First came Canning Cottage, but now, The Block stars and design/renovating experts Josh and Jenna Densten welcome the new addition to their North Melbourne property, New Canning, and with it comes WOODCUT’s Voss flooring.
Straying away from the in-vogue Pinterest interiors of the moment and instead opting for timeless, considered spaces, Josh and Jenna have become ever popular in the Australian design scene for their unique aesthetic. In the lead up to revealing the new addition to their North Melbourne home, we talk to the expert wife-husband duo behind Bicker Design about all things WOODCUT and renovating.
Talk to us a bit about your project – from the planning to the aesthetic?
We purchased the house about six years ago. We had no intention of purchasing anything but we drove past it one afternoon and the beautiful oak tree lined street had us sold before we even saw the house! We just loved how quaint it sat between its neighbours. The block is roughly 240sqm which doesn’t sound like much but is nearly twice the size of most terrace house blocks in the area.
We had a few hiccups through town planning, but eventually (five years later) we made it through with the approval for two dwellings!
The cottage (Canning Cottage) which has the street frontage was first to be completed over a year. We were fortunate enough to win the national 2018 residential interior design award for our design, which was a huge surprise.
Stage two (New Canning) is built behind the cottage, separated by a small courtyard. We are following the design & feel of the cottage with crisp whites, warm timbers and lots of sculptural items. It’s sort of a Californian casual meets mid-century vibe.
Basically, New Canning is the main residence & the cottage is our guest house.
What do you always look for when making selections on finishes and materials?
Jen has put together a material board with all of our furniture choices, ceramics, plants and finishes. We like to keep an eye out on vintage sites and also eBay for one off pieces that can’t be replicated or bought off a shelf! We have had a ball collecting totems, marble book ends, bread boards, resin vases, architect books, and vintage audio equipment all for the house.
Why did you choose WOODCUT?
We love the range that WOODCUT provides. Timber finishes play such a huge part in our house. From the joinery to the floors, to the window frames, it all needs to be perfectly tonal. We didn’t need all the timbers to match exactly, but they all had to work together. Not too grey, not too yellow, not too white, but a warm feel with a slight white wash through it. Because of this, we have chosen Voss in a wider board.
You were drawn to many of our blonde timber boards – what do you like about the options WOODCUT has on offer?
It was so hard for us to choose which type of board to use! We had about four options that we loved (mainly from the blonde timber range).
We love the blonder timbers because of the warm feeling they give and it helped us to replicate the vibe of The Cottage. It was nice to have the choice between multiple boards so we weren’t having to compromise with a board that was too white washed or too grey.
From an aesthetic point of view, why did Voss win in the end?
Voss won in the end because it had a slight white wash through it; it wasn’t too grey and wasn’t too yellow. It works great with our oak joinery sample and also looks brilliant against our white washed Vic ash windows. We went with the wide boards so there were less joins running through the house, giving more of a minimal feel.
What advice would you give to a budding renovator looking for quality materials for their build?
The best advice we can give is to have all your samples together when choosing finishes. Have your stone samples, tile samples, paint swatches, timber samples, fabric swatches and even your tapware.
Once you have chosen your flooring samples, always look at them in the room that they are being installed in. You would be surprised at how different the tones and finishes can look in different lights.
Always check with the suppliers about where you are using the product and how to care for it. The WOODCUT crew gave us a lot of advice about wear and care, as well as advice on the size of the boards, directions to install them and installation advice. It’s always handy to ask your suppliers for images of where their work has been installed so you can have an idea of how it is used in space and how it looks in certain areas.
We couldn’t recommend WOODCUT enough. The team has everything we look for in a supplier. Local, friendly knowledge, a can do attitude, patience (after we came in and out of the showroom 50 times and grabbed 100 samples) and most of all, an amazing range of sizes and finishes for every taste and style. We know that it will be the most asked about product in our house.
Australia
Hong Kong SAR
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Zealand
Philippines
Singapore
BACK
