Homes

Mickey Wolf and Steve Boyle and Family

Today we introduce the home of Brisbane couple, Mickey Wolf and Steve Boyle, who run their own building company, SBUILT. The pair have combined their skills in architecture and carpentry to create an playful and environmentally sensitive space, well-suited to the chaos of family life (which is lucky for them, because they have five kids and a cat, ranging in age from 1 to 18!)

Our Brisbane team of Jo Hoban and Mindi Cooke, recently visited the lively family home.

Written
by
Jo Hoban
Supported by Dulux

Wooden sculptural platter on dining table is Steve’s lucky op shop find. It was made in Papua New Guinea, and reminded Steve of one similar owned by his close family friends from Papua New Guinea when he was a little boy. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Kitchen clutter is tucked away behind black ply bi-fold doors. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The dark colour scheme creates the mood of shady refuge. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Kitchen island features marine ply drawers with leather pull straps. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The white tile benchtop utilises recycled material from another project. Steve and Mickey like to use sustainable materials as much as possible. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Looking from the spotted gum sunken lounge to the kitchen and dining area. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The lounge features custom navy corduroy sofa cushions and is a popular spot for gathering and watching movies. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Jasmine and Phoenix hanging out in the lounge. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

A sliding window connects the sunken lounge to the outdoor courtyard, which is shaded by the Poinciana tree. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Ply cabinetry offers plenty of storage and display. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Form ply storage and homework bench look out toward the pool courtyard. Beyond here is a laundry and small office. A small set of stairs lead up to a bedroom. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Opposite the black ply shelving, a bench and seating is a dedicated homework area for the kids (though more often than not it gets used for other purposes!). Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Stairs climb to the upper level. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Communal homework area (if Mickey’s lucky!) looking out to the pool courtyard. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Phoenix takes a dip in the pool. Located in a central outdoor courtyard, it helps to cool the house naturally. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

On the upper level, a large window in the master bedroom looks out into the Poinciana tree, and provides a restful haven for Steve and Mickey. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Features of the kids’ bathroom on the upper level. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Teenager Rubin’s room with custom bed and desk underneath is part of the upper extension. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The paved outdoor courtyard flanks the kitchen and sunken lounge. The sliding door and window promote airflow. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The paved outdoor courtyard flanks the kitchen and sunken lounge. Above the kitchen is the window of the master bedroom looking out to the Poinciana tree. Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

The brick pizza oven frequently gets a work out! Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

Writer
Jo Hoban
7th of March 2017

In early 2014, Mickey Wolf and Steve Boyle, and their four kids moved into a quaint Victorian Gothic cottage in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Paddington. They were attracted to the area for its proximity to the city, café culture and leafy landscape. Built in the late 19th century, the cottage was two bedrooms and one bathroom and quite run down, but the six of them squeezed in…just!

Their cosy living quarters saw them spending a lot of time in their large backyard. The kids would roll down the steep, grassy slope, tumbling to a stop under the canopy of a huge Poinciana tree and Karri Pine of which they all grew fond. A year passed, allowing the family time to settle in. Then, with Mickey studying architecture and keen to experiment, and Steve running his own professional building business, SBUILT, the time was ripe for renovating.

The couple wanted to celebrate the trees, build in an environmentally conscious way, and ensure the house clearly linked to the past. They decided to leave the existing cottage intact – including the front façade and roof of rusty terracotta corrugated sheets that the kids had fallen in love with – and simply extended. From the street, the house looks deceptively as though nothing has changed. Steve and Mickey added another bedroom for their eldest son (who had previously shared with his siblings), and a retreat-like master bedroom with ensuite and dressing room.

They then built underneath, nestling the structure into their sloping block so the house journeys down the hill, where temperatures are more passively regulated by the earth’s thermal mass. Downstairs is a spacious kitchen and dining area, a sunken lounge made of spotted gum, a homework area, a laundry, an additional bedroom for their eldest daughter, and two outdoor courtyards that flank the kitchen.

Cooling the house naturally was particularly important to Mickey and Steve, so they built a small pool in a central outdoor courtyard. The pool creates a well and stack effect, sending cool air through the downstairs living areas and up through the bedrooms on the next level. The house is orientated away from the western sun, and louvres, sliding doors, and windows provide good cross ventilation. The lush indoor and outdoor plantlife, combined with the home’s cooler colour palette of greens and blues, create the soothing mood of a rainforest refuge. The second outdoor courtyard is brick-paved with built-in seating and a pizza oven. It’s beautifully shaded by the family’s beloved Poinciana tree.

Currently studying her Masters in Architecture, Mickey is also an apprentice carpenter with SBUILT. She’s an impressive, hands-on woman, with a passion for function over form and natural materials over synthetic. ‘My aesthetic has more to do with context than style,’ says Mickey. ‘For this home, my focus was on creating spaces that would encourage gathering, fun and memory making…I didn’t want the house to be precious or worrying about the kids denting walls or cupboards. I want them to enjoy themselves and create memories to hold them strong for their lifetime. They can scooter in the kitchen without me worrying!’

With these sentiments in mind, the internal walls downstairs are made from plywood and fibre cement, and the cabinetry is form ply – all strong materials that will hold up to the kids for years to come. This is especially important since Mickey and Steve welcomed baby boy, River, to the fold in early 2016, increasing the size of their family to seven (and the cat makes eight!). Family life is ever-changing, busy, and wonderfully chaotic – Mickey and Steve know this well, and have designed a clever, thoughtful family home fit to withstand all that life throws their way!

Some of the family (clockwise from top): Mickey, Steve, Jasmine (7), Phoenix (10), and baby River (1). Absent: Tia (18), Rubin (13), and Babinka the cat (2). Photo – Mindi Cook. Styling – Lyndel Miller.

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