Homes

Photographer Tom Ross’ Peachy Melbourne Family Apartment

Tom Ross previously lived in a Cairo apartment (one of Melbourne’s outstanding examples of medium-density small housing, designed in the 1930s) so he knows how good design can optimise a compact space.

The photographer and his wife Emily Shields purchased this 1960s apartment in Kew as their future young family home.

Subsequent renovations designed by Architecture Architecture value the same ‘quality over quantity’ approach as Cairo. Two load bearing walls were removed, in favour of an open (peach-coloured) steel frame, allowing light to stream into the living space and kitchen via eight-metres of north-facing glass.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins
|
Photography
by
Supported by Dulux

Lovelight curtains. Globewest Felix Pebble Modular Sofa. SBW Halo Chair. Olivia Bossy Trading Lounge Armchair. Vintage table and monstera from Tom’s grandfather. Wall shelf unit from Smith Street Bazaar. Lightly rug. Curio Practice blanket. Quarez Saint Denis 98 print from Letitia Morris.

Photographer Tom Ross and account manager Emily Shields with their son Linus (2). Lovelight curtains. Globewest Felix Pebble Modular Sofa. Wall shelf unit from Smith Street Bazaar. Lightly rug. Quarez Saint Denis 98 print from Letitia Morris.

Globewest Felix Pebble Modular Sofa. SBW Halo Chair. Vintage table and monstera from Tom’s grandfather. Wall shelf unit from Smith Street Bazaar. Lightly rug.

Trading Lounge Armchair by Olivia Bossy. Globewest Felix Pebble Modular Sofa. Curio Practice blanket. Quarez Saint Denis 98 print from Letitia Morris.

The kitchen flows through to the open-plan living space. Green tiles from The City Tiler, installed by Alexander Kelaart and Hery Cristanto. Custom marmoleum benchtop by Mood Workshop. Steel painted Dulux Apricot Fizz.

Wall shelf from Smith Street Bazaar. Vintage red pendant from Grandfathers Axe.

IKEA cabinets, shelf, and rail. Green tiles from The City Tiler, installed by Alexander Kelaart and Hery Cristanto. Custom marmoleum benchtop by Mood Workshop. Steel painted Dulux Apricot Fizz.

Steel painted Dulux Apricot Fizz.

Lamp No. 0122 by Olivia Bossy. Steel painted Dulux Apricot Fizz.

The light-filled main bedroom. Real Non Real Formosa Coat Stand. Curio Practice blanket. Lightly pendant. Print on left: The Big Sea by Diana Markosian. Artwork: Dubai Coke Bottle by Sean Fennessy.

The light-filled bedroom. SBW Halo Chair. Print on left: The Big Sea by Diana Markosian. Artwork: Dubai Coke Bottle by Sean Fennessy. Lamp No. 0122 by Olivia Bossy.

The 1960s brick apartment building.

Tom says his family has fell in love with Kew’s proximity to the Yarra River, and all its green spaces.

Writer
Lucy Feagins
Photography
10th of October 2023
Location

Kew, VIC/ Wurundjeri Country

Tom Ross jokes that working as an architectural photographer has ‘mostly created a huge gap between my taste and my budget.’

On the plus side, it’s exposed him to a diverse range of approaches to living well — such as urban housing in small, well-designed spaces.

Equipped with this knowledge, Tom and his wife Emily Shields purchased a two-bedroom apartment in a 1960s brick building in Kew.

These apartments are relatively common in Melbourne, but this one was north facing with a balcony, windows on either side, a great location, and scope for renovation — at a price they could afford. ‘The number of bedrooms wasn’t important, neither was car parking, or the level it was on,’ Tom says.

Tom and Emily worked with Architecture Architecture to renovate the apartment, taking the rather daring approach to remove two load bearing walls to create an open-plan living, kitchen, and dining area adjoining the main bedroom.

These walls were replaced with an open steel framework designed to support the new layout, while also delineating the ‘front of house’ and back (bathroom, second bedroom, storage). This new steel framework is painted Dulux Apricot Fizz, and sits slightly off the existing brick walls, for a lighter appearance.

With the walls gone, replaced by heavy curtains by Lovelight (able to be closed as desired), the defining feature of the apartment is eight metres of north facing glass, that flood light into almost every corner of the house. ‘We turn a couple of floor lamps on in the evening but otherwise never need lights,’ says Tom.

‘The open plan removes the formality of rooms, which, while being interesting with a toddler, really blurs the different stages of Saturday and Sunday.’

In renovating the apartment, Tom and Emily also gutted the original kitchen and bathroom. The couple completed these works themselves as owner-builders, retained the location of plumbing and electrical services, to save money.

Carpet was removed in favour of a polished concrete slab, and IKEA kitchen carcasses were installed with a timber capped marmoleum bench top made by Mood Workshop.

The overall effect of this simple yet deceptively impactful renovation, is a joyous home for Tom, Emily, and their two-year old Linus, enhanced by art, colourful textiles, and plants. ‘The stuff in the house I like to think of as a coral reef of accumulated artefacts of our lives and the people around us,’ says Tom. (Love that!)

‘Rather than three pokey 3 x 4 metre rooms, we now have eight metres of north-facing glass, cross ventilation, and a generous feeling.’

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