Residential — Albion

Same Same but Different

The brief

A new home that had to do two jobs: host long, spilling-over parties, then close down into a private retreat.

A tight, sloping, south-facing site meant Maytree Studios flipped the usual north-facing plan and stacked the house as two simple volumes, giving more of the block to garden and courtyards.

The furnishing brief was a love of Spanish mission and mid-century design, carried through without tipping into pastiche. We mixed vintage and contemporary pieces room by room: a terracotta bouclé sofa against linen and tree canopy, a green leather lounge chair with a sheepskin thrown over it, grasscloth walls, burl timber and travertine. A warm palette runs from room to room so each space feels related to the next.

Nothing is precious. Bouclé, leather, linen and velvet were chosen to wear in rather than wear out.

Project: Same Same but Different
Our services: Furnishing
Editorial Styling
Suburb: Albion
Completed: April 2026
Architect: Maytree Studios
Builder: Allen Brothers Construction
Landscape: Ecru Studio
Photography: Jack Gibson
Published: Houses: Kitchens + Bathrooms, May 2024
Habitus, February 2024
The Local Project, February 2025
Nominated: Habitus House of the Year, Asia Pacific 2023

Main bedroom: a curved terracotta bouclé sofa with an olive velvet bolster in front of floor-length linen and sheer curtains, a woven wall hanging at left. — Terracotta bouclé sofa, olive velvet bolster, linen and sheer drapery.

The terracotta sofa beside a balcony balustrade, tree trunks and canopy beyond, a dark tiled wall with a towel rail in the foreground. — Into the canopy from the main bedroom.

Guest bedroom in ochre with a round mirror reflecting the garden, a timber bench shelf with books, a red lacquer box and a chrome mushroom lamp. — Ochre guest room: a timber bench shelf, chrome lamp and round mirror.

A corner of the ochre guest room, floor-length linen curtains behind a chrome mushroom lamp on a timber shelf, a woven headboard and charcoal bedding. — Linen to the ceiling, a chrome lamp and a woven headboard.

Living room: a mint green leather lounge chair with a sheepskin, a bouclé ottoman on a timber base, cream ceramics on a round side table, a patterned wool rug. — Vintage leather lounge chair, bouclé ottoman and ceramics in the living room.

Bedroom corner with golden grasscloth wall, an opal globe wall light, a travertine vase of red orchids and monstera on a burl timber bedside with a marble top. — Grasscloth, a burl bedside and a travertine vase.

A mustard wool sofa in the foreground, a curved oak sideboard and a black spiral stair beyond, and a polished concrete hall opening onto a planted courtyard. — Mustard wool and oak under the spiral stair, the courtyard beyond.

A vintage armchair in patterned upholstery beside a fluted rattan side table, a black spiral stair and a trailing pothos against plum joinery. — A vintage armchair and fluted side table at the foot of the stair.

A burgundy media wall with a brass swing-arm lamp and a ceramic vessel on the shelf, a low window onto ferns below, a fluted stool and timber coffee table in front. — Burgundy joinery, cut by a strip of garden.

Close detail of a patinated copper table edge beside a walnut chair with a leaf-print seat, polished concrete floor beyond. — Copper left to patina, a walnut chair beside it.

A hall in warm ochre leading to a blue door, a large black and white painting above a mustard sofa, small framed works on the walls. — Ochre walls give way to a blue hall, art hung along the way.

A bathroom in deep green with an opal globe light over a ceramic basin, and a breccia stone plinth holding a soap dish against dark blue tiles. — Green walls, a ceramic basin and a breccia plinth.

A gravel courtyard with young trees and stepping tiles, a cream modular sofa and a rust woven chair under a white weatherboard canopy. — The courtyard, furnished as a room outdoors.

A round travertine table with a marbled bowl and white sculptural chairs under a covered terrace, a rendered wall and planted garden beyond. — Travertine and white chairs on the covered terrace.

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