Stickybeak: A Designer's Sustainable Home for the Future
Energy efficiency and locally produced materials make a statement in this designer's family home
Julia Fairley
27 June 2018
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture that is thoughtful, sophisticated and champions an element of the unexpected. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW and becoming a journalist, I studied interior architecture. For over a decade I have interviewed inspiring creative minds from around the world to write about design in its many different forms. Recently, I have also become an accidental gardener, to everyone's surprise.
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture... More
Ask any interior designer or decorator what their dream project would be and most nominate their own home. Jacque Yates, the owner of Three Little Pigs Colour & Design interior design and decoration firm, is no exception. So when she and her husband bought a Melbourne house that was a prime candidate for a wrecking ball, Yates was in her element. Set on a block of land just under 1000 square metres, the house was a 1970s single-storey brick dwelling with dark rooms and low ceilings.
“We didn’t live in the house before we demolished it,” says Yates. “Put it this way: I wasn’t very keen on living in it.” Instead, Yates set about designing a new two-storey home for her family of five. Her mission? To create a spacious, light-filled home that fulfilled the six-star energy efficiency rating requirements for the build, but also looked beyond the construction phase by taking the environment and energy consumption into account, along with the day-to-day running costs of the house. In short, Yates wanted to design a home for the future.
“We didn’t live in the house before we demolished it,” says Yates. “Put it this way: I wasn’t very keen on living in it.” Instead, Yates set about designing a new two-storey home for her family of five. Her mission? To create a spacious, light-filled home that fulfilled the six-star energy efficiency rating requirements for the build, but also looked beyond the construction phase by taking the environment and energy consumption into account, along with the day-to-day running costs of the house. In short, Yates wanted to design a home for the future.
Who lives here: Jacque Yates, her husband and their three grown-up children, along with two dogs, Panda, a Maltese x shih tzu and Peanut, a miniature poodle x Maltese
Location: Kew, Victoria
Size: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Design: Three Little Pigs Colour & Design
At first sight, you’d never know this home was designed to achieve net carbon neutrality using ‘passivhaus’ principles where practical. An environmentally conscious approach was always a non-negotiable for Yates, though to the untrained eye this consideration is largely invisible. Instead, what you immediately see is the offbeat personality of this home.
Location: Kew, Victoria
Size: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Design: Three Little Pigs Colour & Design
At first sight, you’d never know this home was designed to achieve net carbon neutrality using ‘passivhaus’ principles where practical. An environmentally conscious approach was always a non-negotiable for Yates, though to the untrained eye this consideration is largely invisible. Instead, what you immediately see is the offbeat personality of this home.
“The facade is a statement and most neighbours have been fantastic and love our house,” says Yates. “One wasn’t too keen as they are traditionalists, but that’s okay. We had strict requirements from council and we were building a new modern home, so we wanted to think outside the council square and do something different that we liked.”
The bright yellow front door is a particular source of pride for Yates, who designed all 300 kilograms of it herself. “It took five big men to install!” she says of the huge sunny threshold, which grins at you from the street.
The bright yellow front door is a particular source of pride for Yates, who designed all 300 kilograms of it herself. “It took five big men to install!” she says of the huge sunny threshold, which grins at you from the street.
“I didn’t want a ‘grey box’ for a house,” says Yates. “I was keen to have some interest and use something unexpected that had a contrast, both in colour and texture.”
This vein of unexpectedness runs through the interior as well. Once inside, you enter what Yates playfully calls the ‘good room’ – a space with an entirely different attitude. The heroes of this room are a pair of wingback chairs that the designer grew up with.
This vein of unexpectedness runs through the interior as well. Once inside, you enter what Yates playfully calls the ‘good room’ – a space with an entirely different attitude. The heroes of this room are a pair of wingback chairs that the designer grew up with.
