Park Street House
Brunswick West
A single-level post-war brick house in Brunswick West, renovated, extended and reorganised around one decisive move: the middle living room was removed and a planted courtyard put in its place, so the house now circulates around a garden. Timber sliding doors stack away into concealed pockets, and when they are fully open the garden takes prominence over the house itself, the condition this picture catches at dusk. Bricks salvaged from the original home are reused in the dining area, and the new work is clad in timber shiplap boards.
The clients asked for a home that pushes its people outside to live, where a deck under trees is the norm rather than the exception. Inside is Victorian ash and Tasmanian oak, honey-coloured timber wrapping the kitchen's joinery, and terrazzo accents; the garden is by Straw Brothers, planted with lightwood wattle, Japanese aralia and native violets. Seventy7 Projects built it. The house was shortlisted at the 2025 Houses Awards and in the Dezeen Awards 2025, and the photographs are Derek Swalwell's.
Michael Ong Design Office
The Melbourne practice of director Michael Ong, based in North Melbourne and working across architecture and interiors under the shortened name MODO. The project team on this house was Michael Ong himself, with the practice writing plainly that the most captivating spaces in a home are not always enclosed by four walls, a floor and a roof.
Architecture MODO (@modo_arch). Builder @seventy7projects. Landscape design @strawbrothers. Engineering @r.i.brown. Styling @natjstyling.
The picture comes from this post on Instagram, with more in a second and a third post.
Researched August 2026. I credit each piece as carefully as I can; if you know more about this one, message me on Instagram.