Architect Builds A Tiny Brick Home With a Courtyard at Its Heart (House Tour)

Located in Box Hill, Victoria, Naples Street House is a tiny brick home. One of the owners is a keen dancer and consequently, the home sets the scene for a harmonious performance with rooms and outward connections to the landscape.
The house tour illustrates how this tiny brick home occupies a small footprint on its site, embracing an intimate relationship with the landscape. In a suburb where interwar-era houses are slowly disappearing, the home, which sits alongside narrow townhouses, provides the street with an unconventional visual intervention - an outcome driven by the clients’ aspirations.
For architect Kim Bridgland, director of Edition Office, this tiny brick home offers sanctuary. “The house is located within a dense suburban street and is designed to focus inwards, around an inner courtyard garden room,” he explains. The courtyard house typology stemmed from the brief for a multigenerational home. Exploring the type of design, decor and floor plan suitable for such occupancy led the team to a design that separates the home’s spaces in a way that allows them to remain visually connected through an inner garden room yet hidden from public sight, as depicted in the house tour.
An axial hallway connects sightlines from the front entry to the rear garden and splits the living areas from the bedrooms and bathrooms while leading to a north-facing living, kitchen and dining space. Further into the dwelling is the central garden room and a secluded lounge with fully glazed walls that open to the landscape. The interior design and architecture of this tiny brick home are harmonious, with materials such as stainless steel, timber, concrete and brick, which the architects have blended seamlessly.
Given the kitchen’s prominence in the architecture, it was essential that the framework and its key elements align with the home’s overarching design rationale. In the kitchen of this tiny brick home, a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher and rangehood are built into the spotted gum plywood cabinetry that sits quietly within the interior design, highlighted in the house tour. A Fisher & Paykel cooktop sits flush within the sleek countertop, complementing the other materials and enhancing the overall approach to decor. Meanwhile, the bathroom also features a subdued palette and has been built with exceptional attention to detail.
While there is considered thinking behind every one of this tiny brick home’s elements, the house is designed for the lives within it. Staged for life’s changing routines, the home is flexible, indulges in dramatic moments and provides many places to pause and linger in the sun. As Kim says, Naples Street House is based on “theatre, movement, expression and performance”. The crisp, defined forms, clean lines and richly contrasting materials exemplify this inspiration.
00:00 - Introduction to the Tiny Brick Home
00:32 - The Location and The Brief
01:29 - A Walkthrough of the Home
02:52 - Creating A Sanctuary
03:45 - The Conceptualisation Process
04:10 - A Focus on the Kitchen
05:17 - The Material Palette
05:59 - Exciting Aspects
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Photography by Tasha Tylee.
Architecture, Interior design and styling by Edition Office.
Build by Format Group.
Landscape design by Florian Wild.
Filmed and edited by O&Co. Homes.
Production by The Local Project.
Location: Box Hill, Victoria, Australia
The Local Project acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land in Australia. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our country and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.
#Brick #Home #TheLocal Project

[@TheLocalProject]

We hope you enjoyed exploring the enchanting Naples Street House! This tiny brick home nestled in Box Hill, Victoria, is not just a dwelling but a stage for harmonious living and expression. For more of the latest and greatest in architecture, interior design and house tours, be sure to order a copy of Issue No. 14 of our print publication: thelocalproject.com.au/publication/issue-14

[@mathewhills8807]

Its a beautiful house but there is no way on gods green earth could you call it tiny. Theres five bedrooms for goodness sake

[@Achooah]

POOR!

[@nannesoar]

​@@Achooah😂

[@StevenCudnoch-oo9gp]

As an Architect, watching these Local Project videos.. it gets me every time when they take the moment to explain the moment you walk into the house as an opportunity to turn that simple moment into dialogue from Shakespeare.

[@chengkuowolf]

That’s the biggest really really small house I ever seen.

[@pierre.a.larsen]

It is a very nice house and really good architecture - the organization is perfect. The palette is subdued and beautiful. The minimalism creates such a calm space. But it is a very generously sized 4 bedroom house with two living rooms, study and laundry. It is very far from tiny at 280 m2 and a ground plan of 326 m2 with the courtyard. It is actually large. Larger than the already considerably sized average house in Australia of 183m2. Are you comparing it to a palace? The kitchen is 25 square meters - with the dining room (nook) it is nearly 50m2. Tiny? Limited footprint? Just checked, not April first yet.