“I’m not one to go with a trend; I prefer to consider the lifespan of an item or style and have pieces that mean something or have a story to tell,” says Yates. “My husband’s family also gave us a number of antiqus, which have sentimental meaning and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
The ‘good room’ serves as a formal sitting room and brings a dash of drama to the house with its commanding 3.6-metre-high moody black ceiling. The glossy black brick walls and contrasting white mortar in this interior invert the colour palette Yates chose for the exterior brickwork – white glossy bricks with black mortar – which you can see here peeking through the window.
Ceiling fan: Haiku; timber-like floor tiles: Earp Bros; pendant lights custom-designed through Cafe Culture and Insitu: Anaesthetic
The ‘good room’ serves as a formal sitting room and brings a dash of drama to the house with its commanding 3.6-metre-high moody black ceiling. The glossy black brick walls and contrasting white mortar in this interior invert the colour palette Yates chose for the exterior brickwork – white glossy bricks with black mortar – which you can see here peeking through the window.
Ceiling fan: Haiku; timber-like floor tiles: Earp Bros; pendant lights custom-designed through Cafe Culture and Insitu: Anaesthetic
These unexpected details inject the space with a raw edginess and, from the moment you enter Yates’ home, signal that this is a house full of surprises. Walk beyond the ‘good room’ and you pass a space that sits as a stark counterbalance with its fresh white walls.
Next up is the powder room, which again does not try to fit in but instead stands loud and proud in a riot of retro-inspired wall tiles.
Next up is the powder room, which again does not try to fit in but instead stands loud and proud in a riot of retro-inspired wall tiles.
“With the powder room I wanted to add drama and do something unconventional,” says Yates. “Initially I was thinking of using wallpaper, but then I found these patterned Moroccan-like tiles and the tones really appealed to me.”
For the starting point of the room, Yates commissioned Sarah Parkes of Smalltown to custom-design the sultry pendant lights, which Parkes handcrafted in Melbourne using locally sourced materials.
Custom-designed pendant lights by Sarah Parkes: Smalltown; wall tiles: Earp Bros; mirror: Zuster; cabinetry: Polytec
For the starting point of the room, Yates commissioned Sarah Parkes of Smalltown to custom-design the sultry pendant lights, which Parkes handcrafted in Melbourne using locally sourced materials.
Custom-designed pendant lights by Sarah Parkes: Smalltown; wall tiles: Earp Bros; mirror: Zuster; cabinetry: Polytec
“I love using Australian designers and supporting local industry and I feel we need to do more of this as Australians, but I realise it’s not always possible,” says Yates.
Choosing local manufacturers and designers is a topic the interior designer is passionate about, but not only in a bid to back Australian businesses and creatives.
“We wanted to consider the environment with our build,” she says. By using locally manufactured materials where she could – instead of importing products – Yates reduced the travel miles of each piece, which curtailed her home’s carbon footprint.
Glass pendant and stairwell lights: Articolo
Choosing local manufacturers and designers is a topic the interior designer is passionate about, but not only in a bid to back Australian businesses and creatives.
“We wanted to consider the environment with our build,” she says. By using locally manufactured materials where she could – instead of importing products – Yates reduced the travel miles of each piece, which curtailed her home’s carbon footprint.
Glass pendant and stairwell lights: Articolo
“It’s been a very considered energy efficiency project from the get-go,” says Yates.
In fact, the first thing she did before she launched into the design was conduct a sun analysis for the winter and summer solstices to map out precisely where the sun and shadows fell on the block during each month of the year.
“One of the main objectives was to build a house that wasn’t going to cost a fortune to run,” she says. “Sure, we had to have a six-star efficiency rating, but it’s more than that – it’s about the environment and day-to-day running costs. It’s not about stars, it’s about the ‘afters’ when you move in and have running costs. There’s no point in heating a house to then have the warm air escape through door and window gaps. If you care about the environment, one needs to do more than six stars.”
In fact, the first thing she did before she launched into the design was conduct a sun analysis for the winter and summer solstices to map out precisely where the sun and shadows fell on the block during each month of the year.
