Design Covet | Fashion to Furniture

Fashion and interiors have long influenced each other, reflecting the breadth of inspiration each discipline draws on. This often manifests in residential interiors as designers work with a client to capture their vision or tailor a space to their own haute couture style.

We’re investigating where the two design spheres intersect through four distinct interior projects by Australian designers. Drawing on living spaces designed by CJH Studio, Madeleine Blanchfield Architects, Hecker Guthrie and Templeton Architecture we’re exploring how they’ve created a unique aesthetic through colour, materiality and a key furniture piece from King Living. This is where style transcends space: where fashion meets furniture.

In partnership with King Living

Queensland Penthouse by CJH Studio

CJH Studio designed the living room in the Queensland Penthouse as a tailored, timeless and practical solution to space. This was not without forgetting its warm and minimal design aesthetic intent or maximising the double-height dimensions. 

CJH Studio director Cassie James-Herrick says where the budget was limited, materiality played a major role in this space. “From serene and consistent use of tones used throughout to those material tones shifting into varied texture and sculptural curved forms, materiality gave practically, functionality and tactility in this penthouse,” she says.

Cassie also explains how she had to be strategic with the selection of furniture and how it would shape the space. “The Zaza sofa by King Living with its characteristic adjustable arm and backrests, along with the angled chaise end allowed for the maximum use of a tricky floor space where there’s a significant structural column to avoid.”

The Penthouse translates to a style that plays with organic shapes and different proportions. An elongated trench references the double-height volume while a sepia palette and smooth textures emphasise the soft elegance of neutral hues in the living room. 

Attic House by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Glamorous accents of royal blue are befitting to the revival of this Arts and Crafts home by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects. Director Madeleine Blanchfield says the heritage home felt very weighty and full of character, so they brought light and vistas into the living space by painting the dark timber panelling white.

Madeleine says furniture was selected to both reference and respect the character of the existing house. “In the living room, they needed to be idiosyncratic, punchy and have enough colour and texture to ensure it wasn’t overwhelmed by the architectural features,” she says. In particular, the blue Seymour chairs by King Living reference the external brick, and as Madeleine says, become strong distinctive pieces in their own right. Madeleine’s sophisticated eye lifts cues from rich textures and classic forms that create a refreshing aesthetic in the living room through surprise pops of vibrant blue. 

Shou-Sugi-Ban House by Hecker Guthrie

The spacious Shou-Sugi-Ban living space references a Brazilian design sensibility, through a unique collaboration between Melbourne design studio Hecker Guthrie and Jacobsen Arquitectura. 

A warm richness is met with geometric forms and minimal lines to inform the aesthetic of the entire home. The material palette infers a refined luxury through the raw natural stone, textured walls and timber-lined ceilings and floors, as well as the jet-black Shou-Sugi-Ban clad exterior. 

As in the selection of fashion pieces, black frames the home, contrasted with warm beige walls. Speaking to the revival of modular furniture, the oatmeal leather Jasper II Sofa by King Living relays the importance of consistently polished textures to offset the geometric edges. 

Georgina by Templeton Architecture

Peeling back the layers of a 1970s home, Templeton Architecture focused on timeless and functional elements that err on industrial. The living space inside this alteration and addition reflects a coolness through its close proximity to the stainless steel kitchen. 

Director Emma Templeton says they removed the excess and focused on essential forms and materials to provide the home with integrity. “We added a soft layer of contemporary textures and tones to complement the original dwelling and expanded upon the original design intent to create a space that was also a reflection of the present,” Emma says.

As in all of Templeton Architecture’s work, Georgina reflects a distinguished minimalist, monochrome style and includes hard-working pieces such as the Plaza Sofa by King Living. This style is expressed through supple black leather and a crisp white shirt that draws on the industrial theme with a modern twist. A timeless take on 1970s style is reflected in the long boots and pleated skirt.