Interior designer David Flack has breathed new life into a dark 1930s Melbourne villa, transforming it into a vibrant, light-filled family home through innovative use of glass blocks and clever design solutions. The homeowner, who had lived in the historic South Yarra property for 15 years with her children, decided to renovate the city residence after Flack successfully redesigned her country house.
Like many Australian homes from the 1930s, this Melbourne villa had plenty of character but suffered from a severe lack of natural light. The homeowner, whose family has made a name in racehorse breeding, discovered Flack through online research in 2016. She was immediately drawn to both his interior designs and the fact that he was a "Bendigo boy" from a town near her farm. "It was literally a chance find, and everything worked out perfectly from there," she explains.
Flack's primary challenge was addressing the home's lighting issues. In the Southern Hemisphere, south-facing light is indirect, leaving many of the South Yarra house's rooms in shadow for most of the day. The villa had also endured a series of poorly proportioned earlier renovations that turned its rear into an "architectural mess," as Flack describes it. To draw sunlight deep into the home's interior and better showcase the owner's extensive art collection, the designer demolished these additions and replaced them with a smaller glass block lantern.
The double-height glass structure captures daylight from three directions while actually reducing the home's overall footprint by nearly ten square meters. This renovation created more outdoor space for the lush landscaping by Kate Seddon, which is now highlighted through new glass doors and windows with blackened steel frames. The glass block addition houses the living room, kitchen, and powder room, creating a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Flack drew inspiration from the famous Maison de Verre in Paris, designed by Bernard Bijvoet and Pierre Chareau in 1932, for his use of glass blocks in this project, which marked his studio's first foray into architecture. The team now has seven additional building projects in development. Throughout both the light-filled addition and the rest of the house, Flack implemented design ideas that amplify brightness and give the interior a distinctive glow.
The designer employed various strategies to maximize light throughout the home. Steel-framed windows and glass blocks also partially envelop the dining room and family room. Textured frosted glass gently illuminates marble-clad bathrooms. Lacquer in bright colors refreshes shadowy areas, including the walls, ceiling, and bar in the front room of the historic section, which has been transformed into a deep red cocktail lounge. The dark green dining room ceiling features a high-gloss surface that both captures and reflects the garden outside.
The original floor plan was quite formal, which meant many rooms remained largely unused by the more casually-living homeowner. Through strategic use of vintage, contemporary, and custom-made furniture, Flack transformed these spaces to serve specific new purposes. A double-sided "On the Rocks" sofa by Francesco Binfaré for Edra, for example, forms the center of the cozy library, which is painted in a rich ochre yellow. With two desks, it can now serve as a home office, studio, or party room depending on the occasion.
The new kitchen features a breakfast table with a custom-built bench, a very practical and comfortable addition where the family of four often dines in the evening. "As a hostess, I have a pretty relaxed style," the homeowner notes. "With my grown children, I like to keep things simple, but this house also has very comfortable spaces that provide a wonderful setting for larger celebrations with friends and family."
The kitchen showcases a spectacular array of materials: Breccia Capraia marble for the countertop and backsplash, a custom brass range hood, and floors of greenish terrazzo tiles with brown terrazzo, glass mosaic, and chocolate brown granite borders to complement the pale green lacquered cabinets. The custom bar island features an antique brass base and a walnut end-grain countertop. Throughout the space, vintage pendant lights from Vivai Del Sud illuminate a breakfast table by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, surrounded by rattan chairs designed by Vico Magistretti in 1992 for De Padova.
Another practical requirement was providing ample wall space for the owner's collection of contemporary art, mostly by Australian artists. Flack complemented this colorful diversity with unconventional design details, such as the triple border of the custom terrazzo floor in the kitchen and living room, and an original viewing platform that extends part of the first-floor hallway into the tall glass addition. "I think contemporary architecture works very well when it stands in clear contrast [to the historic building], but it's also important to integrate it," Flack explains.
Throughout the renovation, both old and new parts of the house received equal attention, but the project's real focus was optimizing daily life for the homeowner. The transformation included converting unused formal spaces into functional family areas, such as the ochre-painted library with its sculptural Edra sofa and side tables by Scotty Bemelen and Luca Recchia. Custom-made cabinets in a gray-toned guest room are crafted from black walnut and antique brass, while the main bedroom features twin chandeliers by Christopher Boots and luxurious finishes including Stucco Veneziano and plush carpeting by Halcyon Lake.
The bathrooms showcase equally impressive material selections. The main bathroom features Palladiana (rough broken stone terrazzo) flooring, while Breccia Capraia marble forms the luxurious baseboards and vanity with elegant stainless steel drawer fronts. A guest bathroom combines honey-colored onyx for a custom ensemble of sink, mirror, and wall cladding, topped with stone-gray Stucco Veneziano from Porters Paints. Milk glass blocks allow natural light into another guest bathroom, where Tavoire marble was used for the sink, wall cladding, mirror frame, and floor with Crema Perla marble trim.
"This house represents David's ability to combine style and sophistication with a touch of humor, surprise, and personality," the homeowner reflects. "There's nothing precious about it." The new cocktail lounge exemplifies this approach, featuring custom antique brass cabinetry for displaying racing trophies, while Porter's Paints high-gloss "Red Lantern" color covers the walls, ceiling, and white oak bar with onyx top. Vintage rattan bar stools by Tito Agnoli for Bonacina from the 1950s complete the dramatic space.
The project successfully balances preservation of the home's 1930s character with modern functionality and light-filled living. Kate Seddon's lush garden design, visible through the large new steel-framed windows, provides a verdant backdrop that changes with the seasons. "It was important that the garden shows its best side right there," notes Flack, whose thoughtful integration of indoor and outdoor spaces has created a home that serves both intimate family moments and larger entertaining occasions. The result is a residence that proves contemporary architecture can honor historic character while dramatically improving livability and bringing much-needed sunlight into every corner.