“One of the main objectives was to build a house that wasn’t going to cost a fortune to run,” she says. “Sure, we had to have a six-star efficiency rating, but it’s more than that – it’s about the environment and day-to-day running costs. It’s not about stars, it’s about the ‘afters’ when you move in and have running costs. There’s no point in heating a house to then have the warm air escape through door and window gaps. If you care about the environment, one needs to do more than six stars.”
The family incorporated a utility and plant room that is battery-ready for the home’s 14.4-kilowatt solar system, which lets the house generate enough energy to permanently remove it from the grid.
Thermally broken windows abound in this home, which help improve its energy efficiency. By physically providing a ‘thermal break’ between the interiors and outdoor air temperatures, the windows insulate the home against heat and cold conduction all year round. To prevent ground temperature from seeping in through the slab, Yates also had it insulated.
“Our house is climate controlled with air-sourced heat pumps, which heat or cool water that flows between the slab and the floor tiles,” says Yates. “Silent Haiku fans distribute air across the floors to provide balanced temperature control throughout our home. Air-sourced heat pumps provide all our hot water and pool heating, also allowing the whole roof to operate as a solar power station, which produces power for either heating or cooling as the seasons require.
“The heating is glorious – there are no fans blowing on your head and no walls lost to heat banks.”
“The heating is glorious – there are no fans blowing on your head and no walls lost to heat banks.”
Venture upstairs to the four bedrooms and again, each family member’s individual aesthetics are apparent.
“Each bedroom has different occupants, so the kids were given the option to help design their rooms – within reason,” says Yates. “I love colour and felt this was an opportunity to use materials and colour in different ways. As this was my own house, I was able to experiment and do things outside the box.”
“Each bedroom has different occupants, so the kids were given the option to help design their rooms – within reason,” says Yates. “I love colour and felt this was an opportunity to use materials and colour in different ways. As this was my own house, I was able to experiment and do things outside the box.”
To create a connection between the bedrooms’ disparate styles, Yates ran the same carpet throughout all four rooms. The cupboards in each were also made of the same material and the curtains all have similar colours and styles.
As for the other priorities that rated high on Yates’ list of must-haves? “No constant cleaning or worrying about anything being too precious,” she says. “I’ve been there, done that, and frankly it’s too hard and causes too much stress.”
As for the other priorities that rated high on Yates’ list of must-haves? “No constant cleaning or worrying about anything being too precious,” she says. “I’ve been there, done that, and frankly it’s too hard and causes too much stress.”
Yates was also keen to try a more personalised approach with the master ensuite. “It came about from me finding the outdoor lights from Hermon Hermon, which I loved, and again I wanted to do something that wasn’t the norm in the bathroom,” she says. She then sourced the blue and white tiles from Earp Bros, which drew the different elements of the design together in one bold sweep.
“I loved their philosophy with considering their impact on the environment and the tiles were all Global GreenTag Certified,” says Yates. “They were supposed to run vertically, but when it came to tiling, I changed them to horizontal as it looked better in the space and was unexpected.”
Knottee pendant lamps: Hermon Hermon Lighting; blue and white wall tiles: Earp Bros
“I loved their philosophy with considering their impact on the environment and the tiles were all Global GreenTag Certified,” says Yates. “They were supposed to run vertically, but when it came to tiling, I changed them to horizontal as it looked better in the space and was unexpected.”
Knottee pendant lamps: Hermon Hermon Lighting; blue and white wall tiles: Earp Bros
Like many interior designers, Yates views the finished result as both a work in progress and a job well done. “There are a few little things I’m still working on, but I feel I’ve already won, because my family just loves living here and my hubby for the first few months – actually, he still says it – would constantly say how much he loves our home. So my job is done,” she says.
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Want to see more interesting design? Check out last week’s Stickybeak: A Controversial Welcome for a Contemporary Home
Tell us
What do you like about this home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below, save your favourite images and check out Houzz’s other stories for more home inspiration.
More
Want to see more interesting design? Check out last week’s Stickybeak: A Controversial Welcome for a Contemporary Home
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