Inside the ‘hello’ house: Quirky white brick facade hides a modern haven with a wooden open plan kitchen, two bedrooms and a stunning bathroom
- The ‘hello’ house is a two-bedroom Victorian-era home and creative studio located in Richmond, Melbourne
- Most noticeably the property features a large welcoming sign that sparks conversations with neighbours
- The original structure had bathroom and laundry at the rear of the house making the garden hard to reach
- So OOF! Architecture decided to maximise light by bringing the living areas to the back of the house
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A couple who were keen to engage with their community have constructed a ‘hello’ welcome sign on the front of their house to modernise the inner city street and start conversations with neighbours.
The two-bedroom Victorian property in Richmond, Melbourne, was five-and-a-half years in the making, with the owners abandoning their original plans and making changes with the help of OOF! Architecture and artist Rose Nolan, who created the friendly brick wall.
‘A skin of brick is all it takes to keep a secret and two worlds exist happily side by side with a public face that cheerfully greets the street while giving nothing away about the world behind,’ said founder of OOF! Fooi-Ling Khoo.
A couple who were keen to engage with their heritage-rich community constructed a ‘hello’ welcome sign (pictured) on the front facade of their house to modernise the inner city street and start conversations with neighbours
‘The existing building, like many single-storey Victorian houses, had what many would now consider a ‘back-to-front’ layout, with the bathroom and laundry at the rear of the property that made the back garden inaccessible to the living areas.’
So the designers switched the internal rooms around, pushing the living spaces to the back of the house to make the most of the light and air flow into the backyard.
Behind the greeting there is an open plan kitchen, built-in shelving and seating areas for guests to enjoy.
The two-bedroom Victorian-era property in Richmond, Melbourne, was five-and-a-half years in the making, with the owners abandoning their original plans and making changes with the help of OOF! Architecture
The designers decided to switch the property’s rooms around by placing the bathroom and laundry at the front of room, and the living areas out the back (pictured)
The kitchen includes a simple benchtop and plenty of storage space for groceries
It’s lit by large, floor-to-ceiling glass on both ends, one of which faces a small private garden perfect for entertaining in the warmer months.
‘One of the things with this house is that while we may have spent more money on things like the hello wall and the joinery, it wasn’t a question of buying flashy, shiny materials and expensive designer furniture,’ Khoo said.
‘We used commonly available materials but paid skilled people to put in the extra time and thought to treat the materials with craft.’
‘One of the things with this house is that while we may have spent more money on things like the hello wall and the joinery, it wasn’t a question of buying flashy, shiny materials and expensive designer furniture,’ Khoo said
The shower is designed with modern tiling along the wall – fitting for a creative’s home design
A lot of the materials are modest and easy to find – like plywood, brickwork and industrial trusses – but there was plenty of attention paid to the craftsmanship.
The interior may come across like a workshop, with plenty of cabinetry and storage shelving on display, but modern elements like the black shower head and matching tiles in the bathroom say a lot about the client’s modern outlook.
It regularly draws the attention of passerby’s who stop for a chat, proving the intention was a huge success.