Finnis Architects design a house extension clad in bluestone for a growing family in Melbourne

Just along the coast from Melbourne’s St Kilda beach, Finnis Architects has designed a modernist house extension clad in bluestone for a growing family. The open-plan layout of the home with smooth transition into the garden space, and the clean, yet warm aesthetic of the integrated interior design, all contribute to helping contemporary family life to flow harmoniously.
The modern residence has a lightly gridded façade, defined by the stacked blocks of bluestone that conceal a concrete sub-structure beneath. Occupying a corner site, the home is wrapped by a garden and a slim lap pool stretches the length of one façade. Traces of bluestone were integrated into the paving, connecting the architecture to the outdoor areas.
A slim lap pool stretches down the facade of the Quarry House.
The flow of space from exterior to interior is designed to be natural and seamless. Large columns frame sheaths of floor-to-ceiling glass facades, echoing the sturdiness of the bluestone blocks, while custom-steel pivot doors open up the connection between interior and exterior.
Inside, the open plan ground floor designed to promote shared family experiences features kitchen, living and dining spaces, with a soaring void above the dining table that channels light throughout the home and to the bedrooms above.
Finnis Architects’ modern kitchen design, part of the open plan ground floor space.
This light, airy communal zone is a contrast to the heavy exterior. Interior materials include powder coated steel and timber clad soffits, with lighter timber finishes used for the stair balustrade and ceiling battens.
Finnis Architects defines its style as ‘uncluttered modernism’ and the studio has a focus on residential design, from single family homes to multi-residential apartments and community housing.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Finnis Architects website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Scotland's most opulent passenger train just got even more lavish
To mark four decades connecting stops across the majestic highlands, Belmond’s Royal Scotsman has revealed even more plush sleeping cars
-
‘Designers are far more than just producers of commercial goods’: Samuel Ross on the London Design Biennale
The artistic director of the major event and founder of A-COLD-WALL* discusses the role of a designer and the future of the sector in an exclusive interview
-
Ten of the best XXL tote bags, made for carrying more than you’ll ever need
Selected by the Wallpaper* style team, these supersized tote bags and shoppers cater to our carry-everything culture, doubling as reliable travel companions
-
A Republic Tower apartment refresh breathes new life to a Melbourne classic
Local studio Multiplicity's refresh signals a new turn for an iconic Melbourne landmark
-
A Japanese maple adds quaint charm to a crisp, white house in Sydney
Bellevue Hill, a white house by Mathieson Architects, is a calm retreat layered with minimalism and sophistication
-
A redesigned warehouse complex taps into nostalgia in Queensland
A warehouse in Queensland has been transformed from neglected industrial sheds to a vibrant community hub by architect Jared Webb, drawing on the typology's nostalgic feel
-
Australian bathhouse ‘About Time’ bridges softness and brutalism
‘About Time’, an Australian bathhouse designed by Goss Studio, balances brutalist architecture and the softness of natural patina in a Japanese-inspired wellness hub
-
The humble glass block shines brightly again in this Melbourne apartment building
Thanks to its striking glass block panels, Splinter Society’s Newburgh Light House in Melbourne turns into a beacon of light at night
-
A contemporary retreat hiding in plain sight in Sydney
This contemporary retreat is set behind an unassuming neo-Georgian façade in the heart of Sydney’s Woollahra Village; a serene home designed by Australian practice Tobias Partners
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continents
We take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
-
Who wouldn't want to live in this 'treehouse' in Byron Bay?
A 1980s ‘treehouse’, on the edge of a national park in Byron Bay, is powered by the sun, architectural provenance and a sense of community