Mornington Peninsula Renovation by Dunne

The intention was to create a home perfect for a dynamic family. It needed to withstand the practicalities of everyday life, to accomodate sandy feet off the beach and the coming and going of busy family life, but not at the expense of the feeling.

We wanted to capture the feeling of coastal life within the home, the soft ebb and flow and the slightly slower pace that the Mornington Peninsula encapsulates. There needed to be a simplicity to the space, for it to be refined yet effortlessly casual.

We pulled cues from the landscape the house sits within. The use of the green created a connection to the outdoors, but we wanted to do it in a way that showcased that green could act as a neutral.

Inspired by Saltbush, the coastal shrub that grows wild on the shores of the beach at the end of the road. Saltbush is the really rustic and unruly foliage that has an incredible soft, textural sliver-green hue. It reminds me of tea-tree but with the saturation dialled all the way down. There's something about that combination of the silver green and the honey coloured sandy banks that it grows out of, I guess that's nature doing our homework for us.

We selected materials that had muted qualities and a palette where colour was incorporated but with such dialled down saturation and a lack of contrast that is felt neutral and timeless.

Saltbush is an everyday retreat for a bustling family. It's refined yet effortless and the sense of simplicity balances out the chaos of the everyday.