Designing Home with Sophie Gannon
As well as having an eye for art, Sophie Gannon also has an eye for architecture. A chance drive-by of a Merchant Builders town house designed by Graeme Gunn led to its purchase with her husband Fraser for their family of three children Arabella, Lucinda and Hubert.
How did you find your home?
I grew up nearby and my family lived nearby so I was just driving on Grange Road and saw the real estate board and the very first line was something like “Graeme Gunn-designed 1970s townhouse.”
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The fact that they mentioned Graham Gunn piqued my interest - I’m nowhere near an architect but I did a history of architecture degree and I’m on the Robin Boyd Foundation, and I do have an interest in architecture.
What drew you to your town house?
Initially it was the pedigree and history of the home. It was built and designed by the superstars of Australian architecture, landscape design and interior design in the 1960's - designed by Graeme Gunn and built in 1967-68 for John Ridge, one of the founders of Merchant Builders' she says. 'The garden is an Ellis Stones garden, and the interiors, including the kitchen and living room cabinetry, were designed by Janne Faulkner from Nexus Designs. Janne had done some work for my mum and dad, so when I found out the interiors were by Nexus Designs everything was clicking. There was also the fact it is on a park with views to the Yarra River.
Did you ever meet Janne Faulkner and Graeme Gunn?
We had Janne and Graeme come around and have a cup of tea, but they both wanted white wine! They said they had lots of Merchant Builders meetings where our dining room table was because my house was built for John Ridge, who owned Merchant Builders, John Ridge teamed up with Graeme and Janne in 1965 and they worked on many houses together.
You moved into the house in 2023 following a sensitive renovation by Kennedy Nolan. What did you keep and what did you change?
We’ve maintained Janne Faulkner’s colours. We colour matched the wall colour that she originally did – it’s a Dulux custom off white colour. We also rebuilt all of Janne’s joinery in the main living room, which included large shelving. She also helped select some of the furniture - which was super amazing, because she designed the original kitchen and living room cabinetry when the house was first built. The garden was redone by Fiona Brockhoff, who was very sympathetic to the original vision of Ellis Stones. Kennedy Nolan were very empathetic to the original, it just needed a refresh and two extensions. Kennedy Nolan also did some of the furniture, and I’ve slowly bought stuff at auction from Leonard Joel auction house, the kids have Ikea desks and we have Jardan couches.
You have had your gallery for 18 years. Did your impressive art collection in any way influence the interiors?
There was an Adam Pyatt painting that I gave to Kennedy Nolan as inspiration, as I wanted it to be my house and I have some of my favourite pieces in it. We move pieces around and rotate them in and out.
What do you love about living in a Merchant Builders modernist home?
The modernist design gives it a generous, liveable feeling and it has a warmth and familiarity that is almost like a nostalgia. A lot of people come in and say “oh my god, this house reminds me of’ and they often rattle off a grand parent’s house. It has a sloping roof and very high timber-clad ceilings and every outlook is garden. It’s also on a park which is a huge incentive because I have kids and we live in the park! I just like the bringing together of landscape architecture, architecture, interior design and builders to produce these homes that are really suitable for denser inner city living. Our townhouse is attached to our neighbour but it doesn’t feel like that. They are also very Australian, and they suit the Australian climate and lifestyle. My house literally works - it actually puts in effort so if it’s a hot day or a cold day the architecture is oriented so its facing the right way and it protects it from the sun in summer and helps to keep it warm in winter. Be it winter or summer there are doors to open, windows to close, shades to pull down, it just makes sense to help with living in our climate.
Learn more sophiegannongallery.com.au