This Home Blurs the Line Between House and Landscape
This Home Blurs the Line Between House and Landscape
In a dense North Fitzroy neighbourhood, Pop Architecture has crafted a home where garden, light and landscape take precedence over the architecture.
What began as a dilapidated, double-fronted Victorian weatherboard has been quietly reimagined, not by looking back, but by drawing on the textures, tones and layered history embedded within the site itself.
A relocated entry, considered roof forms and spaces that move between garden and house, bring clarity and calm to daily life. Rusticated brick, recycled timber and zinc roofing create a restrained, enduring palette that feels grounded, simple and deeply connected to place.
This double-fronted Victorian in North Fitzroy had seen better days. Over the years, much of its original character had been stripped away, with a string of post-war additions leaving behind a disjointed home.
The block itself came with its own challenges, most notably, a south-facing backyard, making light and connection to the outdoors hard to come by.
‘We were interested in this site as a whole, we weren't just thinking about the building,’ explains Katherine Sainsbery, Director at Pop Architecture. ‘We were thinking about all the layers that have existed on the site, both visually and culturally.’
The design introduces a new rhythm to the home, beginning with relocating the front door to the side. Instead of the typical dark corridor found in many Victorian homes, visitors now enter through the garden, arriving at a quiet moment of pause, a small entry space inspired by the Japanese genkan.
From here, the house flows in two directions, towards the open-plan kitchen and living, or down to the bedrooms and private spaces. A cleverly detailed piece of joinery hides the laundry, bar, cloak cupboard, and pantry all in one, keeping the interiors calm and clutter-free.
Crucially, landscape was never an afterthought. ‘From the outset, it was allowing adequate space for landscape, not just pushing it to the fringes,’ Katherine explains.
Working with landscape designer Sarah Perry Garden Design, the garden wraps right up to the building’s edges, layered with texture and foliage that bring softness and depth. Even the materials reflect the surrounding environment, with bagged brick, galvanised steel, recycled timber floors, and a zinc roof inspired by the tall yellow gum trees.
At the rear, a distinctive roofline has been exaggerated to let northern light into the home, while the back roof becomes its own facade, with flues and air conditioning units hidden from sight.
‘For us, simplicity comes from clarity,’ explains Katherine. ‘There's a real control of the use of materials, and it not being excessive size or in detailing. It's very thoughtful.’
Fitzroy North House by Pop Architecture, built by MRU Construction, landscape design by Sarah Perry Landscape Design.
Produced by Simple Dwelling, filmed, edited and photographed by Anthony Richardson, words by Anthony Richardson.
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