Custom, highly crafted design elements and an inherent understanding of heritage bring a Melbourne home into the present.
Melbourne and Lorne-based designer Georgina Jeffries initiated the interior renovation of the Queen Anne-style Edwardian residence, set in lush gardens by Kate Patterson Landscape Design. The three words guiding her intervention were “warmth, functionality and purpose”, as she drew inspiration from the period architecture to “breathe richness and life” into the family home.
The home’s patterned metalwork doors set the tone for the preserved Arts and Crafts interior references within. “The inheriting of previous heritage features reflects the past when the crafted was celebrated, which I’ve combined with the desire to preserve and create a functional family home,” Jeffries says.
Moving through the period spaces, the kitchen is located at the rear, where floor-to-ceiling steel frame doors invite light and garden connection, tempered by linen curtains. Jeffries describes the space as flowing, polished and approachable, allowing the family to move from the kitchen to the dining space with ease. “The home’s spaces were built around the family’s needs, supporting their love of entertaining and togetherness,” she explains. This shaped the decision to forgo a formal dining area and instead create a space for a billiard table and a bar. “The billiard room is now a favourite in the house,” she adds.
Szilvassy vessels and wall ceramic by Ben Mazey.
The timber kitchen joinery with a rounded bullnose edge is a foremost example of the home’s contemporary iterations. This space features a Lacanche oven and Dita stools by grazia&co.
A custom dining table by Georgina Jeffries is paired with Thonet Vienna armchairs, underneath the Astep Cinquanta suspension light.
Georgina Jeffries designed a custom navy sofa for the living space, with vintage boucle armchairs from Smith St Bazaar, coffee tables by grazia&co, an Anna Charlesworth pendant and Lumina Daphine Terra Led floor lamp.
Jeffries says the billiard room with a custom bar is now the favourite room in the house. Artwork by Belem Lett.
The timber kitchen joinery with a rounded bullnose edge exemplifies the home’s contemporary iterations. This detailing is echoed in the custom dining cabinetry, as Jeffries sought to “recondition the old while introducing modern elements” that create interest and playfulness.
Jeffries enhanced existing materials and details where she could, such as the original timber boards. She also introduced rich and muted tones, such as duck egg blue and navy, to instil sense of calm and cohesion. A pervading warmth is carried through the textural sisal and wool rugs, boucle upholstery, burnished brass tapware, expressive marble and custom pieces designed by Georgina Jeffries, such as the sofa. Other custom pieces by the designer also include the tables in the dining space and hallway, and bedside tables. Lighting creates a sculptural statement in each space, including plaster pendants and wall lights by Anna Charlesworth, in dialogue with pieces by Australian artists such as Ben Mazey and Belem Lett.
While warmth, functionality, and purpose typify the Bloom House interiors, Jeffries’s care for craft and detail will allow this family home to be well-loved for decades to come.
The hallway features a custom table with an Anna Charlesworth pendant and an Objects of Virtue vase.
The bedroom features custom bedside tables by Georgina Jeffries.
