Designed as its own private world, this Melbourne home invites expression, contemplation and a feeling of release.
An expertly-designed home for modern living often combines seemingly opposing qualities—functional and refined, contemporary and timeless, open and private. This nonconformist approach is exactly what J.Kidman Architecture and interior design firm GOLDEN embraced while designing ‘Temple House’.
J.Kidman Architecture founder James Reid leant into the idea of a domestic temple, focusing on how a home might invite deep contemplation without ever overstating itself. This meant striking a balance between intimacy and monumentality. “Wherever monumentality was established, the subsequent step was always to rewind by eroding it, delaminating it, introducing fissures and slippages—unbuilding it almost—so as to soften it into something more flawed and relatable,” he says.
This approach informed every design decision, starting with materiality. To maintain a sense of wonder for what lies within, materials were kept visually clean through the use of bagged masonry, ribbed limestone and unfilled travertine flooring. When viewed up close, however, Reid describes these materials as having a satisfying haptic quality. Representing this, the front door has been carved into a wall made of ribbed limestone tiles, which possess a “tactility that further feeds a natural gravitation toward the building,” Reid says.
Materials were chosen for their ability to blend durability with aesthetics; this is showcased in the kitchen, where the Verde Alpi stone benchtops contrast the raw texture of the unfilled travertine floors. To the right, more texture play: a custom resin table paired with a stainless steel chair.
A perforated bronze bar, each panel individually dipped for a unique patina, talks to a custom dining table made of brushed stainless steel. Stylist Tali Roth says the chocolate-brown velvet dining chairs were chosen to “cut through the cold” of the metals.
In the living space, the B&B Italia Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini in alternating olive-green velvet and leather served as an anchor around which interior decorator Tali Roth, together with interior designers GOLDEN, built the rest of the furniture curation around. An eclectic mix of textures are showcased within the space, including velvet, leather, Murano glass, ceramics, fur, burl wood, charred and painted woods, and shag pile carpets. Also featured is a painting by Michael Georgetti.
“With its generous proportions and layered palette, the main living area allowed us to explore form, texture, and spatial drama in a really satisfying way,” GOLDEN co-founder Kylie Buhagiar says.
However, as the architect underscores, the front door isn’t really a front door, but rather a centre door. “In most suburban homes, the front door’s visibility from the street diminishes the significance of crossing from public to private,” Reid says. “For Temple House, I placed the door at the centre of the property so as to create a more protracted journey through the landscaping, deepening the visitor’s awareness and appreciation of this crossing.” In this way, the garden becomes a kind of passage between the two realms, gently dissolving any outside worries before stepping inside. “This sense of separation was central in creating a private world within, entirely its own,” GOLDEN co-director Alicia McKimm says.
McKimm likens the journey of moving through the house to a sense of release. “The first thing you notice is how the home expands as you move through it,” she says. “You begin in a more intimate setting, which then opens into a dramatic seven-metre-high volume where the kitchen, meals and living spaces are located.”
Materials were chosen for their ability to blend durability with aesthetics. These qualities are showcased in the home’s main living space, which features a kitchen clad almost entirely in brilliant Verde Alpi stone, and alongside it, a table made of composite resin, designed to withstand accidental paint spills and marker accidents. On the garden side, a perforated bronze bar, each panel individually dipped for a unique patina, talks to a custom dining table made of brushed stainless steel. “Each room varies tonally and materially, yet the entire home feels seamless,” GOLDEN co-founder Kylie Buhagiar says.
Temple House also plays host to the family’s bold, varied and highly-individual art collection. “The interiors and architecture had to meet the artwork’s energy, which meant designing with a certain boldness and confidence, ensuring the spaces stood firm alongside such unique selections,” she says.“The home is designed as a flexible canvas, and we see its evolution playing out most notably through the family’s growing art collection,” Buhagiar says. “There’s a lot of room for expression, and the architecture supports that. As the family’s needs shift, the home will adapt, remaining relevant, personal and layered with meaning.”
This piece originally appeared in est magazine issue #57: ‘Kitchen Expressionism‘.
The primary en suite features a cylindrical vanity made of Tadelakt surrounded by smoked glass partitions, as well as a leathered-finish marble bathtub.
The vibrant blue sculpture by Nabilah Nordin in the master bedroom introduces an “unexpected, almost whimsical energy to an otherwise calming space”, Buhagiar says. The space also features a custom upholstered headboard complete with Apparatus Studio Tassel 1 sconces.
Temple House is set against the meditative backdrop of Plume Studio’s landscape design, which the interiors eagerly embrace wherever they can. The external palette of soft, sandy-white tones was intended to be quiet yet compelling.
