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 for their family of five.
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.”
The fact that they mentioned Graeme 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.
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 parents, 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 the house was originally 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.
Kennedy Nolan recently conducted a sensitive renovation of the house. 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. Janne also helped select some of the furniture pre-renovation and we have kept it and integrated it into the current interior design. Janne designed the original kitchen and living room cabinetry when the house was first built – she was an incredible visionary and a legend of the industry.
The garden was designed by Fiona Brockhoff, who was very sympathetic to the original vision of Ellis Stones. And of course Rachel Nolan of Kennedy Nolan were very empathetic to the original. Rachel worked with Graeme and Janne’s original work and refreshed and added on to it. The house feels both contemporary and nostalgic at the same time. Adriana Hanna of Kennedy Nolan also did the interior design – but we haven’t had a big budget so interior furniture has been added to the house slowly. There is a mix of things from auction houses like Leonard Joel, Italian and Danish furniture, Jardan and also Ikea. And some items I have picked up from local Melbourne designers at exhibitions.
You have had your gallery for 18 years. Did your impressive art collection in any way influence the interiors?
There was an Adam Pyett 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 house they knew from their childhood. 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 my family lives 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.
Merchant Builders homes 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 it is facing the correct way towards or against the sun. It protects us from the sun in summer and keeps us 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