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Issue 63 - Kitchen & Bathroom Issue

Issue 63

Kitchen & Bathroom Issue

Habitus 63 is arguably the most aspirational issue of the year with Kitchens & Bathrooms to dream about. Whether a family hub, an entertainer’s paradise or somewhere to grad a quick meal, how we live in and spend time in the kitchen is a very personal question that requires thought and an abundance of resources. Always the aspirational eye candy of design, we have some truly lovely kitchens from Greg Natale, YSG, Splinter Society, Sally Caroline and Studio Johnston. Bathrooms are just as important with Greg Natale, Studio Tate, YSG and Those Architects sharing some fabulous insights

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A Product of

Past lives with Composition
Design StoriesSaskia Neacsu

Past lives with Composition

Studio

Composition

Retrouvailles’ collection is cohesive without being uniform; objects are presented with minimal intervention, retaining signs of their provenance.


In Surry Hills, amidst late modernism and the steady churn of newness, Composition has become a kind of holdout. The latest collection Retrouvailles continues the studio’s commitment to furniture as archive. Curated by founder Claire Perini, it spans two years and four separate trips through Europe and North Africa. Its name – French, loosely translated as the joy of reunion – offers a perspective to view its 40-plus pieces. The collection draws from private holdings, secondary markets and overlooked inventories. A Bertha Schaeffer modular sofa (1940s, USA) upholstered in original mohair velvet appears like an heirloom from someone else’s grandmother. Textiles and rugs, sourced from Moroccan dealers, date to the 1970s.

Spearheaded by Claire Perini, whose trajectory spans interior architecture, graphic design and illustration, the fractious go-getter brings a multidisciplinary approach to her methodology that is research-driven, informed by fieldwork and formal training. A graduate of the UTS Interior Architecture program and recipient of the Australian Design and Mentorship Award, Perini established Composition in 2018. The studio’s structure – divided into four verticles: Artefact, Object, Interiors and Print – functions as a framework for practice and presentation.

Related: Tom Adair exhibition

There are echoes of Out of Africa, Perini admits – Blixen’s salons filled with objects brought back from faraway posts, each bearing the trace of its context. It’s a reference that could feel loaded in less careful hands. Alongside the antiques, Retrouvailles includes a cadre of contemporary works. Glassware by Helle Mardahl, candleware from Stoff Nagel, and editions from Suryo and Alex & Trahanas thread quietly between centuries. There are contributions from local artists too: Louis Wayling, Caressa Gonsalves and Tom Butterworth offer interventions that feel like palimpsests.


About the Author

Saskia Neacsu

Tags

antiqueBertha SchaefferClaire PeriniCompositiondesign archivefurnitureHelle MardahlInterior DesignRecyclingRetrouvailles


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Issue 63 - Kitchen & Bathroom Issue

Issue 63

Kitchen & Bathroom Issue

Habitus 63 is arguably the most aspirational issue of the year with Kitchens & Bathrooms to dream about. Whether a family hub, an entertainer’s paradise or somewhere to grad a quick meal, how we live in and spend time in the kitchen is a very personal question that requires thought and an abundance of resources. Always the aspirational eye candy of design, we have some truly lovely kitchens from Greg Natale, YSG, Splinter Society, Sally Caroline and Studio Johnston. Bathrooms are just as important with Greg Natale, Studio Tate, YSG and Those Architects sharing some fabulous insights

Order Issue