My whirlwind tour of Sydney was a blast! Or should I say, blast from the past given the amount of mid-century house tours we squeezed into the weekend.
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| I've sneakily composed this photograph to edit out the scaffolding that was on the front of the building. The home is continually maintained. |
One of the many, many highlights of my trip was visiting the
Rose Seidler House for the first time. It is well-worth the trip to Wahroonga to see one of Australia's best preserved forms of mid-century architecture.
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| State of the art kitchen for 1950 which cost more to fit out than the rest of the house. |
Designed by Vienna-born architect Harry Seidler for his mother Rose, the Bauhaus-inspired house was ahead of its time in post-war Australia; built between 1948-50 in a time of austerity and building restrictions. It was considered such an oddity that uninvited visitors lined the driveway to marvel at this futuristic house.
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| Hardoy chairs against the modernist mural backdrop |
The modernist home is now a museum managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and is open to the public (admission is a small fee) on Sunday between 11am to 4pm.
I'd be reinventing the wheel by writing about this home in too much detail, so instead I'll just refer you to the far more comprehensive guide book to the home
here if you want to know more.
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| Saarinen and Eames furniture were brought out from New York where Harry Seidler had been working |
Rose Seidler house is a timeless piece of architecture. For the uninitiated, the house exterior could be mistaken for a contemporary home rather than a house of the 1940s. With the interior, the use of large glass windows, the open-plan living and the selection of materials and furnishings...squint (and ignore the kitchen) and you could be in 2013.
What a lovely weekend you've had! I would love to replicate your weekend myself!....but not in a Matt blatt sort of way :0
ReplyDeleteYou had me at that cool ramp up to the house. The rest of these beautiful photos were icing on the cake! How great to be able to see the house in person!
ReplyDeleteChecking out Rose's house in the flesh is high on my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love! Hope you had a great weekend :)
ReplyDeleteHave to say I really enjoy seeing people restoring/maintaining/preserving modern architecture, just as much as older period architecture. Thanks for bringing the South visually to the North :-) Cheers, Col
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely gorgeous house!!! It must have been so much fun to see it in real life! Thanks for showing us:-)
ReplyDeleteI think I would cry if I saw Rose Seidler house in the flesh. There are some places on the planet that have brought me weak at the knees, if not to tears ... the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, The Guggenheim in New York ... I think Rose Seidler House would be the same. She's like a piece of art. Lucky you.
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