[@gregpendrey6711]

Excellent review Pierre.

[@PhilippaRichard]

I have a 3 storey house, and the entire footprint is less that 50m2. In that space we have stairs, kitchen/ diner, office/ spare double bedroom and a shower room. 😅

[@epvs8373]

Por fin, alguien dice la verdad, sobre el significado de diminuto. Esta cuestión lleva a muchos a terapia, al oír esa palabra :)

[@milaprskalo5777]

This is a masterpiece of architecture. The garden including. Whoever does your music is a genius

[@jimandjudyc48]

The utter simplicity of this home is what makes it work so well for an extended family.

[@PiefacePete46]

I completely agree. As is often the case with elegant "simplicity", it is not necessarily simple to achieve.

[@gregpendrey6711]

Utter simplicity? What a virtue.

[@janelte]

Wonderful, private yet social, sculptural, linear but soft - one of the best examples of urban architecture I have seen. Nothing pretentious and everything elegant yet robust. I am really impressed.

[@inspiredidler]

So beautiful and calming ❤

[@MLA0686]

Gorgeous. That steel dining table on wheels is beautiful.

[@munzirshaikhoun5113]

It is quite cinematic. The picture frame openings are incredible! A sculptural strong exterior balanced out with a soft subtle interior. A work of art!

[@Leviticus01]

The quality of the internal finishes is pretty spectacular.

[@PiefacePete46]

Really great choices for the finishes everywhere.

[@kukasmog]

This is it chief, most elegant “tiny” house design I’ve seen so far. Mad props, something to be proud of.

[@saidsharifov2757]

love when modern homes have that mid-century modern touch in design. Very nice work has been done here thanks to designers and builders and client.

[@keithronson2624]

Guys take a bow! WOW! This one is for sure going in my Top 5 featured on TLP channel. Not too grand or OTT. Stunning and yet simple and so liveable as a family home. The quality in every aspect from design to materials are fantastic. Yes i would live there in a heartbeat. Superb. Thank you for bringing this home to the channel.

[@robkenyon6949]

Wow, this place is beautiful!

[@sfedde1]

Small footprint? It's huge! 😂.

[@breannakion9167]

Absolutely stunning!

[@JoeNielsen44]

Very simple and beautiful 😍

[@milzamnadar2120]

i humble myself everytime bc if tiny was that, idk what mine is

[@lawrenceolmos5040]

Bravo à l'agence d'architecture et merci !

[@TheSushmaHomeSellingTeam]

This is both innovative in concept and captivating in character. 👏🏼👏🏼

[@Skymenace]

It's been a long time since you posted such a great beauty. Amazing material selection and that calm environment it creates. Astonishing 🙌

[@tristanlee6538]

i love the blend between nature and home . the blending of inside out and the facade of brick give a strong presence and the choice of brick colouring was masterstroke compare to the rest of neighborhoods. it subtle but also stand out . beautiful design with very clean mid century modern design which is so hard to achieve when it look so clean . bravo

[@garyreneau6166]

that house is bigger than any house I've ever lived in. Hardly tiny.

[@TheStarsInHisHead]

Really, really stunning. Great job.

[@christopherholvenstot9624]

Beautiful! What is the engineering behind the brick roof?

[@user-bp2xq5iv4j]

This is beautiful and l love the minimalist simplicity of the design (John Pawson is my favorite contemporary architect) and materials and the indoor/outoor connections but do you Aussies have a different concept of scale than us Yanks? Because unless you're a Kardashian how exactly is 280 sq meters/3010 sq ft, incl 4 bedrooms, a "tiny" home? 😉

[@westlucygirl]

Lovely. i'd like to see a home like this with rounded, softened edges; no hard angles.

[@susanr5546]

Delightful space!

[@MJubeily]

An introvert's dream house

[@abolfazlg8666]

nice job on overall design idea !!!

[@andyvong9660]

Beautiful! Simple! Understated! 👏👏👏👏

[@valeriegueye9573]

Poetic

[@Alby911]

So cozy and cool 🙌

[@clubsobri]

It's a cool home. Very smart use of the space.

