Sorrento

A Mornington Peninsula retreat designed to be occupied in every season, not just summer. The family uses it over school holidays in winter as often as in January, which means the house needed to be warm and particular rather than bleached and seasonal. The renovation touched every interior surface and extended the living area toward the garden, but the plan itself was retained.

Travertine was specified for the main living areas and bathrooms — cross-cut, honed, and left unsealed. Unsealed travertine is difficult to maintain in a holiday house used by children, and we had several conversations about this. The decision to leave it unsealed was made on the basis that the family planned to keep the house for at least fifteen years, and in fifteen years a sealed stone looks neglected while an unsealed stone looks occupied. The travertine will silver and pit and absorb the evidence of use, which is what it is supposed to do.

The driftwood installation in the entrance hall was sourced by the client over three months of walks on the Sorrento beach. The commission was to arrange and fix what they had collected rather than to source material from elsewhere. The result is the most site-specific element in the project — the only piece that could not have been specified for any other house.