Splinter Society prioritises connection to garden in Australian house renovation

Pockets of outdoor space surround Gardener's House, a suburban home in Melbourne extended and renovated by Australian studio Splinter Society.

Gardener's House is designed for a pair of avid gardeners who had a desire to "recreate the experience of their former property", which was located an hour from Melbourne and surrounded by rolling hills.

To achieve this, Splinter Society has maximised views out to the garden throughout the home and placed the client's vibrant collection of exotic orchids at centre stage.

"The elderly clients were moving from a garden property in the hills about an hour from Melbourne, into an inner suburban site about three kilometres from the city," Splinter Society told Dezeen.

"With gardening as a relaxation hobby, they wanted to be able to recreate the experience of their former property, albeit on a smaller site," said the studio.

"The design strategy was to pull the new extension off the rear of the existing home, enabling northern light into the house, but also allowing the living spaces to be surrounded by the garden."

At the front of Gardener's House, the darker existing rooms have been used as more private areas of the home, including the main ensuite bedroom, two double bedrooms, a family bathroom, a utility room and a generous study.

To the rear, the removal of an existing concrete veranda has made space for the extension, which contains a large open-plan living room and dining area and opens onto a raised deck with a pergola.

The extension is set back from the main house, connected by a glazed walkway. It looks out over the garden via large picture-frame windows and sliding glass doors.

Clad in cement panels, the extension is designed to complement the original building's masonry, while timber elements will allow plants to grow over it in time to obscure it from view.

A rich and dark colour palette has been used throughout the interior, contrasting with the red hues used to update the front section of the existing home.

It is finished with a mixture of furniture from the original house and items collected by the client, paired with sleek bespoke cabinetry and finishes.

Splinter Society is a Melbourne-based architecture and interior design studio led by Asha Nicholas and Chris Stanley.

Its previous projects include the renovation of a worker's cottage with black timber extensions and the transformation of a Californian-style Bungalow into a Japanese-inspired home in Melbourne.

The photography is courtesy of Splinter Society.

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