Artist Impresssions
Elements of light and nature mingle in a unique home and studio design
Words>Louise Clifton-Evans, Photography>Mark Taylor

Anne Saunders and Doug Wright would never build a home again without an architect. The two artists built a house in the early 1990s on the outskirts of Ballarat using their own designs. But when it came to building their latest abode, on a bush block three years ago, they had the help of architect Russell Madin, of Madin Lyons Associates, in Ballarat.

"The difference is unbelievable," Anne says. "There is no comparison when it comes to the best utilisation of space and light. "And we like the fact that the house design is so unusual. It is more unique and unusual than anything we could create ourselves." Their new home offers a studio hidden behind a 2m long industrial sliding door off the living area.

"We would never have thought of something like that (the sliding door)," Anne says. "It allows our work to be seen in a domestic setting, and we can easily interchange paintings on walls in our living spaces, like you would in a gallery."

A south facing clerestory window in the studio provides a constant light source. Anne, a visual arts coordinator at the university of Ballarat Arts Academy, paints abstract works in acrylic and mixed media and Doug, a part time lecturer in art at the university, creates abstract landscapes in oil paints. Their works are sold from Green-wood Gallery (www.green-woodgallery.com) in South Melbourne.

When it came to decorating, Anne and Doug decided on neutral cream tones for the walls to ensure nothing detracted from their artwork. There's only one exception - a grey feature wall in the lounge room. There are accent colours of chocolate brown in the lounge suite, and darker brown leather cushions offer a subtle colour contrast. A raised polished-concrete hearth in the living/dining area is decorated with dark-brown Japanese stools and Japanese-inspired cushions in burgundy and green. Other Japanese influences include ornaments and shadow puppets.

Anne and Doug also like the unusual combination of rendered brick, wood and corrugated iron used by the architect. And a clerestory window in the rendered brick wall fronting the street offers a further point of difference. "Compared to other homes, the design looks back to front from the street. But as our native garden has grown over the years, the house blends in with the bush and the bush blends in with the house," Anne says.

"We love the way the house interacts with the environment with its huge feature windows." In a lovely quirk, the concrete floor shows imprints of leaves that fell during its formation. "As painters, we are mark makers and it is lovely to see nature come and make its mark in our home," Anne says. She also appreciates the wood-veneer timber grain of the cupboards juxtaposed against the stainless steel appliances and grey glass splashback in the kitchen. A seperate pantry, which contains the fridge, acts as an appliance cupboard.

"We are really enjoying the spaces that have been custom-designed for our needs," Anne says. "If we were to ever build again, we know we will be going straight to an architect for the design."