Designer Series | Giving a heritage home a soulful edge

“For me, selecting materiality is like choosing your favourite restaurant: it’s not just about how it looks, but how the environment shapes your experience, your energy, and the way you move through the space,” explained Arty.

The soul of Hardys Street house is best captured in its luxurious and bold use of stone surfaces from the Smartstone Sintered Collection, a range of authentic recreations of marble in UV-stable sintered stone.

The dramatic, burgundy-veined Calacatta Viola is the defining feature in key areas of the home, bringing a soulful edge to the kitchen, living room and bathroom. Creating an impactful statement, Calacatta Viola is used as island, benchtops, and splashback surface material for the kitchen, fully capturing maximum light and warmth of the sun coming through the glass doors and gable windows.

Calacatta Viola also serves as a striking architrave that links the hall entrance to the living room area where the sintered stone surface is showcased as cabinetry panel for stunning media console as well as the mini bar. Its rich veining continues into the wet areas as vanity benchtop and cabinetry in the bathrooms.

Offering a lighter, complementary contrast, Bellini Bianco was chosen for the elegant outdoor kitchen, laundry benchtop, and the master ensuite vanities, ensuring luxury extends seamlessly throughout the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Arty explained that the consistency of Smartstone sintered stone finishes, colour accuracy, and durability of the product all help achieve the level of detail and refinement AFD Studio is known for.

“What I enjoyed most about this project was the collaborative process and the opportunity to shape spaces that feel emotionally resonant. We were intentional with every detail from joinery proportions to the placement of stone to ensure the home feels cohesive and beautifully resolved,” she added.

In Hardys Street, AFD Studio delivered a space that is not only functional and beautiful but also emotionally grounded, a place of genuine heart and style.