A Sense of Restraint - Rose Street Worker’s Cottage by Heartly

On a sloping site, the core living zones wrap around a central internal private courtyard, allowing natural light and ventilation to travel inward. Throughout, curated vistas are created of the landscape beyond, with strategically-placed windows and openings in various locations. Within these original structural elements most of the interiors beyond the original weatherboard façade were replaced. One of the two remaining rooms, however, was the ground floor bathroom. Designed as a wet bathing area, set back from the original north-facing window, this contemporary reuse of space sees dappled light filter through the adjacent crepe myrtle trees into the space.

Located in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Rose Street Worker’s Cottage is the result of a collaboration of like-minded design professionals.

There is a deliberate sense of calm that overwhelms each of the interior spaces of Rose Street. From the materiality, furniture, object and art placement, Heartly has proposed a series of spaces that take sanctuary from the home’s inner-urban locale. Aligning with the architectural works, the interiors brief indicated a streamlined approach, with plentiful concealed storage and minimal junctions. Being the centre of the home, the kitchen was designed with integrated appliances and large-scale bench space, for preparation. The integration of key lighting by Anchor Ceramics not only shows an engagement with local craft, but also brings a textural complexity to the space.

On a sloping site, the core living zones wrap around a central internal private courtyard, allowing natural light and ventilation to travel inward.

Throughout, the attention to detail and a sense of refinement are both obvious and deliberate. The soft contemporary nature of the interiors acts as a counterpoint to the storied past of the home and its many previous occupants. A classic and timeless palette of softening, warm timber is used throughout, along with natural stone and concrete, reinforcing this sense of respite. The sparing use of colour responds to an earthiness, while injecting a sense of play into the children’s custom spaces.

With a sense of restraint through a muted brush and timeless palette, Heartly’s Rose Street Worker’s Cottage interiors respectfully lengthen the life of an important part of Melbourne’s history.