Tour a Warm Modern Home Inspired by Family Bonds and Anime Film
Watch and read how an architect in Australia designed an indoor-outdoor home for play, work and togetherness
Mitchell Parker
August 27, 2021
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Architect Clinton Cole had been watching a lot of Japanese animation films with his kids when a couple approached him for help renovating their home. Cole observed how much the couple, who work from home, loved spending time playing, studying and eating together with their children. “They have a very, very strong bond,” Cole says.
And that brought to mind the anime film My Neighbor Totoro. Its themes of family relationships, friendships and nature seemed to especially encapsulate the feeling the couple were going for in their home. Cole channeled that into a bright and open modern family home with an indoor-outdoor floor plan that encourages playful family togetherness.
And that brought to mind the anime film My Neighbor Totoro. Its themes of family relationships, friendships and nature seemed to especially encapsulate the feeling the couple were going for in their home. Cole channeled that into a bright and open modern family home with an indoor-outdoor floor plan that encourages playful family togetherness.
A flat, modern roof curves around the courtyard, picking up the circle motif of the windows, and wings out over a small seating area that’s partially blocked from the neighbors by hanging vines. Designing and constructing the roof to bend turned out to be trickier than Cole had thought. “I like to call it the ‘very easy to draw’ roof” and the ‘really bloody hard to build’ roof,” he says.
The roof elevates the look of the home but also allows the sun to heat the concrete and tile flooring during the winter, so the flooring can radiate the heat out at night. In the summer, the roof shades the materials from the sun to keep the house cool.
The openness of the home allows the family members to feel connected to one another no matter where they are or what they’re doing.
Watch now: Go inside this modern Australian family home on Houzz TV
The roof elevates the look of the home but also allows the sun to heat the concrete and tile flooring during the winter, so the flooring can radiate the heat out at night. In the summer, the roof shades the materials from the sun to keep the house cool.
The openness of the home allows the family members to feel connected to one another no matter where they are or what they’re doing.
Watch now: Go inside this modern Australian family home on Houzz TV
The kitchen, near the front of the home, cascades down from a wood floor to a tiled living area. The wood floor and wood slatted island wrap around a circular dining table that sits on a round polished concrete section.
Cole intended this to be like a fireplace hearth — a warm, inviting area of the home where the family could gather. “This house is always about the family,” he says. “And there was no better way to achieve that in a design sense than making the hearth of the house the central round dining table.”
Cole also says the circle theme here nods to the character Totoro, a lovable round woodland creature from the film that provided inspiration. “It’s like a warm hug of Totoro’s shape and belly,” the designer says.
That led to a circle motif used for windows throughout the home.
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Cole intended this to be like a fireplace hearth — a warm, inviting area of the home where the family could gather. “This house is always about the family,” he says. “And there was no better way to achieve that in a design sense than making the hearth of the house the central round dining table.”
Cole also says the circle theme here nods to the character Totoro, a lovable round woodland creature from the film that provided inspiration. “It’s like a warm hug of Totoro’s shape and belly,” the designer says.
That led to a circle motif used for windows throughout the home.
Find an architect near you
Various zones allow the family to interact in different ways but still feel like they’re doing their own separate things. Wood-and-glass doors slide open to blur the lines between indoors and out.
Wood cabinets provide storage along a side wall. The storage area “almost reads flush like a wall, so it’s part of the space but not something that’s intruding on the space,” Cole says.
Shop a curated collection of stylish living room furniture
Wood cabinets provide storage along a side wall. The storage area “almost reads flush like a wall, so it’s part of the space but not something that’s intruding on the space,” Cole says.
Shop a curated collection of stylish living room furniture
A courtyard sits just off the main living space.
Cole prefers to use wood window frames rather than aluminum because wood provides better thermal insulation, among other reasons. “Timber has a tactile quality to the material that impacts the way people feel about the space,” he says. “And there are acoustic benefits. It’s not so pitchy or tinny. Timber has that additional benefit of creating what’s like the body of a guitar.”
Cole prefers to use wood window frames rather than aluminum because wood provides better thermal insulation, among other reasons. “Timber has a tactile quality to the material that impacts the way people feel about the space,” he says. “And there are acoustic benefits. It’s not so pitchy or tinny. Timber has that additional benefit of creating what’s like the body of a guitar.”
The circular motif has been carried into the homeowners’ second-floor bedroom, where a window seat overlooks the courtyard below. A curved wooden door within the circle opens to the outside. The perch lets the homeowners relax while they can still observe the kids playing in the yard. “We basically put all our effort into that one element to create just a single special element for that room, rather than try to spread the cost and spread the budget around more thinly across the space,” Cole says.
Cole designed the courtyard and its shade structure to benefit from the movement of the sun throughout the morning and afternoon. “Apart from all the things that look good about architecture, it’s those very basic things — access to sunlight, ventilation and privacy, of course — which keep people in their homes for the long term,” he says.
The circular window seen here is the same window shown in the previous photo of the couple’s bedroom. Around it, a wire trellis provides anchorage for climbing vines.
The circular window seen here is the same window shown in the previous photo of the couple’s bedroom. Around it, a wire trellis provides anchorage for climbing vines.
At night, landscape lighting and uplighting wash the home in a cool glow. Behind the wire trellis, Cole hung string lights, creating an even cooler effect. “They last forever. They’re super cheap,” he says. “I’ve been trying to get fairy lights into a project for 20 years, and finally these clients said yes.”
Watch now: Tour this modern family home on Houzz TV
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Watch now: Tour this modern family home on Houzz TV
Shop now: Browse modern living room furniture
More on Houzz
Watch episodes of Houzz TV
Browse home design photos
Find a pro
Shop for products
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Such a stunning property and fun interview!
I love everything about this house. Brilliant design. Modern and warm and unique!
Anyone else curious about what the front of the house looks like? It's on the builder's website and is as cute as can be! "My Neighbor Totoro" happens to be my personal favorite Studio Ghibli movie. The home captures some of his whimsy. Love the clerestory windows and the living room cabinets. Oh, AND the fairy lights!!