Houston residents John and Jennifer Warren were not always fans of contemporary architecture. Then, in 2012, they moved to Australia. During their three years of living down under, the Warrens discovered contemporary homes could embrace their natural surroundings, resulting in clean and orderly design infused with earthy vibes.
“Contemporary architecture wasn’t as popular in the U.S. before we left for Australia, but it was very common there and we sort of fell in love with the contemporary style. We found they did it a bit warmer there,” says Jennifer.
The Warrens lived in Perth and later Adelaide, both cities located on the coast. They appreciated how many contemporary homes were built to highlight the natural beauty of the scenery, especially views of the sea.
Once they found out they would be moving back to Houston, the Warrens approached an Australian firm about designing their future home. Alex Pritchard of The Galvin Group in Adelaide, Australia, created the concept and design for their future home.
“We gave the Galvin Group our criteria without being restrictive. We said we wanted a main-floor master bedroom, connection to the outdoors, open space, three bedrooms, three plus baths and a theatre room and really left the rest up to them,” says John.
FORM & FUNCTION
Since they moved in March, the Warrens have been very happy with the performance and feel of their new home.
“I like that the house feels spacious, but not too big,” says Jennifer. “We wanted cozy rooms. Even though the space overall is large, we wanted smaller rooms that felt intimate. We didn’t want a cold white box. We wanted the house to be very organic with lots of warm textural elements. Having views of treetops through the high windows was important to us.”
“I’m very pleased with how it all works so well together,” says John. “There’s a good deal of common space, yet it flows so well. The squares all line up, the lines are well proportioned. It all makes sense as a whole.”
John goes on to explain that beyond the aesthetic rewards of the design, citing how the home is enhanced by the placement of the windows, which bring ample amounts of natural light while yielding plenty of privacy.
While the walls are all white and the general colour palette is made up of muted natural hues, the couple says they enjoy watching how the shades of light change on the walls throughout the day. Highlights include seeing the warm glow of sunrises and sunsets and observing the shadow patterns of leaves on the walls.