Casa Piva: A Melbourne Home Grounded in Raw Concrete

Two Courtyards Deep

From the laneway, Casa Piva gives almost nothing away. A modest timber door opens onto the first in a series of courtyards, an entry sequence that builds anticipation before revealing the home beyond, in the way of an Italian villa. Built by architect Andrew Piva as his own family home, the project draws on B.E. Architecture’s design language and Piva’s own Italian heritage.

What unfolds beyond the entry is a compact, carefully resolved home built on restraint. Piva kept the material list short and let each one earn its place: soft chalk-toned brickwork, travertine flooring, oak-toned timber joinery, and Raw Concrete™ from the Caesarstone^® ICON™ collection through the kitchen and bathroom. Each material was chosen for how it will age, not simply how it first appears.

A Kitchen Built From a Reduced Palette

The kitchen sits at the centre of the home, its oak-toned timber panelling running floor to ceiling and wrapping the room in warmth. Set within it, a Raw Concrete island anchors the space. Its soft grey surface and mitred edge ground the timber with a quieter, more industrial texture, a deliberate contrast that keeps the room from feeling one-note.

A sculptural pendant hangs low over the island, and the joinery continues unbroken into the adjoining dining space, where a timber dining table sits beneath the same panelling. Repeating a single joinery finish across both rooms lets the spaces read as one continuous gesture, while the concrete-toned benchtop provides the quiet counterpoint that holds it all together.

Quiet Corners, Considered Details

Beyond the main kitchen, the material palette continues into the home’s supporting spaces. Timber panelling wraps into the corner of the kitchen, where a slim Raw Concrete bench, detailed with a mitred edge reinforces the crisp, monolithic detailing.

The same surface extends across adjoining work areas, allowing the materials to carry naturally from one space to the next rather than changing with each function. It is a subtle gesture, but one that reflects the discipline behind the project. Every detail has been carefully resolved, ensuring the spaces used every day feel just as considered as those on display.

Where Raw Concrete Found Its Place

Raw Concrete carries the softest grey splashes mixed with textured flecks of black and white, a finish built for a classic, urban aesthetic. Applied across the kitchen island, corner bench and pantry benchtops, Raw Concrete creates a quiet through-line that continues into the bathroom, tying the home’s more expressive materials together.

In the bathroom, the same surface frames an inset bath, its clean edge set against dark, ribbed tiling. Where the kitchen pairs Raw Concrete with warm oak, the bathroom sets it against a cooler, moodier palette, proof of how one surface can shift tone from room to room without losing its identity.

A Surface Built for Everyday Living

The success of Raw Concrete lies in its quiet versatility. Its matte concrete finish introduces a subtle industrial note that grounds Casa Piva’s palette without overpowering it. As part of the Caesarstone^® ICON™ advanced mineral surfaces collection, it is crafted from a blend of natural minerals and recycled materials, and formulated without crystalline silica*. Built to resist scratches, stains and heat, it offers the durability required for a home designed to be lived in for decades, backed by a Lifetime Warranty.

*May contain traces of up to 1% crystalline silica.

A Home That Feels Balanced

Casa Piva demonstrates that memorable homes don’t always rely on grand gestures. Through a restrained material palette and thoughtful repetition, it creates richness that reveals itself over time. The result is a home that feels calm and private throughout, generous in ways that aren’t immediately apparent from the discreet laneway where it’s hidden. On a modest footprint, B.E. Architecture has proven that restraint, applied carefully, can still feel like abundance.

Architecture & Interior Design: B.E. Architecture
Photography: Timothy Kaye