Fresh Tradition
A home doesn’t need to be completely rebuilt to be renewed.
Fresh Tradition shows how incisive design interventions can shift the way a space feels, all without altering its structure. This renovation brings clarity, comfort and a restored sense of belonging.
Photographer
Martina Gemmola
Key Suppliers
Gallery Smith Cosh Living Make Designed Objects Pepite FUM Australia
When Tim and Ellen first moved into their four-storey townhouse, it made sense on paper. Large, well-built and in a great location, the home met every practical requirement for a busy family with young children and demanding professional lives. Yet something was missing. Despite its scale and polish, the overall aesthetic just never felt like home for them.
“It met all the functional needs, but emotionally, it wasn’t giving them what they needed. The spaces felt heavy, dark and old-fashioned, and that disconnect was what we were really trying to address. ”
Rather than pursuing all-encompassing architectural changes, the brief centred on refinement. Tim and Ellen were conscious of the home’s inherent value, and wanted any intervention to feel respectful, and integrated with its existing grandness. “It was about shifting the mood and reinterpreting what was already there,” Kylie shares.
The scope focused on the public zones of the lower level: entrance, kitchen and dining areas, and the informal living space. The solid timber herringbone oak floors were retained but sanded back and refinished, immediately lightening the mood throughout.
Colour was then layered through the furniture selection and placement, artwork, varied paint tones, soft furnishings, lighting and joinery, which allowed the visual navigation of the home to be rewarded at every turn.
As a major investment piece of the refurbishment, the function and resolved detailing of the joinery was a primary focus. A tool for transformation, it is supported by a refined palette, developed in response to Ellen and Tim’s existing artworks, and key furniture pieces.
But it’s the kitchen – as is the case in many homes – that is the anchor. Tim recalls first encountering Cantilever’s work at Cosh Living.
“We saw the kitchen and thought, wow – these guys are really good. The finger pulls were so ergonomic, and the detailing was incredibly resolved.”
The couple selected Cantilever’s EDIT range, seeing the importance of bringing high-spec detailing to match the generous scale of the space.
Materiality was central to achieving the desired outcome. Ellen had long imagined a stainless-steel kitchen, and the final design pairs brushed stainless with a richly veined green-and-cream marble. “We deliberately chose a slab where different parts had different characteristics. Each section feels unique, but it all comes from the same stone,” Ellen notes.
For Kylie, restraint was critical. The scale of the interiors and tall ceilings mean joinery can easily become gargantuan.
The challenge, then, was to work with the height without being overpowered, and keep everything soft and elegant. Combining interior design with joinery design allows for the spatial considerations key to presenting a highly resolved project. The invisible decisions, such as the introduction of bulkheads, curtain placement, skirting and architraves treatments, are the details that balance the volumes, without becoming features unto themselves.
Beyond the kitchen, Cantilever’s involvement expanded into a holistic ground-floor refresh. A reworked lighting plan that replaced harsh downlights with softer, layered illumination.
“At night, the house is just stunning.
It completely changes how the space feels.”
Integrated lighting within joinery is a key feature of the EDIT system. It supports task focused activity, allowing the overall lighting scheme to become evocative and responsive to the desired mood.
Custom joinery was also introduced in the dining area, along with a standalone bar in charcoal-stained Oak veneer. By dedicating ritual tasks to varied zones across the floorplan, the opportunity to enjoy the space overall is enhanced. Workflow was equally important, and having a kitchen designed to their exact needs has been transformative for the couple.
“Every drawer is laid out exactly to how we use the kitchen. When you’re rushing in the morning, that level of thought makes an enormous difference.”
For Kylie, the project captures what she describes as a “multiplier effect”, explaining that even when working within the existing shell, relatively simple interventions can have an outsized impact. Fresh Tradition is about reviving a classical typology and giving it new energy – a fresh take that still feels grounded.
More than that though, it has resulted in a home that feels suited to the existing home, while matching its homeowners.
“It finally feels like us, it’s incredible how much joy it has brought to everyday living.”
After 36 years in a beloved family home in Pascoe Vale South, a pair of empty-nesters briefly considered flying the coup. They landed instead on a transformational refresh, reconfiguring downstairs spaces, improving thermal efficiency, and reinstating flow for themselves and their close-knit, intergenerational family.
Cost-conscious clients keen to refurbish without overcapitalising say Cantilever’s new streamlined design-and-build service saved them time, money and stress, doubled their return on investment, and transformed their tired house into a home.
Each room in your home has its own purpose and atmosphere, yet a harmonious home considers how they feel collectively. Mark and Lyn, the owners of this South Yarra apartment, have achieved this harmony, through restrained use of colour, tactile finishes, a Japanese style influence, and a preference for Australian materials and craftmanship.
This warm, family home brings a softness in palette and materiality, creating an inviting home equipped to partake in the rituals of daily life. Working within the existing footprint of the home, this relatively small renovation has made a big impact, revitalising the interior, encouraging a free flow of movement and creating a home equipped to handle the ongoing demands of family life now and into the future.
Styling References By Room
Key Partners
Cosh Living ~ Furniture
Make Designed Objects ~ Kitchenware
Pepite ~ Ceramics & Sculptural vases
Gallery Smith ~ Selected artworks
FUM Australia ~ Stone