The Plateau Project, a modern family home, is a masterclass in blending subtle textures, cohesive colour and a photographer's eye for light
The Plateau Project, a modern family home, is a masterclass in blending subtle textures, cohesive colour and a photographer's eye for light
Using feelings to describe interiors can be incredibly evocative, capturing the atmosphere of a space in a way that traditional color descriptors may not. For example 'a calm space' versus 'an off-white tan room'...we know which one we'd rather be in! So, it's probably not a coincidence that one of our favourite neutrals is the colour 'Still', and rightfully so—it embodies tranquility. But, it's also strong enough to be the unifying element in The Plateau Project, a renovation of a 60's Australian post-modernist home north of Sydney. While the property's quirks and location charmed fashion photographer Georges Antoni and model/presenter Phoebe Ghorayeb into purchasing it, it required a touch of transformation to fully realize their vision: a family home that is both impressive and homely, calm and serene. And that’s precisely what the Plateau Project achieves—it’s truly still.
Everyone involved, including the architects, admired the bold and intriguing features of the original California bungalow-style house; but it needed more space. As they ventured into the next phase of building, they aimed to preserve the heritage of the old home while expanding it for their growing family. Their approach was to simplify and unify, mimicking the original features in the extensions. Simplification and unity called for a tight colour palette, as Antoni explained, “It all pretty much revolves around oatmeal. It’s combinations of cream and light grey… It’s very simple, almost basic.”
In contrast to Antoni’s vibrant artistic output as a fashion photographer, the house intentionally lacks bold colours. This deliberate choice creates a blank canvas, allowing for the addition of beautiful colours and artistic elements in the future.
"At this stage of our family’s life", Antoni says, "it's neutral, simply because I want the house to feel serene, calm, and safe for our three children because they’re still quite young... and to also maintain our sanity with three crazy little kids!”
One aspect that continually fascinates us at Bauwerk is the interplay between light and colour and how it shapes our perception and experience of a space. We were particularly interested to hear Antoni’s perspective on this, given his background as a photographer. “The way the light and time of day interact is of course important…The whole house basically revolves around different light at different times of day.” Antoni shared. “There are beautiful surprise pockets that happen not only over the course of the day but over the course of the months within a year. So there’s very different light in different areas of the house in Summer vs Winter vs Autumn vs Spring. So it really does do beautiful things.”
“The amazing thing about the way the light works… because we have a north-facing house is when the light is quite angled on most of the home and it’s got quite severe, you get really beautiful increases in the textural values of the finishes of the house. The marble, the bagged brick, the microcement. All those elements come together with a lot more texture and detail. Then at nighttime and when the light is soft or if it’s overcast, you get really beautiful soft subtle tonal variations. So the light plays a massive role in the success of the house, and of course, as a photographer that means a lot to me.”
While minimalism was the the primary style objective for the home, they aimed to add interest through texture, texture, and you guessed it, more texture. This was achieved by integrating a variety of materials, blending old with new, including Iranian Travertine, aerated concrete, microcement, and one of our favorite textures: limewashed bagged brick. Bagged Brick is a technique where a layer of material, often a mixture of cement and sand, is applied over brickwork, creating a textured surface with irregular bumps and imperfections. This process provides a softer, more organic look while retaining the texture of the underlying brick. Since limewash is made of the same materials as render, they complement each other well, resulting in a lovely light texture. It’s soft, and chalky, and refracts light beautifully, especially when used outdoors. For those looking to recreate this effect, it’s easy to DIY and maintain, offering a simple yet impactful makeover solution.
According to Antoni, one of the biggest successes in the renovation was the way the rooms work together, and the architect’s skill in creating a spacious space that still allows the children to feel close. “We never feel like we’re separated, so the way the architects designed the home is truly the masterpiece of this particular project. Was it a happy accident or meticulous execution…I’m pretty sure it was meticulous execution, but I won’t tell Tom (the architect),” Antoni jokes, having become good mates with Tom of RAMA Architects. “I certainly wouldn’t want it to go to his head!”
Other successes are a testament to Antoni and the team's perseverance: sourcing unique materials from Spain, training applicators in new specialist skills or seamlessly blending diverse materials. A significant challenge of the project was the continuous microcement application, smoothly transitioning from indoors to outdoors and even extending into the pool itself. To make sure they got the full benefit of this large installation, the surrounding surfaces, including the exterior walls and interior brickwork, had to harmonise perfectly with the other materials for a cohesive look. Limewash paint played a crucial role in linking and blending the various surfaces. “All these elements that create texture make the house more interesting than if it was simply painted with normal paint. So limewash just adds more of that texture, more of that depth, more of that variation we think is necessary in making the house achieve its goal of being simple, yet detailed and textural.”
Prior to the Plateau Project, Antoni and the team had never used limewash. "I saw it on Instagram and absolutely fell in love with it, so was very excited to try it, ” Antoni recalled. After sampling lots of limewash colours, ‘Still’ was recommended to Antoni, and “it was absolutely perfect when it was applied to the base of the colour of the render on our brick walls. It blended perfectly into the tone of the rest of the house. It had enough variation so you knew it was a different material, but it was still very complementary to the microcement and stone elements that we had in the house. So it was like the ultimate colour.”
After completing the ‘ultimate colour-matching challenge’, Antoni’s biggest takeaway and advice regarding limewash paint is clear: “It’s really important you test it on the substrate first to determine the colour because the substrate does change the colour of the paint. Because it is such a beautiful natural material, it does take on the underneath colour surface.” His second point is equally important: “Don’t be afraid of applying it in different ways…a lot of people initially think the application is more difficult, and it can be slightly more time-consuming, but in a way, it’s easier and more beautiful if you apply it more erratically and irregularly because you get these really gorgeous results and textures,” Antoni reflects. “ It’s a product you should just experiment with and have so much fun with…”
So after mastering texture and a cohesive yet interesting property, is Antoni eager to do it all again? “I’m definitely NOT itching to do this process all over again…” Antoni admits. However, he quickly adds, “But in saying that I am doing a renovation on our apartment in Bondi and I am using Bauwerk in that apartment as well because I’ve fallen so much in love with the product. I’m actually painting the whole apartment in the product…the ceiling, the walls everything. So I’m very excited about that.” We couldn’t agree more...
