A Palette of
Permanence
The materials we return to — chosen for character, longevity, and the way they age.
Every project is specified on its own terms, but a studio has a language. These are the materials we find ourselves reaching for — honest, enduring, and considered for how they will read in five years, not on the first day.
Timber & Joinery
Hoop Pine Plywood
Australian plantation
A workhorse of considered joinery — pale, consistent, and honest. We leave edges exposed where the ply layers become part of the composition. Finished clear or hardwax oiled.
Used in Elm Grove, Kew East
American White Oak
FSC-certified, USA
Rift-sawn for directional grain consistency, quartersawn where dimensional movement matters. The studio default for wide-plank floors and benchtops where timber is asked to hold its own.
Joinery, flooring, benchtops
Victorian Blackbutt
Local hardwood
A Victorian native we return to for its tonal range — honey through to deep caramel — and its durability underfoot. Fire-resistant, wear-resistant, and beautifully grown.
Flooring, structural exposureStone & Composite
Honed Travertine
Italian, cross-cut
Naturally filled, honed to a soft matte. Warm in cool light, patient with time. We specify travertine for vertical surfaces where its softness and striation can read without being trafficked.
Wet walls, splashbacks
Calacatta Marble
Carrara, Italy
Reserved for single, considered moments — a vanity top, a splashback, a bath surround. Sealed on installation and maintained thereafter. The veining is the point.
Vanity, splashback
Polished Concrete
Cast in-situ
Cast on site where the slab allows, troweled and sealed. A continuous, monolithic surface that registers the life of the room — scuffs, patinas, water marks, all of it.
Draft House, FitzroyMetal & Hardware
Unlacquered Brass
Solid, not plated
Tapware, handles, hooks, edge details. Ages honestly with use — the patina is the point. We specify solid brass as standard; electroplated finishes will not outlive the warranty of the joinery they sit on.
The Luxe Retreat, Clayton
Brushed Stainless Steel
Marine grade
Cold, clean, and resolutely modern. Used for kitchen benches, joinery junctions, and rangehoods where we want the metal to recede rather than declare itself.
Elm Grove, Kew East
Blackened Steel
Hot-dipped, waxed
Used sparingly — shelf brackets, window mullions, fireplace details. Heat-patinated rather than painted, so the finish is an integral layer rather than a coating waiting to chip.
Structural details, fireplacesTile & Ceramic
Handmade Terracotta
European kiln-made
Kiln-made with natural variation — no two tiles alike, which is the character we specify them for. Used underfoot, on splashbacks, and increasingly as a feature in considered bathrooms.
Elm Grove bathroom, Kew East
Square Glazed Tile
Traditional, reinterpreted
A reference to tradition, done with intention. The coloured grout transforms the surface more than the tile itself — a small decision that changes the feel of the whole room.
Bathrooms, laundries
Zellige
Handmade, Morocco
Handmade, hand-glazed, set loose rather than machine-precise. Light catches each tile differently — which is why they cannot be photographed well, only experienced in the room.
Feature walls, splashbacksWall & Joinery Finishes
Lime Wash
Three-coat application
Applied in three coats by hand. Matte, porous, and alive — it shifts with light and humidity in a way paint cannot. We specify it for bedrooms and living spaces where the wall is part of the atmosphere.
Interior walls
Hardwax Oil
Penetrating oil + wax
Our default finish for timber joinery and flooring. Protects while allowing the grain to breathe, and — unlike polyurethane — repairable in place when the surface needs refreshing.
Timber joinery, flooring
Shellac (French Polish)
Applied by hand
Reserved for heritage restoration where the piece calls for it. Built up in successive coats, rubbed back between, and finished by hand — a slow process we don't shortcut.
Heritage joinery, cabinetryEvery project shapes its own brief — these are the materials we return to, not a prescription. If you are considering a build and would like to talk material, we would be glad to.
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