It was when our long-time KING customers had their third child that they realised they had outgrown their home. They needed a bigger backyard with room for the children to kick a footy. And they ideally wanted a home with a view. 

After much searching they found a heritage listed shack located in the steepest street in Brisbane. The block of land ticked all the boxes. It had amazing views and had the potential – with the right team – to transform into their perfect home for family living. 

They welcomed us inside their home, Skyline, to share their insights on designing, building and styling a family home. 

Heritage charm, steep streets and sweeping views are just some of the characteristics of the Skyline home. 

The Skyline journey

Buying a heritage property comes with an added layer of complexity. This involved navigating local authority requirements on maintaining the heritage look of the front facade of the home. The backyard also needed to meet certain regulations. Once the relevant approvals were in place, they were fortunate enough to quickly find the right architect in Joe Adsett Architects. 

“We went to an open home of a house that Joe had designed and we loved all the finishes,” recalls Kylie. “We started going to all of his open homes. We loved the beautiful lines, amazing sense of quality and detail. We noticed the small details in his houses that we just didn’t see elsewhere.” 

National award-winning Architectural designer Joe Adsett. 

The journey to build Skyline took four years in total. The block was aggressively steep and required creating a flat, ground plane for the home. 

“The brief was to create a family home,” explains Joe. “Somewhere they could relax, unwind and entertain with friends. The way it stretches out in an L-shape, it really creates that separation of key living spaces but you're still connected to the lifestyle elements of the property, such as the pool.” 

This is what the couple love most about their home. They can stand at the kitchen bench with the doors open and watch the kids swimming while welcoming a beautiful breeze into the home. The spaces are separated but everything flows and feels connected. That balance of privacy and connection is something they know will become even more valuable as their children grow older.  

The kitchen and dining spaces seamlessly flow into the outdoor areas. Designs featured above include Cassia Bar Stool, Zaza Outdoor and Quay Ceramic Dining Table.  

Form meets function

Joe explains that form – or the aesthetics of the home – and function – or the lifestyle and functional needs of the client – are often competing priorities.  

“Houses are designed to be lived in,” he says. “But equally they need to be beautiful. We really see it as a skill of the architect to try and merge those two ideas and have them exist in harmony. 

“For each home we design, we need to understand the very unique intricacies of the block of land. Then we need to drill down with the client and understand what they’re trying to achieve.” 

The owners both agree that finding the right team for the project, including the architect, is a crucial piece in delivering on the vision. From orienting the building to reducing energy consumption to building functional spaces to contain family clutter, the right architect designs for both the functional and the aesthetic. 

“Joe had kids a similar age to ours, so he would often ask questions like, ‘where are we going to store the pool toys?’,” explains the Skyline owners. “We wouldn’t have necessarily thought of those types of things but Joe did.” 

“We were guided by Joe not to have too many heroes in the house design. The result was a really functional home that will be contemporary for many years to come.”

King Cove Sun Lounges by the poolside offer the perfect spot for relaxing.

Practical furniture with timeless appeal

When Joe shared the design renders of the home with Kylie and Anthony, he included KING furniture. Unbeknownst to him, the Hendersons were already KING customers. 

“From this moment, we started to visualise the house with King furniture in it. We knew that King furniture was contemporary, functional, stylish and durable.” 

The KING appeal was also in the flexibility it offered. 

“We’re quite spontaneous people so to be able to move our Jasper Sofa around just made sense. We can have it as an L-shaped modular or as two separate wings. If we have family or friends come over, we can also turn it into a bed. For us, it was a really easy decision.” 

The Skyline living space with a Jasper Sofa and Nomad Rug .

One of the biggest challenges facing the family was how to fill the spaces in the home and still connect each space with design, colour and texture. They wanted to work with the beautiful natural elements of the home and create a flow throughout without being too “matchy matchy.” 

Engaging an interior designer,  a close family friend, helped guide the couple on choices throughout the process. 

“Our interior designer Gail had a great relationship with King. We would often meet her there to go through colours and choices. We developed a level of trust with the team at the KING Showroom as they got to know our family and understood our needs.” 

In the outdoor living space, the family has a Zaza Sofa, a sofa that Kylie says is the “most comfortable couch on the market.” They also love the flexibility of the Fleur Sofa with backrests that can adjust for comfort or to maximise the view. 

The outdoor dining space is finished with the Quay Ceramic Dining Table, Luna Outdoor Dining Chair and Luna Outdoor Chairs. 

When a house becomes a home

Beautiful design and timeless furniture are one thing, but the owners agree that it’s the sounds of laughter and chatter from her family that make the house a home. 

It’s a sentiment echoed by Joe. 

“Houses need to be designed to be lived in, first and foremost,” he says. “Too many times we see houses that are designed like art galleries and museums but the primary purpose of a house is a vessel to be lived in.” 

Skyline captures the essence of modern Australian living. The indoors flows seamlessly to the outdoors creating intimacy and ease in the Henderson family lifestyle. From intricate nooks and crannies to the communal living and entertaining spaces, this is a home truly designed for family living. 

For more design inspiration, discover the King Living 2023 Collection or watch the behind the scenes filming with Neale Whitaker.  

For home design inspiration follow Joe Adsett Architects on Instagram.