[@demicoli73]

Superb

[@petalparker5]

Love the simplicity.

[@bobspencer371]

beautiful, thanks local project for sharing

[@BillWoodillustrator]

Beautiful job guys. I live close by so I’ll endeavour to walk past it with the dog and admire it. 🎉

[@shufireda]

Amazing.

[@samuelkemeshi]

Absolutely love this house! The background music was a bit too loud in my opinion…made it difficult to hear what both gents were saying.

[@AlleyHarper]

I love it

[@Beatrice-wm6kk]

awesome house!

[@aspectxiv]

love this channel! question: did the sound / audio mixing change these past few videos? recently it feels too bass heavy.

[@gemellabaldini4259]

Great house, fantastic footage, but the background music is so loud and intrusive that it is almost impossible to fully appreciate the architecture and the atmosphere of it.

[@Axel_The_Axolotl]

🔥 🔥 🔥

[@robthewaywardwoodworker9956]

Reminds me of a commercial building trying, desperately, to be a home.

[@DZ60]

2:06 so...the bed is on the floor? and the books too? Did they run out of budget or something?

[@kennethbailey9853]

❤❤❤MY DREAM IS A CENTER COURT YARD. ❤❤❤❤

[@DM-pc4vs]

Best of all is the music. What is it? Thank you, from New York.

[@hotdigateee]

Song is called eleven hours a night

[@ivanklymenko]

🤩🤩🤩

[@BojanSakovic]

Tiny?

[@Sup90210]

🤘🤘

[@user-mm3jr3et7v]

The home looks like the perfect place to get mentally healthy on a therapy retreat. I'm not sure I want to live there, though.

[@gnarbeljo8980]

I'm missing a blueprint of the house to understand the layout, and the size of it is never specified. It's may be small-ish for thr number of people living there (?) but calling that kitchen small tells me it's not a small house at all. Lovely though, if everyones on board with absolute minimalism, no art, few posessions etc. I do love an atrium scheme and the wood ply is beautiful and the lines. Not a fan of long narrow corridors though.

[@pierre.a.larsen]

Search for: edition office box hill house Edition office is the name of the architect studio and box hill house is their name for the project. The first found link will lead you to pictures. One of them is the layout.

[@jsamaniego]

Minuscule I would say

[@gregpendrey6711]

I know. And it's the most beautiful Plain looking thing according to comments. Whaddya mokin?

[@wayneguy6043]

Nuttin’ like a huge guy named , Kim…..

[@kennethbailey9853]

How may we purchase photos of this Incredible Home?

[@luigichiodo]

"Tiny?" OMG, I have to agree with the comment consensus here. What architects and owners would have us believe this is a tiny home?

[@hebie666]

Remember when words meant things?

[@mede6195]

Where can I order the framed “not to be reproduced” art?

[@kunalpriti]

In my humble opinion, dark wood furniture and wall panels make small spaces look very heavy and even more smaller. If this were my home, I would prefer lighter finishes to enhance the spaces. Otherwise, a brilliant project!!

[@alan.interian]

Music?

[@wayneguy6043]

A small pool in the courtyard would have been ideal

[@Ericthegreat1483]

What is it about Australian architects and their over exaggerated vocabulary to describe the simplest of things 😅 beautiful home either way

[@andrewsemple692]

“We harvest the sky and borrow from this enormous extraordinary gum tree” 😂

[@laurapearson3370]

This is a large house, not "tiny"

[@sandrah5405]

I love looking at these homes but honestly, the utter rubbish spouted by the architects is really ridiculous. Do they even believe everything they waffle on about?

[@waimeagrl5142]

The exterior looks like a glorified prison.

[@Kaych0]

"Tiny" 😂 I suggest to consult some dictionary next time before posting.

[@justsubbingtochannellsilik9760]

This is top 5 Local Projects homes in my opinion. So simple elegant, well designed. That court yard is fantastic. Bravo Local Project for featuring this house, you never disappoint.

[@PiefacePete46]

"Simple" and "elegant" are the first two words that come to my mind, although "uncomplicated" might be a bit more flattering?

[@jamesmcdonald8534]

But no solar panels?