Retcar Place

The approach to the very particular architecture of this mass housing development was to ‘reduce’ in terms of fixed conditions - removing skirtings and and architraves to allow the spatial volumes to be felt more clearly, and ‘add’ in terms of texture and colour via furniture, textiles and artwork to create an extra level of richness against the heaviness of concrete and white forms.

Existing bold features, such as the full-height double and single interior doors and wood sliding partitions. were exaggerated through colour, and the wood theme was reinforced in the kitchen with a 3.5m long walnut counter top.

Kitchen appliances are all by SMEG and coupled with Hewi red plastic handles create a restrained retro caravan feel. A similar approach was taken in the bathrooms with 100mm square off-white tiles and dark wood reveals.

Large mirrors in many of the rooms extend the feeling of space but also bounce the light back into much needed deep plan locations.

The floors are painted a Spatial Affairs favourite warm-grey to keep a calm quality and as a simple backdrop to the forest of Ash trees outside the major floor to ceiling windows.

The colour strategy establishes a bright white core in the entrance hallway and principle living space that peels off prism-like into the other rooms: charcoal grey in the kitchen, an apricot gradient in bedroom 1, multiple greens in bathroom and w/c, tree trunk black-browns in the dressing room, and culminating in custom navy-black in bedroom 2 the space farthest from the entrance and towards the opposite experience of the bright white.