The owners of this 1950s home didn’t want a carbon copy of the Bellevue Hill mansions across the street. For no ordinary project they needed no ordinary team, uniting the creative minds of architects Luigi Rosselli and Studio Schelp, interior design studio Alwill Interiors and landscape designer William Dangar. A collaborative effort of this calibre is a treat any day, but when they are as clearly aligned as this crew, you can see why the magic happened. 

Working together to bring a special mid-century home ‘into today and beyond tomorrow’, they have drawn on the movement, its classic concepts and golden objects – aptly named the Tribute House. Paying respect to Mid century design masters who carved out the style we know (and love) today, the design team have presented a luxurious abode and captured it in a beautiful sea green haze. 

Located in the Sydney neighbourhood of Bellevue Hill, the home was originally designed by George Reed. The overall design concept was to keep one hand firmly in its mid-century origins and the other extending to contemporary design and details the owners had requested. Architecturally, this meant the introduction of an easy indoor-outdoor experience to complement the family’s casual lifestyle, temperate Sydney weather and to promote a light and airy feeling inside.

Replanning the traditional features of the home (where the kitchen is at the rear), Luigi Rosselli and Studio Schelp have introduced an open plan layout. Infinite dining and living opportunities spill out from this open plan area under Luigi Rosselli’s signature curves. 

When we sat down for a chat with Luigi Rosselli about these curves in his design, he said it was a natural progression, because “when you look in nature… you see curves everywhere”. As in this particular project, Luigi Rosselli encourages movement through softly curved corners and angled walls, to favour “a certain fluidity of movement, views and solar aspects”. So too did Luigi Rosselli who referenced the works of Gio Ponti and Oscar Niemeyer in his design, working closely with Alwill Interiors to achieve this ‘tribute’ in palette and detailing while maintaining a contemporary scheme.

Luigi Rosselli and Studio Schelp worked in with landscape designer William Dangar who kept with the circular theme and careful moulding around the feature trees.

Starting at the entry, Alwill Interiors kept the existing stairwell structure but reimagined the balustrades and finishes so that it appeared as though it floated within the central void. Custom ocean blue carpet from Whitecliff Imports dresses the treads and sets the tone for dreamy greens and blues (taken from the garden and the sky) that await you. The thread of brass detailing also commences from the front entrance, crowned by a David Weeks pendant light that dabbles in both modern and mid-century style. Original details on the dropped ceiling and double sliding doors keep the old intertwined with the new. 

Forget the traditionally contained kitchen of the 1950s, both architect and interior designer have ensured quite the opposite. Metres of Corian and marble bench space characterise the galley kitchen doused in natural light, speaking to the foliage with sage and seafoam green Artedomus tiles. That’s without mentioning the Wolf and Sub Zero appliances or how the slatted finishes on the joinery speak to the original details of the home. 

One of the challenges working within the open plan living area was creating a  hierarchy of spaces with furnishings, all the while keeping to the casual atmosphere. So Alwill Interiors worked hard for the formal living space, kitchen, formal dining and bar area not to compete, but communicate. Another subsequent challenge (yet equally charming) aspect to the living space was its sculptural forms of curved ceilings and angular floor plans – including one of Luigi Rosselli’s renowned fireplaces.

So everything felt as though it fit, Alwill Interiors chose organic shapes (such as the circle rug) and objects that nod to the mid-century period. Splashes of deep teal, concrete, rust and burgundy textures all play here under the feature smokey blue Lindsay Adelman light and guidance of the Guan Wei artwork. 

Let’s take a moment to talk bathrooms. In the Tribute House, there’s a superb mix of colours and textures. In the powder room for instance, handprinted fish on silk De Gournay wallpaper wraps the walls on a bed of Hermes marble finishes. Florian Schultz pendant lighting, brass fittings and fine white steel doors all stick to this ornate theme. In the guest bathroom, handmade ‘sea glass’ tiles are used to beautiful effect from floor to ceiling. It doesn’t stop here either – stepping into the ensuite is described as like entering a ‘white cloud’ of Calcutta Vagli marble.

The ensuite is crowned with an Agape bath and rich walnut vanities for continuity with the Mid-century roots of the home. The rest of the master suite is just as decadent with it’s his and her robes, custom Verona leather bedhead, built in side tables and Viabizunno lighting on a bed of ocean blue carpet. 

We’re green with envy taking in all of the sumptuous details of this mid-century Sydney home. All hail this unmistakable style and the way it guided the designers towards a contemporary abode with a gentle surprise around every (curved) corner.