The home of spatial designer Henry King, artist Anna Fiedler, and film director Grace Moore is a rare gem among Melbourne’s inner-north. Located just a couple of streets back from Edinburgh Gardens, the circa 1970s townhouse is in a prime position, but offers the feeling of a secluded house on the city’s leafy fringe.
Henry moved into the sharehouse (which is one of four similar townhouses) in 2021. The home’s brick wall and vaulted timber ceilings, angular walls, and exposed roof beams reminded him of homes designed by Alistair Knox typical of Eltham and Warrandyte in Melbourne’s north-east (particularly his friend Tilly Barber’s house), and offered an equally relaxing feel.
‘When I first walked into the home, I remember the calm presence that washed over me,’ Henry says. ‘It has a Warrandyte interior feel to it, as well as tree views through windows.’
Henry, Anna, and Grace have embraced the home’s original features, including the built-in shelving under the stairs (perfect for storing records) and the untouched bathroom with windows looking out to three treetops. ‘Seeing the moon while you’re bathing is also pretty special,’ Henry says.
Henry’s favourite room is his bedroom that feels a world away from the busy streets outside. ‘When lying down on my bed through my triangular window [the room is ] filled with total greenery — you don’t see anything but trees, green and sky,’ he says. ‘It’s really special and the perfect spot to close out the day and watch the sun set and go from blues to black.’
The housemates have styled the home mostly with secondhand furniture sourced from Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, as well as Henry’s own designs.
Anna’s woven artworks adorn the walls alongside a ’90s wall hanging, and paintings by talented friends.
Henry describes the home as a sanctuary that he feels lucky to retreat to each day. ‘It’s a very poetic home; gentle in the morning, joyful in the afternoon rays, and warm with the night sky — enhanced with rain and the comfort of a tea or a table full for dinner.’
