Tour de force

Take me to the casbah — and other alluring destinations.

- Words CHRIS PEARSON Photography NICOLE ENGLAND

That could have been the owners’ brief to interior designer Aaron Wong of Alexander Pollock for this elegant and exotic home in Melbourne’s inner southeast. He obliged by whisking them off to enchanting places without their having to walk out the door.

Partner in the journey was architect Sebastian Owen of Akehurst Owen Cimino. In 2020, the former owners approached him to redesign their home. Part of a collection of similar interwar properties in the area, it was designed for society high-flyers by renowned architect Marcus Martin, in his restrained modernist take on Georgian style. As a result, it had an imposing and elegant street presence. But behind that facade lurked ho-hum interiors. “With the charm of the house came small rooms and low ceilings, typical of its era. The scale was not that of a luxury residence,” says Sebastian. When the property changed hands, the new owners asked him to continue what he had begun.

“They wanted both a functional yet beautiful multi-generational family house, which neither detracted from nor dominated the heritage facade,” he says. “The brief was to add internal elegance to the property’s existing charms.”

“Inside, the owners were looking for something cosy, comfortable and unfussy,” adds Aaron, rather understating what he achieved. “The husband favoured a more classic interior, whereas the wife wanted something more modern. To meet in the middle, we landed on classic with a few modern pieces.”