Upon entry, the hallway offers an immediate preamble to the layered space beyond. Dark timber floors and heritage details harken back to the home’s architectural soul, while the artwork-lined walls guide visitors to the back of the house, flowing into an open, light-filled kitchen and dining space. This connected family hub is the home’s palpable heart – a poignant contrast to its fragmented past, which homeowners Jonathan Knapp, a Partner at SJB and avid gardener, and Katie Kaars, a photographer and keen cook, were so eager to transform.
Working within the house’s original footprint, SJB’s Senior Associate and Interiors Leader, Charlotte Wilson, was crucial to this joyful design metamorphosis. “It was about opening up the space, reflecting Jonathan and Katie’s personality and creating a backdrop to their art, but also having an element of timelessness,” Charlotte says, describing the notion of yin and yang she gravitates to in her craft. “To me, perfect balance comes from finding the harmony between opposites.”
By removing walls and adding essential openings, Charlotte established a circular flow that connects the kitchen to the garden, deck and dining area, while a new skylight floods the room with ample natural light. The space is defined by clean lines, honest materiality and a balanced palette – Charlotte’s conscious effort not to overpower the art. The timeless foundation of muted grey and white is punctuated by sunny spills of yellow that highlight some of the most distinctive design elements, like the striking stand-alone honeycomb-like cooktop island set against a narrow wall of mustard tiles. “Because of its central location, the cooktop needed to feel meaningful and intentional, so I created this curved, bulbous object,” Charlotte explains.
Counterbalancing these striking design gestures, the beautiful yet subtle V-ZUG appliances sit within the design with quiet confidence. The yin to the yellow monolith’s yang, the barely perceptible surface crowning the sculptural structure reveals itself as an induction cooktop only upon closer inspection. To the right, the sleek mirror glass finish of the oven and steam oven gently signals their presence as part of the clean and minimalist joinery wall, reflecting their surroundings with visual weightlessness rather than becoming a dark, recessive appliance area. “V-ZUG appliances are beautiful, design-led and timeless, but not overpowering,” she explains. “They let the bold elements and art shine.”
Most importantly, these understated appliances have genuinely transformed Jonathan and Katie’s daily culinary rituals, only reinforcing this once poky and fragmented area as a spatial and emotional epicentre of their lived experience. And what makes it even more unique is the fact that this joyful sense of connected family life is profoundly anchored by a commitment to architectural restraint – by honouring the structure’s physical boundaries and layered history, this delightfully personal space renders the dwelling’s bright side, while preserving the silent memory of its many past lives.