick base. This red brick base references the plinth of the original Californian Bungalow.

A red brick base extends from the Californian Bungalow to form a new broad podium, in contrast to the textural white stucco.

The corner of Elwood House where the roof overhangs the outdoor shower and reaches out to the swimming pool in foreground.

Returning from the beach to the pool, via the outdoor shower.

Residential Architects, Elwood House lived in by its family of 4, whilst connecting to the garden and summer sun.

” Elwood House is a direct response to our client’s wish for an outdoor lifestyle, suitable to living in their new beachside suburb.”

 

Andrew Mellios, Director, AM—Architecture.

Elwood House rear garden and pool, with the white-roofed pavilion addition behind the lawn

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Local Architects. Camberwell House Dining & Living Room. Suspended fireplace creates a focal point in between the dining and living rooms. Timber posts and steel connections reference the detailing of mid-century design.

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