This heritage-listed warehouse in Melbourne’s Princes Hill still retains its hallmarks. Once home to John Lawson Furniture, downstairs entailed furniture making, while upstairs the timber was treated. The history of this 1889 building can still be seen in the slightly faded letters of the proprietor’s name across a rear brick wall. For the owners, Mark, a photographer, and his wife Sal, a screenwriter, this warehouse provided an opportunity to scale down from a family home. “We wanted to retain the industrial aesthetic, but we also wanted a comfortable home, and importantly a separate studio for Sal. I also thought there was an opportunity to display my photography,” says Mark.
Fronting a laneway, and on a relatively modest parcel of land (approximately 180 square metres), the two-storey, triple-brick warehouse had been renovated in the 1980s by McIldowie Partners studio . A past adaption that included a white laminate kitchen and rudimentary partition loosely dividing the open-plan spaces……
Photography : Mark Chew
