Houzz Tour: The Power of Simple Shapes and Crayon Color
Comfort, style and sustainability are at the heart of this new home in Australia
Color and shape often determine how we organize the world around us. That’s certainly the case with this home in Adelaide, Australia, designed by architectural practice Grieve Gillett Andersen. Composed of a series of elemental shapes and saturated primary and secondary colors, Crayon House, as it is called, is all about smart simplicity. The design was driven by the client’s passion for sustainability, with an overarching idea that the simpler you make it, the more likely you are to use it.
“The [goal] was to create a modern home with simple, clean lines and compelling forms — to bring a sense of light and spaciousness with natural and colorful materials,” Andersen says. Though the build was driven in large part by the client’s passion for sustainability, she says there had to be both communal and private spaces that would grow with the family.
Crayon House is composed of two contrasting yet complementary forms that distinguish between private and public space. The wood structure at the front houses two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study and a powder room. The metal structure in the back accommodates an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area.
Access to the front door is via a wooden pathway along the side of the house that sits between the wood and the metal structures. The door opens to a glass entry that blurs the lines between inside and outside.
The private spaces are configured within the wood structure, to the right of the glass entry. Two bedrooms, separated by a study, are on the north side of the building where they take advantage of garden views and winter light. Both bathrooms and the utilities are on the south side.
High-level windows along the corridor can be opened, and an L-shaped, yellow-tinted window at the end of the structure creates interplays of light.
High-level windows along the corridor can be opened, and an L-shaped, yellow-tinted window at the end of the structure creates interplays of light.
The client drove the vivid color palette for the house right from the start of the project. Throughout the house, primary and secondary colors are bold and bright against white walls, and they are used to create vibrant, inviting spaces. “There is a playfulness between light and color that leaps and dances on the walls, roofs and doors depending on the change of seasons,” architect Tim Fenton says.
The bathrooms and utilities on the south side of the wood structure have reduced external windows to prevent heat loss, but internal windows and open doorways are able to borrow light.
The bold colors continue throughout the bathrooms. One shower is tiled with vibrant red and white squares, which are reflected in the circular mirror, as is the canary yellow window frame and sill.
The other bathroom also plays with colors and shapes. Royal blue woodwork is set against the sunshine yellow doors and light effects, while square and rhombus-shaped tiles abut each other on the walls around the vanity.
Countertop: Sleek Concrete 4003, Caesarstone
Countertop: Sleek Concrete 4003, Caesarstone
The glass entry connects the front and back of the house.
The metal building contains the public spaces: an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area with glass doors on the northern side that extend the living space outside. “The form flows outside onto multiple decks projecting out from the house, which are used for relaxing, swinging, bike riding, barbecues and beer-making experiments,” Andersen says.
There’s certainly no shying away from color here either. The kitchen has bright green countertops and backsplash that are softened by wood cabinets and trim and accented with dark green laminates.
Like the front structure, the rear building has a simple geometric form. “The solid and monochromatic main barn-shape forms were designed to balance the bright pops of color placed intentionally throughout the interiors and exteriors,” Andersen says.
The buildings are composed of raw materials that change with age, such as wood, galvanized metal and copper. In contrast to the saturated primary and secondary colors inside, the exterior has a warm, autumnal color palette of yellow, orange and red. “It complements the natural materiality of the [wood], especially as it turns silver and gray with age over time,” Andersen says.
Siding and roof: Finesse Nailstrip in Windspray by Colorbond, Fielders
The buildings are composed of raw materials that change with age, such as wood, galvanized metal and copper. In contrast to the saturated primary and secondary colors inside, the exterior has a warm, autumnal color palette of yellow, orange and red. “It complements the natural materiality of the [wood], especially as it turns silver and gray with age over time,” Andersen says.
Siding and roof: Finesse Nailstrip in Windspray by Colorbond, Fielders
The structures surround a low-maintenance lawn and garden with herbs, vegetables and plants that attract birds. “The garden design [by WAX Design] circles the house, creating lovely backdrops, vistas and functional zones,” Fenton says.
Retractable sails and shades installed along the northern side allow for maximum winter solar exposure to warm up the concrete slab.
Shades: Soltis retractable, SunBlinds
Retractable sails and shades installed along the northern side allow for maximum winter solar exposure to warm up the concrete slab.
Shades: Soltis retractable, SunBlinds
“Environmental considerations proved to be very important for the project, and the question the clients often asked was: Would the sustainable elements make it less enjoyable as a family home?” Fenton says.
For sustainability, comfort and functionality, the new house was oriented to the north to provide as much light exposure as possible and to optimize winter solar gain. The eaves were reduced to maximize the winter sun, while windows and walls that open provide cross-ventilation and cooling, and the metal siding on plywood reflects the summer sun.
Siding: Shiplapped Pacific Teak with oiled finish, Woodform Architectural
For sustainability, comfort and functionality, the new house was oriented to the north to provide as much light exposure as possible and to optimize winter solar gain. The eaves were reduced to maximize the winter sun, while windows and walls that open provide cross-ventilation and cooling, and the metal siding on plywood reflects the summer sun.
Siding: Shiplapped Pacific Teak with oiled finish, Woodform Architectural
Red horizontal and vertical outdoor shades provide sun protection over the large deck area in summer. In addition, a 11,000-gallon tank hidden below the front yard supplies water for the house and garden, and automated irrigation reduces water use.
Crayon House demonstrates that simple can certainly be better. Going to back to basics, the family home is sustainable, comfortable, functional and — best of all — colorful.
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Crayon House demonstrates that simple can certainly be better. Going to back to basics, the family home is sustainable, comfortable, functional and — best of all — colorful.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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Who lives here: A family of three
Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Size: 2,153 square feet (200 square meters); two bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Architect: Grieve Gillett Andersen
Project Team: Dimitty Andersen (director), Tim Fenton (senior architect), Samuel Jeyaseelan (graduate of architecture), Garth Davos (technician)
Crayon House sits on a quiet street in Goodwood, a neighborhood of Adelaide. The project involved demolishing an existing residence to build a new house, one that would fit in with the streetscape of varying heritage and character dwellings.
“With pitches and points, spaces and setbacks, and rhythms in harmony, the house has a lively conversation with its surrounding street companions but has a language that’s warm and familiar,” says Dimitty Andersen, director at Grieve Gillett Andersen.