Welcome to Somerset

It has an amazing indoor fireplace, a stunning outdoor fireplace, the most wonderful kitchen that you just know would be filled with fun and laughter when the family is all together……and don’t get us started on the walk in! 

This is a stunning home that we are very excited to be able to share with you! 

We walked and talked our way through this incredible Southern Highlands property with Cadence & Co Partner and Design Principal, Michael Kilkeary to find out more about it.

1 :: What were the key points in the client brief when designing the home?

They key point that we noted after walking through the existing house was the relationship between the kitchen and family room spaces, and the house as a whole. 

Although these rooms were located centrally, they were poorly laid out and disproportionally small compared to the main living space.

The main brief then became the improvement of these spaces and their connection with the landscape and views.

2 :: How did Cadence & Co do that?

We understand the importance of spatial scale in relation to acreage properties.

We also understand that homes such as this need to able to host large gatherings while still feeling intimate with smaller numbers.

We felt this balance was not working at all in the existing home.

By careful reconfiguration of the kitchen and family room spaces we were able to give the home they key feature it lacked – a generous central gathering place.

The new kitchen was designed in response to the clients’ brief in terms of how they looked to entertain. 

With friends and family over, it’s an “all hands-on deck” approach. 

With this in mind, we designed a large kitchen planned around a large square island, where multiple people can work together comfortably. 

The planning arrangement also opened up views to both north and south, giving the space a much better sense of the expansive landscape beyond.

The reconfiguration has given space where it should have been – to the family heart of the home.

3 ::  What challenges did Cadence & Co face in both the design and build process?

Being an alterations and additions project, the challenge is always in creating new spaces and detailing that complement the existing fabric.

This can be achieved equally as well through contrasting forms that challenge the existing, or sensitive reinterpretation of what is already there.

It’s also very important in undertaking a project like this one, to be able to critically assess the functionality of the existing house – identify those aspects that work and those that don’t, and to understand these in the context of the client brief.

4 :: How did you meet and overcome those challenges?

In this project, the existing house had a very strong character and we felt that the new spaces should respond to this character rather than challenge it.

But we felt that while the existing house was large, it lacked a generosity of space where it was needed most.

So the key challenge was to provide a new balance of spaces within an existing fabric.

We did this by focusing in great detail on the central space containing the kitchen and family living and dining spaces.

Cadence & Co offers a holistic design and construct process.

We manage any challenges through very open communication with our clients, as well as through the very close working relationships between our designers and our construction and project management teams.

5 ::  What is your favourite element of the finished build?

The original formal living room was a difficult space – semi-circular in shape, with soaring ceilings overhead and an awkward internal balcony detail over the fireplace, where the first-floor hallway terminated.

The latter was a planning quirk that we felt served only to diminish the room.

Cadence & Co recommended that the balcony detail be closed off, to enable the chimney breast to be a stronger element in itself, and to realise its potential as the anchor-point of the living space.

With the client’s agreement, we then created a beautiful, oversized sandstone mantle and fire surround against a seven-metre-high stone clad chimney breast. 

The detailing of the sandstone mantle references traditional historic homes, but with a scale that truly grounds the home. 

I like this part of the renovation because it’s a great example of a room being transformed by a few relatively simple changes.  

The scale of the newly designed fireplace creates a real sense of drama and leaves one with the feeling that the potential of the room has been recognised.

6 :: How does this build epitomise Southern Highlands living and how did Cadence & Co’s values, design and construction process help make that happen?

Cadence & Co understands the intricacies of Southern Highlands living, and the benefit of designing to both meet these needs and realise the full potential of the home.

Southern Highlands homes such as Somerset must be designed for true seasonal living.

It’s very important to be able to retreat from the cold and create a sense of cosiness in the winter, and to open up to the warmth of summer, with a seamless indoor/ outdoor flow. 

Southern Highlands homes also need to accommodate both effortless entertaining and intimate family living year-round.

And they should have a generous connection to the surrounding gardens and grounds, which are often such a key feature of the property – from an immediate leafy outlook to a striking distant view.

7 :: How did Candence & Co’s design and construction process help make that happen?

We feel that we have very much achieved all of this with the renovations to this home.

True to our holistic approach to design and construction, our transparency of process and costing allowed the client to make decisions with full understanding and confidence. 

Cadence & Co focuses on creating beautiful homes that are truly comfortable and generous, and we understand the best way to achieve this is to ensure that our clients are fully informed on all aspects of the project, to provide them with the best possible framework in which to make decisions.

Architectural Design, Interior Design & Construction :: Cadence & Co

Furnishings :: James Salmond 

Photography :: Maree Homer 

Editorial Styling :: Kayla Gex 

Cadence & Co specialise in quality residential design, construction and landscapes. Their work ranges from small projects to creating some of the finest homes, swimming pools and landscapes. Quality workmanship, creative architectural design and seamless project management are hallmarks of a Cadence & Co project.

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