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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Fade Out: Leichhardt Oaks By Benn+Penna
HomesRebecca Gross

Fade Out: Leichhardt Oaks By Benn+Penna

Australia

Benn+Penna create a calm and contemplative living space with a low-contrast material palette and kitchen joinery designed like furniture.


As our kitchens, dining and living areas become increasingly integrated, the joinery is being designed to fade quietly into the background for a cohesive sense of space. The owners of this late-Victorian cottage in Leichhardt, Sydney, wanted to update their kitchen, dining and living area with one long volume that flowed out to the garden. They had seen a previous house by Benn+Penna, Surry Hills Pocket, and engaged the studio to create a calm and contemplative space.

Benn+Penna removed the rear lean-tos to create the elongated volume. Clerestory windows and a 1.5-storey-high ceiling in the kitchen creates a light and more generous sense of space. Steps negotiate the slope of the site and provide a subtle division between the lounge and the kitchen and dining, while also serving a place for guests to sit and kids to play.

Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson kitchen

The kitchen has a pared-back design and minimal material palette with cabinetry integrated into the architecture of the room. “We were conscious of it not reading simply as a kitchen, but more as living-room joinery, almost like a piece of furniture,” says Andrew Benn, director of Benn+Penna. The joinery on the rear wall sits flush with the door and hallway openings to provide a smooth timber backdrop. Overhead cupboards have white timber door fronts to visually recede into the fully tiled wall and under-bench cupboards lockstep with the stairs. Shelving tucked into the end pieces of the cupboards provides display space for the living room.

The timber and white material palette has soft tones, minimal contrast and reflects light to create a contemplative space. As morning light pours in through the garden and afternoon sun filters through the high-level windows, the light bounces off the surfaces to cast a soft atmosphere across the space.

Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson open kitchen living

Benn+Penna also designed the new bathroom to be as calm and contemplative. The grey, white and black palette is low contrast within the space, but a counterpoint to the kitchen, dining and living space. “It’s a little surprise in the whole design,” says Andrew.

Benn+Penna
bennandpenna.com

Photography by Tom Ferguson

Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson oven high ceiling
Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson dining cabinetry
Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson bathroom
Leichardt Oaks Benn+Penna CC Tom Ferguson open courtyard

We think you might also like Design According To Heritage And Climate: Shaun Lockyer.


About the Author

Rebecca Gross

Tags

Andrew BennArchitectureBenn+PennaClerestory WindowsdesignIntegrated DesignkitchenLeichhardt Oaksminimalminimalist


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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