A Love Letter to Place

Every architect talks about sense of place; few make you feel it.

In 123 House, Neil Cownie distills three decades of family history, community connection, and mid-century form into a home that glows from within. Every curve, every colour, every surface holds a trace of the past — reimagined through proportion, tactility, and grace.

And if you think that sounds unexpected, wait until you spot who’s enjoying the front yard.

One: Born of Energy

For thirty years, this corner of Nedlands, Western Australia, thrummed with motion. The family who lived here ran their Ampol service station with warmth and care. It was a place where engines were refuelled and stories exchanged. When architect Neil Cownie was asked to design their new home on the same site, he didn’t erase that history; he translated it. The result is 123 House; a place where energy is transformed, not lost.

Two: Shaped by Light

Light is the true architect here. Morning glows through coloured glass, petrol blues on the ground floor, engine-oil ambers above, bathing the terrazzo in liquid radiance. At noon, the arcs and circular cutouts cast shifting shadows, tracing time across walls like a sundial of craft. By afternoon, golden tones catch the rich finish of Fresh Concrete, revealing its quiet depth.

This is mid-century philosophy at its finest, showing proportion over pastiche, optimism over ornament. Cownie’s palette balances warmth and discipline: sandy brickwork, acoustic panels, terrazzo, oak, and the gentle grey of Fresh Concrete, chosen for how it receives light rather than reflects it. It’s the architecture of composure and surfaces that age beautifully, built for touch, not theatre.

Three: Grounded in Legacy

Every detail speaks to the site’s story. The custom dining table, with its circular legs stacked like tyres, quietly nods to the property’s former life as a family-run petrol station. Outside, a letterbox perched playfully on a suspension spring offers a touch of light-hearted nostalgia — movement reinterpreted as charm. Even the balustrade, with its pattern of wheel-like spokes, recalls motion frozen mid-turn. Yet the house never lapses into sentimentality; it breathes instead.

This surface introduces subtle depth and tactility to the space, complementing the ribbed cabinetry, brushed nickel tapware, and layered textures. If Fresh Concrete™ whispers, Alpine Mist™ speaks with quiet confidence. Like its counterpart, it is crystalline silica-free* and comes with a lifetime warranty, ensuring performance without compromise.

Fresh Concrete™, part of the Caesarstone^® ICON™ Advanced Mineral Surfaces Collection, embodies that same evolution: handcrafted performance with soul. Crystalline-silica-free*, non-porous, heat and scratch resistant, it’s the next generation of sustainable surface. Its strength and resilience will ensure its beauty remains intact throughout the next generation of this same family.

Throughout the home, bespoke details extend this sense of continuity. The half circle becomes a recurring motif and subtle graphic language that reflects the suburb’s arched streetscape and ties the old to the new. The timber curtain rail, designed as a single looping ribbon, connects the living and dining spaces in one continuous gesture. Its gentle curve pays homage to the roundabout just beyond the window and is a small, elegant reminder that motion has always shaped this corner.

As dusk settles, the house turns amber. The terrazzo gleams, the brick warms, and Fresh Concrete radiates calm under the glow. The family once known for refuelling their neighbourhood now gather around a table that tells their story in texture and tone. The energy remains, simply transformed by one surface, two hands, three decades of craft reborn.

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