Creating a new narrative through a fresh and functional perspective, Carole Whiting and her team have imbued a calm elegance and an expression of spirit into this Melbourne home.
Keeping things close, the homeowner first approached Carole after seeing the completed design her team had previously achieved for their brother in the same neighbourhood. Experiencing firsthand Carole’s skill in balancing comfort alongside the practical amenities required for family living, the homeowner’s decision to engage Carole for their home was an easy one.
In this film, in partnership with Tongue & Groove, designer Carole Whiting walks us through an exclusive first look at Clover House. Carole unveils the considered design resolve and how an honest yet gentle material palette opened this Edwardian-era home and unified its past and present for the owners and their four children.
In partnership with Tongue & Groove
As a Melbourne-based multi-disciplinary practice emphasising authentic, tailored design solutions, Carole was engaged to reimagine this Edwardian home set in Melbourne’s leafy Malvern postcode.
Widely known for their softly modern designs, the projects behind Carole Whiting Studio all share a common thread – to enhance the lives and well-being of the occupants. An eye for detail, considered choices in materials and spatial design, paralleled with a collaborative approach to process, results in a portfolio of highly personal, memorable projects.
Clover House is home to a family of six, including four young adult children, two dogs, and a cat, so the layout and definition between communal and private spaces were paramount to the client’s brief. Without altering the footprint, the home desperately needed spatial replanning, storage, and facilities. “We rejuvenated and revitalised the house and brought better amenities to the home for a more adult population,” Carole says.
The Tongue & Groove Bistre Eterno Grande oak timber flooring creates a warm foundation in the kitchen and dining spaces. It provides the perfect foundation for timber dining furniture and a handcrafted RBW Gala pendant light overhead.
“The floor is recessive, but the feel underfoot is just as important. You want to be able to pad around in bare feet and have that connection to the natural timber…”
– Founding Director Carole Whiting
Entering from the street front, the unassuming period façade of the home is in keeping with the locale and welcomes guests into a grand hallway that leads down to a generous, shared space featuring black steel framed doors. “We have opened the walls up and created a beautiful formal space where you can either keep the doors closed or open right up to larger space in the hallway,” Carole says.
The kitchen is a hero within this light-filled zone, which was spun on its axis to allow for more ample dining space, and its new orientation created space for a framed glass backdrop that captures the greenery outside. In turn, this verdant outlook informed the soft touches of green found throughout the home.
The kitchen flows seamlessly into the informal lounge space, where a fireplace, artwork, and built-in joinery sets the tone. Throughout this space, the aesthetic was deliberately kept tonal and lyrical.“We’ve layered this space with texture,” Carole says. “There’s stone, there’s a lot of timber, beautiful linen curtains, lovely soft marble, and of course, there’s the green view in the kitchen that’s a constant from wherever you are in the room”.
“We’ve layered this space with texture; there’s stone, there’s a lot of timber the beautiful linen curtains lovely soft marble and of course the green view in the kitchen that’s a constant from wherever you are in the room”
– Founding Director Carole Whiting
Calacatta Vagli Stone and Bistre timber flooring by Tongue & Groove are two natural materials repeated throughout the home’s palette that elevate the overarching aesthetic.
The Armadillo & Co. Agra rug in Duchess offers a timeless elegance to the formal living space. It works harmoniously with the limed blonde tones of the Tongue & Groove Bistre timber flooring and the travertine Epic coffee table from GUBI.
Delineating the open entertaining space from the formal living area location further down the hallway, Carole repeated the modern, steel-framed glass doors to close off this intimate space. Soft pinks and black accents further define this area, making it the perfect refuge for an after-dinner drink with friends or reading by the fire. A study, bedroom, family bathroom, and laundry make up the rest of the ground floor, while upstairs, further private spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms are all housed.
Tongue & Groove’s timber flooring in Bistre Eterno Grande oak connects the entire ground floor, creating a harmonious fusion of ‘modern meets heritage’. “A big part of this project is the timber flooring; we were specifically looking for that tone that would marry in beautifully with the timber veneer and the grey tones in the paint,” Carole reflects.
Inviting the soft character of natural materials such as timber into Clover House created a grounding foundation for a layered aesthetic. True to Carole’s signature design cues, including harnessing natural light, curved design details, and a restrained palette, Clover House aims to offer its occupants restorative breathing space that enhances the family’s well-being. “The floor is recessive, but the feel underfoot is just as important. You want to be able to pad around in bare feet and have that connection to the natural timber,” Carole explains.
Cool, calm, and collected, Clover House offers a meticulously-crafted home for an adult family. The design resolve and material interpretation cater to the need for comfort, relaxation, and entertaining, allowing the busy family to unwind and find solace in the suburbs.
The pared-back bathroom creates a serene atmosphere through a restrained palette of white and grey, paired with reeded glass.
The post Exclusive Film | Clover House by Carole Whiting appeared first on est living | exceptional living.
