1973 House by Studio ab

There is a particular quality to homes shaped by personal history. A colour inherited from a grandparent’s house. A texture that recalls a particular room at a particular time. In the Melbourne home of Anny Benjamin, interior designer and founder of Studio ab, those references are deliberate. The 1973 house has been reworked, not replaced. Its original character held and reinterpreted through a material palette drawn directly from Benjamin’s own history.

The floor plan was reconfigured from a disjointed three-bedroom layout into four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dedicated office and an open kitchen and dining area. But the real work is in the surfaces. Sun-washed tones, handcrafted tiles, vintage furniture placed alongside custom joinery. Everything chosen for how it wears and ages, not how it photographs on a single day.

“Those memories carry a deep sense of nostalgia and warmth for me, shaping how I define home as something soulful, personal and layered with feeling.” – Anny Benjamin, Studio ab

Featured: Mackenzie Cream Sheepskin Rug

That layering is most legible in the living room, where a tiled fireplace, soft linen curtains and reupholstered vintage furniture build a dense material conversation. The shaggy pile of the Mackenzie Wool Rug in Cream adds a contrasting softness against the harder surfaces, its texture sitting naturally within the room’s accumulated character. In the primary bedroom, the gold tone of the Nelson Wool Rug in Dark Mustard picks up the warm thread that runs through the home. A red velvet dining booth, a built-in office sideboard, golden bathroom tiles from floor to ceiling. Each space holds its own material identity while referencing the same tonal story.

Featured: Nelson Dark Mustard Fine Cut Pile Rug

Benjamin describes designing her own home as guided by instinct rather than negotiation. Decisions made on feeling, memory and personal preference. The result is a home where past and present share the same surface. Every texture, every tone, every layer underfoot carries a reference point. Material memory, made visible.

Featured: Marlborough Natural Heavy Loop Pile Rug

Featured: Waikato Sage Abrash Dyed Rug

Credits
Interior Design & Interior Decoration: Studio ab
Editorial Styling: Studio ab
Electrical: Iota Electrical
Photography: Hunting Utopia
Videography: Rubin Utama

Project Partners
Burl Timber Veneer: Elton Group
Kitchen Hardware: Bankston Architectural
Rugs: Double Online
Bed: Create Estate
Bedding: In The Sac
Upholstery: Instyle