A

love of “the unexpected ” has long enticed avid

art collector Ken Mispelhorn. Little wonder then,

that Ken loves the inspired transformation of

his single-fronted Victorian terrace in Melbourne’s

inner north.

SituatedaneasywalkfromtheCBDandtheuniversity

that his son Hugo attends, the home’s unassuming heritage

facade belies the fact that its light-drenched interior is

brimmingwithsurprises.“Ontheoutside,itlookslikeall

theotherterracesonthestreet,”saysKen.“Whenyouwalk

in,thereisalongnarrowhallwaythat’stypicalofVictorian

terraces,butthenitallchanges.Ibelievethatahouseneeds

to have personality because it isyour house and you gravitate

towards things for a reason.”

WhenKenfirststeppedinsidethecompacttwo-bedroom

abode four years ago, it wasn’t exactly his dream home.

“There was green-grey everywhere; on the carpet, even the

walls,”hesays.“ButIlovedthelocation,thelayoutandI

couldseethehousehadpotential.Itjustneededanew kitchen

and bathroom, as well as some personality.”

Ken engaged architect Fiona Dunin of FMD A rchitects to

add life to the house. “We didn’t change the footprint of the

home;itwasallaboutcosmeticchanges,”saysFiona.“And

Ken’s fantastic art collection was the trigger for much of

what we did.”

Atimelesspaletteofcrispwhite,timberandstoneprovides

aneutralbackdropforKen’sart.Overlayingthisiseye-

catchingcustom-madejoinery,mostofwhichfeatures

dowelsinvariousforms,includingcolourfulcoatpegs,

shelving supports and display walls. Then there’s the

showstopper: a colour-dipped timber-dowel chandelier

suspendedfromalightwellabovethediningtable.

“There’s an unfolding story and the timber installation

isabigpartofthenarrative,”saysFiona.“Wewantedto

blurtheboundarybetweenthedecorativeandfunctional

elementsofthehome.”Plentyofshelving,themirrored

splashback and island base, and an innovative display wall

above the kitchen act as an ever-evolving gallery for Ken’s

art,whichhebegancollecting40yearsago.

Withthevisionforhishomenowrealised,Kencouldn’t

be happier. “A lot of time and work went into this house and

it’s pretty close to perfect for me.” >

FMD Architects, Melbourne, Victoria; (03) 9670 9671 or

http://www.fmdarchitects.com.au.

‘We wanted to blur the boundary between the decorative and functional

elements of the home.’Fiona Dunin, architect