Seamless is an adjective often used to describe indoor–outdoor connections in residential design, but architect John Ellway prefers “ambiguous.” In the design of his own house, an

Sadaptation to a worker’s cottage in Brisbane’s Highgate Hill, living spaces have been inserted into the former undercroft and the entire house has been engulfed in greenery, resulting in an environment that is protected yet permeable and in which the edges are deliberately difficult to discern.

An external stair shrouded in a vine-covered screen is the entry. Downstairs, finely textured glass on the eastern wall filters morning sunlight and allows inhabitants to observe the movement of plants and shifts in light. When open, large sliding doors to the north and south disappear behind walls. Together, these details accentuate the feeling of inhabiting the undercroft.

The kitchen is separated into two zones, one public for food preparation, cooking and entertaining, the other more private for appliances (fridge and dishwasher), the pantry and laundry. A concrete benchtop runs the length of the two zones, becoming a large sink that functions as a laundry tub, a sink for washing large pots or even a bathtub for children – evocative of childhood memories of bathing in the laundry trough. At the end of this space a toilet and shower open onto a planted garden through a sliding door of textured glass.

In the public zone, an island bench with a narrow concrete plinth contains open blackbutt shelves facing the dining area and ovens on the kitchen side, concealing them from view. A shadow line beneath the black granite benchtop accentuates this horizontal form and makes it feel like a piece of furniture. An open timber shelf in place of overhead cupboards on the western wall prevents the open-plan room from being dominated by a joinery-heavy kitchen, while below-bench drawers are raised to extend the view of the floor beneath them, increasing the sense of generosity and space.

In the bathroom upstairs, a polycarbonate ceiling revisits the idea of being exposed to, but protected from, the elements. During the day, it fills the room with natural light, while at night it and the dark limestone tiles create a cave-like enclosure – an experience heightened by the sound of rain on the roof.

The vanity is outside the bathroom, in an alcove between the bathroom and main bedroom and adjacent to the void above the dining area, facilitating conversation during daily rituals. A decked walkway accentuates this vertical openness and unites the vanity and bedroom to the bathroom.

John explains that details in the house recall memories of childhood homes and of international travel, from Japanese-inspired screens that allow rooms to change function to lush planting and a semi-outdoor bathroom inspired by Malaysia’s equatorial climate. But it is John’s and Amber’s childhood memories of time spent in the garden, and of escaping Queensland’s sun and heat in dark, shady spaces, that are most clearly articulated in the design of Terrarium House.

WORDS – Alexa Kempton
PHOTOS – Toby Scott
EDITOR – Katelin Butler
SOURCE – Houses Kitchens+Bathrooms 13