LA DOLCE VITA

This Mediterranean-influenced property in Melbourne enables its owners to enjoy that holiday feeling every day.

- Judy Pascoe

As the most ‘European’ city in Australia it seems fitting that Melbourne is where this classic and refined house is situated. Designed 19 years ago by Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors for a couple with Italian heritage, the three-bedroom home is grand and elegant with significant traditional architectural detailing, yet is completely congruent with contemporary living.

Located on a wide, leafy street in an upmarket area of the city, the house occupies a plot that was subdivided in the area’s semi-rural days. When the owners, a pair of empty-nesters, bought the property, a modest 1960s residence occupied the site. They had a grander vision, however, and approached Rob to design a new house. It was to be a home to suit their lifestyle but also to serve as a comfortable and generous gathering place for visiting adult children and grandchildren.

The owners engaged Rob as they felt “he understood space and light within a home”. Rob, in turn, pays tribute to the owners, saying they have ‘real style’. “Clients are often very humble and don’t express all their desires but I knew the sort of home this couple would really enjoy, where they would feel comfortable and belong.”

The home’s Italianate influences reference the owners’ heritage, but Rob describes the house as “very Melbourne”, calling to mind places with a similar climate such as southern France and northern Italy.