Design Rationale

A grand country pile is introduced to layers of modern comfort to create an artistic luxury retreat for a beauty mogul and his family.

- Words ELIZA O’HARE Photography JACQUES ROMANIN

She was a majestic Victorian Italianate villa lying dormant in the heart of Kyneton on a 5000-square-metre block.

And while she was heritage-listed, she was also completely irresistible. “Catherineville was a sleeping beauty on the brink of subdivision,” explains owner Richard Parker, founder of Rationale skincare, who prescribed extensive love and restoration to bring her back to her former glory and reach her potential of becoming a cultural and social hub for family and friends.

The idea was to create a mix of original Victorian features padded out with modern comfort, with a touch of high-tech wrapped up in some sharp design. Specialists were called in to restore the lime and crushed-marble stucco lustro walls, take care of the gilding and wallpapering and repair the intricate original tessellated tiling, while the new floors needed a team with different skills to encase the underfloor heating in a Versailles-style pattern of European oak and install the triple-height Italian steel and glass doors. And this was all before the new rooms could be added: a modern library, dining spaces, new kitchens and butler’s pantry, an upstairs master suite, the pool and pool house, a guest house, gymnasium and an additional studio.