Victorian Homes

This Grand Renovated Home In Tasmania Brings The Best Of The Past Into The Present

Many things get better with age: wine, cheese, flannelette sheets, Dame Helen Mirren… but this maturation process requires the right set of conditions for optimal results!

This 1908 arts and craft style home in Launceston, Tasmania began life well, but after a century of different owners, ended up with a few unflattering renovations and incongruous additions. When interior design Simone Penn and family moved in, they worked with Cumulus Studio to restore the home to its former glory – albeit a glory more appropriate for a modern family dynamic. The best of the past, meets the best of now.

Written
by
Miriam McGarry

The 1908 home gets a modern update. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Welcome to the arts and craft style home, modernist for 2019 living. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

The home is owned by interior designer Simone Penn, whose furniture and styling helps bring the home to life. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Sink into the deep green couch, naturally lit living room. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

A new pool offers new family spaces. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Breathing new light into a historic home. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Sky lights flood warmth into the home. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Simone suggested turning unused space near the attic into nook beds. Photo – Anjie Blair. Styling – Simone Penn.

Writer
Miriam McGarry
27th of May 2019

The Lime Street Residence is a Queen Anne era home, owned by interior designer Simone Penn in Launceston, Tasmania. Simone engaged Cumulus Studio to bring the 1908 house into the modern day, in a manner that respected the past, but enabled a social and engaged family space.

Architect Pippa Jensen explains that the traditional arts and craft style property had been the home to many owners, and the impact of these many layers of lives lived here were materially present. While the brief was to celebrate the original elements of the home, there was also a need to remove inconsistent details including a west ring rotunda, gaudy granite hearths, ‘overwhelming 80s stained glass’, heavily stained joinery and plastered timber linings.

Pippa highlights that the intention was for ‘creating new life without hiding the past.’ This was achieved by ‘pulling back the layers of history’ while also considering how contemporary families live. The 20th century style segregation of spaces was restructured to allow for gathering and connection. The renovated kitchen, central living space, outdoor patio and new pool are new sites for communal and shared activities. The design also introduces skylights, to bring natural light into the centre of the home.

Pippa emphasises the importance of working with Simone, who put her interior design skills to full use, introducing unexpected elements such as the bright green carpet and transforming the underutilised attic spaces into sleeping nooks. Now filled with the owners impressive collection of furniture and artworks, Pippa highlights ‘working with such a brave, hands-on client made for an extremely rewarding professional experience.’

Recent Victorian Homes