STATE OF GRACE

This elegant home on Melbourne's Golden Mile is packed with classic pieces to be enjoyed for years to come.

- Words CARLI PHILIPS Photography ARMELLE HABIB

Transcending trends is Coote&Co's raison d'être.

A rarity among the modern minimalists of today's design landscape, they are one of the few Australian studios to embrace classic florals and traditional textiles, overlooking media rooms in favour of libraries and sunrooms, roll-arm sofas instead of modular couches. Founder and director of Coote&Co, Charlotte Coote, spent much of her twenties in Ireland - working for her father who was also an interior designer - and has collected textiles since her early teens. You won't find anything shiny and new in her repertoire.

For this project on Brighton's covetable stretch of streets known as the Golden Mile, Charlotte worked within an impressive Shingle-style architectural envelope designed in 2009 by Melbourne's master of traditionalism, Stephen Akehurst of Akehurst Owen Cimino. Charlotte had worked with Stephen before and was familiar with his stately aesthetic: bannisters, beams, Shaker cabinetry, porches and decorative hearths. “The » architectural detailing gives this house visual depth and texture. It can’t be underestimated – if it was plain white plasterboard, this would be an entirely different space,” she says.