In a home that contains multitudes, distinctly characterful spaces are linked through architectural thresholds and a mid-century palette, creating a visual logic to bold expression.
For a designer, a return client must be the ultimate compliment. Someone not only impressed by aesthetics, but also appreciative of a designer’s approach. This is exactly what led to interior designer Erin Lambrecht’s Armadale House renovation. Over a decade ago, Lambrecht designed the client’s parents’ home. At the time, the client lived in the family home and was involved in the design process. Now, to design their first home together, the client and her partner sought that same rewarding experience. “It was incredibly special to work together again. We took a great deal of time to understand their day-to-day lives,” Lambrecht says.
The four-bedroom Edwardian villa in Armadale had been extended decades prior but lacked logical sequencing and personal, expressive design. With one of the pair design-savvy and the other an athlete and best-selling cookbook author, the home needed to “carefully balance practicality with personality, without feeling precious,” Lambrecht explains.
The kitchen materiality embodies a heart-of-the-home quality while maintaining a sophisticated backdrop for recording cooking demonstrations. The monolithic rangehood towers intentionally above the sculptural marble island, while metallic accents of copper kitchenware and brass joinery pulls add flair.
Artworks were a visual launchpad, used to draw out how the clients wanted the home to feel. They owned a glinting Bill Henson photograph and commissioned a Nick Thomm work of blurred sage and amber; a palette infused into the living space’s modern furnishings and mid-century lines.
Vintage Italian glass sconces frame the sculpted rangehood. A light, custom-made oak dining table, with a ‘Kaihaukai’ bowl, by Maia Kreisler from Craft Victoria at its centre, is offset by burnt orange vintage Fler Flervilla chairs.
Drawing in natural light, the expansive kitchen and dining spaces feature an island, countertops and a splashback in carved Corchia stone from Artedomus that folds into shelving. Custom-designed steel and aniline leather bar stools and Noble Elements brass pulls punctuate the expansive joinery and marble finishes. Also pictured: Lacanche oven.
Rather than flattening them into a single aesthetic, distinctive moods are celebrated, spanning active to refuge zones. Each room holds a sense of arrival, with arched, timber-framed or glazed steel-framed doorways, navigating the transitions. These architectural notes knit spaces together, while maintaining intimacy and unique character within each space.
The bright extension, with glazing contouring upper walls, utilises the north-eastern natural light with polished marbles and timbers selected to respond to it. In restful zones, including the bedrooms and front living spaces, overhead lighting is substituted for sculptural lamps alongside rich, vintage furnishings. The powder room lends an opulent dimension with glass wall sconces and a classical, mint-coloured marble basin.
Wrapped in a custom-designed striped carpet, the formal living space embraces a warm eclecticism, combining the Edwardian-era ceiling rose and fireplace with vibrant furnishings. “It’s a space that rewards time rather than demanding attention,” Lambrecht reflects. Shaped to support a dynamic, lived-in character, this inviting sentiment is an apt mantra befitting Armadale House.
Nicholas Thomm’s artwork, a vermillion-to-emerald colour gradient, informs the informal living space’s palette. A bespoke oak coffee table, custom-made pastel blue sofa, Vitra Akari UF4-L8 light and an auburn vintage B&B Italia Bambole armchair by Mario Bellini softly shape the room.
Vintage Audoux Minet rope mirror and stool from Wren Studios at the home’s entrance.
Beneath an elaborate ceiling rose and cornices, palette and pattern express contemporary personality. A custom-designed, royal-blue sofa and a textural &Tradition Little Petra armchair by Viggo Boesen ground the room, accompanied by a mid-century Luar coffee table by Ross Littell and a red vintage Reluminator lamp, based on Pietro Chiesa’s 1932 design. A striped custom-designed rug peeks out from below, tying the eclectic combination together.
"Instead of selecting artwork to suit the interiors, the interiors evolved around the collection. These works became important anchors, helping establish the home's emotional character as much as its visual language."
– Erin Lambrecht
Custom-designed by Erin Lambrecht, the chocolate bedhead sets a cosy tone beside a vintage 1940s Danish lambswool armchair, a vintage Murano Bullicante wall sconce and REDdUO Loads of Lines blanket. The beige USM Haller side table lends utilitarian contrast.
"Thresholds became an important way of creating rhythm. Each opening frames the next space and encourages the experience of the home to unfold gradually.”
– Erin Lambrecht
The blush-pink vintage eModerno Venetian Amalfi wall light rests above a Corchia marble double basin that materially links to the kitchen, with chrome Brodware Winslow tapware.
