Arched doorways, sculptural chimneys and a pyramid-shaped roof are among the quirky details that architecture studio Kennedy Nolan has used to add character to this east Melbourne home.

Deepdene House is located in a suburban neighbourhood filled with Edwardian properties and verdant gardens. Kennedy Nolan describes its appearance as "roofs and chimneys emerging from lush tree canopies".

The Melbourne studio responded by designing a house that draws on Arts and Crafts architecture ? a style that overlapped with the Edwardian era ? through its combination of crafted materials and decorative forms.
Other details used to create this aesthetic include white-painted brickwork, a patterned semi-transparent wall and a swimming pool lined with vibrant blue tiles.
"We were asked to be considerate of the neighbours, who were very attached to the Edwardian character of the street," explained the design team, which is led by architects Patrick Kennedy and Rachel Nolan.

"In finding a workable model, we looked to the Arts and Crafts movement and its proto-modernist philosophies," they continued.
"Many of our architectural interests aligned with the ideas and aesthetics of the movement: expressive function, picturesque planning, and the exposition of the crafts of building."

The house replaces another building that the clients had lived in previously, before briefly moving away. They found that their last home couldn't cope with ...