For a designer, building their own family home can be the toughest, yet most liberating, project of all. With no client to please and an open brief (though perhaps not unlimited funds), they can be as creative and personal as they want. All that freedom can be daunting, but for Amelda Wilde, writing the next chapter in the story of her house was a deeply fulfilling experience.
She and her partner, a steel fabricator, lived in their home in Geelong, an hour’s drive from Melbourne, for 15 years before adapting it, reflecting on how their skills and values would inform the scheme.
‘I believe in designing adaptable spaces that will endure for generations and be cherished,’ Amelda explains. ‘We started with the idea of structural authenticity and adaptability, developing an architectural narrative that would be flexible enough to change.’
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The original 1930s structure now hosts the entrance hall, office, main bedroom and a cosy den, while the property’s old kitchen and lean-to were replaced with a lofty, steel-framed extension holding a dining room, kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom and powder room.
Shorter internal walls within the new space define zones, but are designed to be easily relocated in the future if the needs of this home change.
The transition from the old to the new part of the house is celebrated not only by a dramatic shift in colour scheme, but also by an archway – its shape subtly references the brick fireplace in the snug. The top tread on the stairs that lead down into the extension is made of wood – the last point that this material (a large part of the home’s arts and crafts charm) features before you enter the new construction.
Amelda knows these details might not be noticeable to anyone else, but it is her contribution to the house’s continuing story, one she hopes ‘someone would preserve in the future’.
Amelda herself is determined to retain the ‘hints of history’ left by the people who lived here before – ‘charred bricks from nights by the fire, scratches on floorboards’. For her, there is nothing more magical than patina, which can never be artificially recreated.
Her partner’s skill with metalwork allowed them to save money by fabricating elements including the trusses, several items of furniture and the kitchen on-site.
Each one a labour of love, these pieces (now available from the couple’s newly created brand, Von Steel) embody the crafted spirit of the house in a contemporary way. They also created the skylight, intended to ‘introduce the stillness of overhead light’ to the extension. ‘Seeing the seasons roll over or the moon above the dinner table makes it one of our favourite elements,’ says Amelda.
She is most proud of the surprise that comes from the comfortable coexistence of old and new in her home. ‘When people arrive, there are no signs of scale, size or architectural variation,’ she explains. ‘The floor plan is a classic bungalow, with an L-shaped corridor leading from the entrance. Not until you have turned the corner do you get the impact of the contrasting spaces.’ And what an impact. ameldawilde.com.au
