An Interior Designer's Own Hidden Home! This is Modern Australian Luxury at its Finest. House Tour

Hi, guys. Lucy here from Hunting for George. Today, I have a designer's own hidden home. What might look like a heritage Victorian from the street is oh, so much more than that once you get inside. I, for one, love surprises, so it's time to let us in. Up to you. So you can probably already tell there is a lot to see back there, but we're going to start first at the front of the home. This is our main bedroom, and it has such a beautiful feeling in here. This bed is so incredibly cozy. It is obviously a heritage home with beautiful ornate features like this fireplace, but it is treated with a modern lens. You can see that through the stone in that chest of drawers. Down here, we also have an ensuite. This is a great use of space. It's very compact. So this actually used to be here, but this was eventually gutted and reinvented. The terrazzo tile on the floor, I love the height of that mirrored cabinetry, this beautiful double vanity. We've got a shower tucked through here, and it also, it flows a little bit through here into more storage. We've got more clothing storage, and I really love the way they have tucked in the toilet behind this nip wall. It's very private, very cozy. Aren't we all intimate in here? Can we get out? I don't know. Let's see. There is a walk-in robe that I must raid. You know it has to happen. Let's check out some of these clothes. Oh, my God, guys. Of course, she's got great style. I'm obsessed with this woman, honestly. All right, you continue. I'll catch you up. So we have a very sweet little girls' room. I love the feeling in here. This is a very special bedroom. Again, with the original fireplace, I love that beautiful draped curtain detail, which we saw in that main bedroom as well. A very sweet bed. It just has a wonderful feeling. We've got heritage against modern here with that custom joinery. So I love the way they've really brought this home to life but kept a lot of those older heritage features. Speaking of which, beautiful. Our third bedroom, this is very special, a little bit bigger but similar to what we saw in the front of the home. This actually has a really beautiful fireplace. And the homeowner was saying that she thought that this might actually have been once the dining room because this is quite a grand feature. I love this high custom joinery. So more storage, just making use of these spaces. Before we get down there, we've got a few more rooms. So we have a kid's lounge room. This is very much dedicated to the kids. This is actually a pull-out bed as well. So it acts as another bedroom. I love the exposed brick. There is texture overload. The fact that you can look outside onto that beautiful garden, so smooth, so good. And again, the joinery, it just feels really good. They've made a great use of space. All the rooms are quite compact but they have absolutely filled them to the brim and made use of absolutely every square inch of this home. So we step into the laundry. It's a great separate space and it does have access to outside, which is fantastic. The same terrazzo tile that we saw in the bathroom. It's very simple, very classic. But guys, I wanted to bring your attention to possibly the most fully stocked wine fridge I have ever seen. I mean, I feel like I want to grab one out, but this is like Tetris and I'm kind of scared to like pull one out for the sake of smashing a million bottles. But just respect, ultimate respect. So we step down into some deliciousness, into this beautiful main bathroom. This terrazzo tile, so we saw this in the ensuite, but I love the treatment on the floor and the walls, the height of that mirror, the double vanity again. But this skylight is probably what makes this room. There's so much beautiful light coming through here. The way that would change throughout the day is just sensational. This home is very scrumptious. If you can't tell already, I'm very excited. We move down this timber slat hallway. Oh my God. Guys, I don't even know where to start and where to take you. I probably need to go into the kitchen because I can't actually take my eyes off this stone. Okay, I promise to have you back to that kitchen faster than you can say CDK Stone, who were in fact the suppliers of that beautiful Fjord DePesco marble. I also chose CDK Stone for my kitchen, which I've transported us to right now. I specified Mirage Lake Quartzite, and it features the dreamy green and blue hues, deep earthy browns and gold creamy veins. If you're thinking about bringing natural stone into your home, then have a deep dive into their product range online. But I would highly recommend visiting one of their showrooms in order to find your perfect slab. CDK Stone are the leaders in the Australian stone industry, supplying high-quality premium natural stone for over 40 years. I know firsthand just how helpful the team at CDK Stone are. So if this is your first time working with natural stone, they'll be more than happy to guide you along the way. A very big thank you to CDK Stone for helping to make this episode possible. Now, let's get back to that amazing kitchen. This is really quite beautiful. It's gray and white, but it's got this really warm earthy tone running through it, which works really well with some of those warm elements that we've seen in the timber. It's just such a good feeling, a skylight. It's pulling so much beautiful light through here. Everything just feels so incredibly plush. It's very refined, very sophisticated. I love this kitchen. It continues. We've also got a cheeky nook through here, so we've got our boiling water through there in the tap. We've got our pantry space. Great use of space. So the kitchen flows on to this open-plan dining. I love this beautiful timber table. It really is quite a moment surrounded by that greenery. Also, the touch of stone, so it's the same as in the kitchen. It floats here into this office nook. But I need to open these up, guys. That is just sensational. They've been able to create such a private retreat, and especially in such a built-up area, that really is something so special. We're going to take a closer look outside again, but come into the sunken lounge. This just feels so incredibly good here. I love these black-butt timber screens. And the best part is I have