Entrusted with revitalising and extending a Victorian home in Melbourne’s Brighton, established architecture and interior design firm Pleysier Perkins embraced the family’s desire for a new ‘future-forward’ design.

Co-founder and principal Simon Perkins and his team reworked the heritage home to elevate its ornate, original narrative while futureproofing its family-orientated functionality through a well-thought-out second iteration.

Offering a reinterpretation of a traditional framework, we sat down with Simon to get his perspective on the home’s new pavilion-like extension and uncover how the hardest working spaces hone in on integrated practicality and cutting-edge appliances to ensure it’s fit for a modern family.

In partnership with E&S Trading

Situated just a short distance from the beach, this Victorian-era residence occupies a corner block surrounded by oak trees. Like most heritage homes undergoing modern expansions, challenges often arise in uniting the two architecturally distinct sections of the home. Drawing on their expertise within this scope of renovation and addition, Simon and his team made certain that the two ‘wings’ of Cochrane House appeared intrinsically unified by incorporating nuanced, traditional elements that marry the home’s rich past with its new present.

Altering the home’s vernacular, Pleysier Perkins built a contemporary gabled pavilion to sympathetically connect the original villa through a glazed passageway and feature courtyard. While the private spaces, including the bedrooms, bathrooms, study, and lounge, all encompass Victorian proportions and details, the kitchen, dining, living, games room, and garage are all contained within the newly built rear pavilion.

“The pavilion is orientated towards a north-facing outdoor entertaining area and swimming pool with oak-clad ceilings and travertine floors that seamlessly connect the inside with the outside,” Simon explains. A full-width strip skylight guides natural light down into the kitchen and works to separate material elements and interior volumes. “While a bolder approach to colour has been applied to the Victorian-era rooms and celebrates decorative architraves, skirtings, arches and cornices, the pavilion’s monochromatic palette and refined detailing provide a calm and peaceful haven for family life,” Simon adds.

“As well as providing excellent advice to our clients, E&S trading were great to collaborate with regarding the specifications and details required to successfully integrate the appliances into the joinery design.”

– Simon Perkins

Designed to be both practical and comfortable, the approach to the design of Cochrane House was driven by the client’s lifestyle and their envisioned use of the home over time. Paying special attention to the heart of the home, the kitchen needed to work hard to meet the family’s changing needs.

While the island bench serves as a sculptural focal point, the client opted for cutting-edge, integrated appliances and equipment from E&S Trading to guarantee that the open-plan kitchen and dining areas fulfilled the requirements of the communal family zone. A Gaggenau induction cooktop is seamlessly flush mounted with the benchtop, and a vertically stacked black Gaggenau Kitchen Oven 200 Series, and a matching Gaggenau Combi-Microwave Oven 200 Series from E&S Trading are all indispensable elements when it comes to entertaining, creating gourmet meals, and enhancing the overall cooking experience at home. An integrated Fisher & Paykel french door refrigerator is hidden behind kitchen cabinetry to continue the seamless aesthetic and a Vintec bottle wine cabinet sits below the countertop to ensure optimal conditions for food and wine.

Pleysier Perkins’ strategic selection of first-class kitchen appliances was paramount to meeting the client brief. Being the team’s preferred supplier for kitchen, bathroom, and laundry appliances, Simon affirms that E&S Trading’s successful blend of knowledgeable showroom personnel and their extensive selection of top-tier brands collectively guarantee well-informed decisions for every client they work alongside. “As well as providing excellent advice to our clients, E&S Trading is great to collaborate with regarding the specifications and details required to successfully integrate the appliances into the joinery design,” Simon says.

Perfect for entertaining alfresco, an outdoor kitchen includes a Beefeater Signature Proline BBQ complemented by a Beefeater single-door outdoor fridge for dual functionality. “These outdoor kitchen appliances from E&S Trading enabled us to establish an alfresco setting that was sleek and understated yet possessed the power of a professional-grade kitchen,” Simon adds.

“ A considered response to the original heritage Victorian – the glass link and courtyard allows for a sympathetic connection between old and new, where the original walls and roof line remain uninterrupted.”

– Simon Perkins

The main bathroom is another hardworking communal space within the home. While the design composition is refined yet simple and highlights a limited palette, the luxurious Grey Ather marble and Perlino Bianco Limestone make a strong style statement. The elegant selection of Astra Walker tapware in Charcoal Bronze, available from E&S Trading, unifies the wet room. “It’s important that the appliances and tapware measure up in terms of design and quality to the rigour and extent of investment in the architecture and interior design,” Simon says.

In crafting the design and layout for the laundry space, Pleysier Perkins opted to incorporate Miele’s front-load washing machine and Miele heat-pump tumble dryer, available from E&S Trading, to achieve a cohesive and polished aesthetic. The fundamental principle guiding this choice is that incorporating high-performance appliances and adding tailored details transforms an ordinary laundry into an exceptional space for everyday use.

Connected by a consistent palette, smart appliances, and modern touchpoints, Cochrane House fuses the time-honoured and contemporary with soft sophistication. “We always prefer to make a strong distinction between old and new, but connected in a considered and sensitive way,” Simon says. This creative collaboration results in a timeless family home with an elegant and inviting aesthetic that encourages a coming together.

“The best bathrooms are highly practical and hard working. Solid marble forms a contrast with more refined, delicate elements such as wall lights while natural light, is achieved via extensive skylights, which highlights the material quality.”

– Simon Perkins