The ultimate disguise – a custom cherry wood cabinet hides the fridge and pantry. The kitchen also features the Robert Sonneman Orbiter wall lamp.
Tasked with overhauling a dilapidated Sydney terrace house, Pattern Studio has introduced light, craft and a big dose of playfulness at Daddy Cool.
It’s a common conundrum—how to get as much liveable space and ambient natural light as possible in a narrow terrace house? Pattern Studio’s approach includes all the classic architectural moves and a few clever curveballs, resulting in a truly original home that suits this family to a tee.
Designed for a father with two adult children, the house is zoned for privacy, featuring four well-appointed bedroom suites. Conceived as luxurious, self-functioning spaces, each of the rooms accommodates bathing, dressing, relaxing and even entertaining. “Come 5 o’clock, [the bedrooms] also cater perfectly to entertaining; each includes a pre-party offering, be that bar cart or kitchenette,” Pattern Studio principal and co-founder Josh Cain notes.
Throughout the home, and particularly in each room, bespoke design elements add quirk and uniqueness. Rather than opting for the usual long walls of cupboards, Pattern Studio has instead responded with custom pieces. For instance, a built-in cabinet houses a record player, which sits adjacent to a stone-clad bar, making a lively concoction for good times. Each bedroom features a one-of-a-kind bedhead – from the dramatic in Verde Fantastico stone to curved upholstery and a practical veneer wrap-around. In this vein, materials have been administered with verve. With such variety of material applications, it could easily slip into a hodgepodge, under the eye of Pattern Studio it instead feels thoughtful and deliberate.
The Carl Hansen & Søn CH29 sawbuck chair and Cassina Superleggera chair in the dining area.
Bespoke furniture features throughout Daddy Cool, with Pattern Studio designing many unique handcrafted elements, including a built-in low-line cabinet for a record player and vinyl collection. Bright and colourful art by Suzanna Vangelov sits comfortably alongside statement furniture, such as the Pacha Lounge sofa by Gubi and Eames Walnut stool.
As a counterpoint to the privacy of the bedrooms, the main downstairs living areas are open and invite socialising. The kitchen is the epicentre. Flanked with finely crafted features, the kitchen island is a sculptural and scalloped focal point made in an exquisite Verde Guatemala stone. A free-standing burled cherry wood cabinet—which at first glance could be mistaken as an heirloom piece—is, in fact, a new addition designed to obscure the fridge and pantry.
Spaciousness permeates, with every object and piece of furniture adding a sense of sculptural form, in particular the Gubi Pacha lounge sofa and the Dough vases by Faye Toogood.
The living room opens up to a private, central courtyard with large Vitrocsa Pivot glass doors. The threshold is wrapped in Ceppo Di Gres stone (which also features as the kitchen splashback). A Hem Puffy lounge and ottoman by Faye Toogood with a vintage Mazzega floor lamp from Italy bring character.
Navigating a petite five-metre-wide plot, Pattern Studio introduced a central courtyard where the main living areas splay around its periphery. This not only brings in much-needed light but also generates a private, inner-city sanctuary. Oversized glass pivot doors surround the courtyard, and thresholds wrapped in stone dissolve the boundaries between inside and out. Skylights are scattered throughout the home, with one included in each of the showers.
Despite such an amalgam of materials, forms and custom additions, this house doesn’t overpower. The lightness pervades, achieved from the combination of natural light, but equally from the pale plastered walls, which form a landscape with the bright collection of artworks. A curated selection of furniture add character, such as the classic Carl Hansen & Son chairs, Faye Toogood’s Puffy Lounge and Lex Williams Kythe Seat.
Contemporary, joyful and completely customised for this family’s needs – Daddy Cool is one cool house.
The bedroom features the Flos Taccia table lamp, Carl Hansen & Son CH88P chair and The Artemide Tolomeo table lamp.
The sculptural Alias Seconda chair in the bedroom.
A stunning custom bathtub made from Verde Fantastico stone, set atop a custom poured terrazzo floor. The vintage Murano wall lights and tactile freestanding towel rack (Ergo Freestanding Iroko Heartwood by Studio Galassia) add elegance.