the remote. That really is magical. I love the privacy that that brings, but also the shadow play that that would work with, with the light. It's just such a beautiful moment. It all is. The concrete, the steel, again with the timber slats. So this is very much this cozy family congregation space. I've got more beautiful doors to open up, though. The way this house is able to open itself up to the outside really is quite special. And, of course, the flip side of that in those winter months, being able to shut it all away. But we have more. Come on. We're going past our little outdoor kitchen for another hidden surprise. So this is the home studio. So I did say this was a designer's own home. So Meredith Nettleton from Studio MKN, this is her home and this is her office. And what a beautiful office to work with. I'm very excited by a lot of these samples she's got in here. But look at her aspect. Look at this beautiful, lush greenery that she gets to look out onto and the fact that she gets to look back onto that beautiful home of hers. I love the way this house just cascades down with this site. In fact, there is a lot more to see and a lot more to talk about. But first, I'm going to get a drink and maybe a cheeky snack. OK, so in case you couldn't guess by now, I am straight up obsessed with this home. The designer and homeowner is Meredith Nettleton of Studio MKN, and she collaborated with Eliza Blair Architecture for this project. She shares a lot of history with Eliza, having worked with her across multiple projects across many years. And her brief was very clear from the start. Meredith chose to renovate this home in order to accommodate her growing family. She purchased this home with her husband 15 years ago prior to having kids, but they really loved the area and they wanted to stay within the community. So this renovation really allowed Meredith to create a space that was unique for her family and their lifestyle, but it also allowed her to really flex her own personal design aesthetic. And when I was chatting with Meredith about designing this home, she did make a point of noting that she's very decisive when she's designing her client work. But she was actually crippled with indecision when it came to designing her own home. And I think that's the curse of the designer designing their own home. You know, whether it be that you just know too much, you know what all your options are, that in itself can be overwhelming. But it's also your statement to the world. What is your personal design style? The design of the home is very much inspired by the natural slope of the site. And this new structure is primarily made from glass and concrete. And it really does just sit so peacefully within the surrounding environment. The pavilion is meticulously crafted to offer versatile living spaces, but with a deliberate focus on functionality and comfort. And the absolute hero of the design is the glazed facade, which is adorned with those custom timber slat screens. These individual pivot screens are not only aesthetically pleasing, but they also serve a really practical purpose, offering protection from the harsh Western sun, while also affording the family the option for privacy when desired. The sunken lounge where I'm sitting now is also Meredith's favourite part of the home. It's positioned to cantilever into the garden. And it offers a unique sense of immersion in the surrounding greenery, particularly during the day. And I can imagine the shadow play that those external timber shutters would cast throughout the day. The materials in this home are energetic, unexpected, and contemporary. And they're in no way at odds with the heritage history of this home. If anything, they just serve to amplify those traditional features. I am drawn to so many things. Where do I start? First of all, that black steel with the hot rolled finish, so that when the light hits it, it casts this most beautiful blue tone. The domineering use of the Fjord de Pesco stone in the kitchen, that striking veining and the high contrast of light and dark. The way the stone continues to float throughout the other areas of the home, the fireplace hearth, that floating entertainment area, the office nook, and also touches of it on furniture pieces as well. The way concrete and steel have been applied, these are two very robust and cool materials, but the way they've been used is in such a warm and inviting way. It's just this cascading journey of texture as you move throughout the home. And there's no obvious jarring moment of when the old house ends and the new one begins. The heritage features are at the front of the home and they are celebrated. We saw the ornate details in the cornices, the skirting and the trim, and they're treated with a modern lens. Just the way that the decorative stone fireplaces are next to the modern cabinetry and pools. And the timber floorboards really create this calm foundation that carry you through the entire home. And oh my God, past that bathroom, we have to talk about that main bathroom, the terrazzo, the floor wall tile terrazzo. The feeling in there was just sensational. I almost have no words. It was just divine. This house is referred to as Hidden House, and it is so deserving of that title. You would never even know this home existed. Not only is it hidden at the end of a quiet, no through road, but it also just continues to surprise you as you move throughout the rabbit hole. No corner of this home has been left. Everything has been filled. Every single opportunity to add storage, functionality, or moments of wow and character, bringing in more texture, everything has been considered. And I love that about this home. It's not overly huge. This is a 485-meter square block, but what they have fit in this home is just incredible. And the way they've maximized this to really amplify the lifestyle for their family is pretty impressive. In designing this home, Merida's goal was to create a balanced contrast between bold, dynamic elements and warm, inviting touches. She has absolutely nailed that juxtaposition, and that is what makes this home so dynamic and so inspiring. Thanks for watching, guys. I hope you enjoyed this home tour. Were you as obsessed as I was? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to like and subscribe. We've got plenty more home tours coming your way.