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Raw and Redefined: Inside a Reimagined Brutalist Brisbane Home
This Brisbane home reimagines traditional brutalism in a way that’s equal parts sculptural, serene and warm.
A first glance at Elystan reveals a glorious fusion of tactile materials, an earthy palette, curved motifs, streams of natural light and an abundance of lush greenery. Principal of Samantha Leigh Interiors, Samantha Leigh, sums up the New Farm home’s unique style as tropical brutalism.
While at first the concept of tropical brutalism may seem paradoxical, it’s the innate contradictions that make this architectural approach so striking. A collaboration between Tim Stewart Architects, landscape designers Wild Studio and Samantha Leigh Interiors, the home is a testament to a vision realised.
Merging the raw concrete and geometric lines of traditional brutalism with a distinct softness was the team’s biggest challenge and was overcome by considered palettes, materiality, and an intention to balance rawness without tipping into austerity.
“Our role as the interior designer was to help balance that out and introduce softness throughout,” Samantha explains. She adds, “Every material decision was made in direct response to the concrete.”
“The board-formed concrete is a strong presence, but we counterbalanced it with materials that are warm and tactile by nature: Venetian plaster, hand-chiselled limestone, travertine, and layered textiles,” Samantha elaborates.
Another way the starkness of the strong and linear brutalist elements was balanced was via the introduction of curves. “We carried that language through internally, focusing particularly on the staircase and other key transitions through the home. They are used sparingly though. We didn’t want curves everywhere. The intention was for them to feel considered and deliberate rather than decorative,” shares Samantha.
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“The board-formed concrete is a strong presence, but we counterbalanced it with materials that are warm and tactile by nature: Venetian plaster, hand�chiselled limestone, travertine, and layered textiles.” — Samantha Leigh
Referencing key brutalist features and merging them with soft accents was key to ensuring the architecture and interiors spoke the same language. Naturally, this required a significant number of bespoke designs.
“All the joinery is bespoke. The sculptural concrete bath was designed and made specifically for this space: we wanted something deeply textural, and it has a beautiful pitting detail that required considerable prototyping to achieve,” she shares. “Many of the light fittings are custom, as are many of the furniture pieces. It is a large home, and it naturally called for pieces made to suit its scale,” Samantha continues.
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In addition to materiality, natural light was another way the team softened the brutalist elements of the build. Samantha explains, “The clients had lived opposite the site before purchasing it, which meant they knew the block intimately, including how the light moved through it across the day and how the garden would feel at different times of year.”
“The house was designed around the light, and also around providing privacy for its occupants. Throughout the day the light shifts quite beautifully, particularly in the late afternoon. The extended garden beds at roof level help protect the interior from Queensland’s harsher sun. We were deliberate about not over-illuminating the rooms artificially, and the bespoke lighting throughout was designed to complement the natural light rather than compete with it.”
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While for many, the kitchen forms the heart of the home, the brief for this build was to centre the home on the garden, with the pool and the central lawn as the physical anchor. For Samantha, this tied the philosophy of the home together, which she sums up as “A home confident in its materiality, generous in how it lives, and deeply connected to the landscape around it.”
“The house was designed around the light, and also around providing privacy for its occupants. Throughout the day the light shifts quite beautifully, particularly in the late afternoon.” — Samantha Leigh
As for favourite spaces, there’s no competition. “The garden room is the space I keep coming back to. It opens completely on three sides, and when the doors stack back, the travertine crazy paving runs continuously from inside to out with no visible threshold between the room and the landscape. In winter it does the complete opposite: curtains drawn, fire lit, completely cocooned. The range that room has within the same four walls is something I find genuinely beautiful.”
Project Credits
Interior Design and Interior Architect: Samantha Leigh Interiors
Stylist: Jack Milenkovic
Exterior Architecture: Tim Stewart Architects
Landscape: Wild Studio
Photography: Dave Wheeler
Loved touring this restored heritage home and looking for more inspo? Have a look at this home, designed to highlight the history of the building, as well as these bold and beautiful holiday apartments.
