This 1940s Melbourne home was remodelled by Therese Carrodus of Full of Grace Interiors to combine retro glamour and modern-day functionality

The streets of Ivanhoe, a quiet suburb north-east of Melbourne’s city centre, are lined with historic homes and beautiful gardens, and this 1940s two-storey interwar clinker brick house is one of them. ‘Typical for this style, the house is detached, set back from the street and well positioned on a generously sized block,’ says interior designer Therese Carrodus of Full of Grace Interiors, who is behind the renovation.

The homeowners, a young couple with a baby and a Labrador puppy, trusted Carrodus to transform their existing home into a space that seamlessly blends design periods from the 1940s to today. ‘The wife is a graphic designer, so she was brave when it came to trusting me with design decisions,’ Carrodus says. The husband happens to be an electrician, so he worked on the project and also restored the original Artemide floor lamp in the living area.

‘I immediately saw the potential in this project, but there were some obvious challenges, too,’ the designer says. ‘This combination grabbed my attention. I was attracted to the chance to make bold and impactful decisions, weaving the old with the new.’ She began to thoughtfully rework the layout of the 200-square-metre home, placing the public areas downstairs and the private spaces upstairs. ‘A key change was the addition of a large rear extension, with an open-plan living and dining area and expansive glass doors that lead onto a sun-drenched rear garden and al fresco area,’ she continues. The existing rooms of the original structure were also repurposed, including the creation of a new master wing, complete with en suite and walk-in robes.

To improve the overall organisation of the spaces, the design team took into consideration Melbourne’s notoriously changeable weather (the hot summers in particular), ensuring that the west-facing open-plan living area can combat the heat of the afternoon sun as well as draw in the morning light from the east. ‘To address this, we introduced a slimline skylight along the northern wall, to capture the early light. With its timber batons, the new covered outdoor area offers shade and dappled sun in the heat of the afternoon,’ says Carrodus.

For this project, she drew inspiration from the timeless approach of Dutch and French modernist architecture, their influences reflected in various features of the house, such as the repeated arches on the rear glass doors, the unique circular window and mirror in the main bathroom and curved brass that forms leg on the kitchen island.

Combining moody blues, rich purples and shades of green, the palette is layered with subtle grey and white tones for balance. ‘My goal was for the aesthetic and atmosphere of the house to feel playful and eclectic, punctuated with bold colours and textures,’ Carrodus says. For the materials, she and the Full of Grace team opted for Venetian plastered walls and a plethora of natural stones, including Arebascato marble in the kitchen, terrazzo in the living area, Calacatta Viola in the en suite and green marble in the main bathroom. ‘Every room has its own flavour, with carefully selected finishes and bespoke details, yet each space shares the common thread of being tonally rich,’ she says. The result is a visually stimulating yet functional family home that sits easily within its surroundings.

Text / Karine Monié
Images / Fiona Storey
Styling / Marsha Golemac