House Five in TH Brown’s In Residence series
A house that could hear the future
From the moment Fiona and David found this California bungalow in Melbourne, they sensed something in it beyond what was there at the time. It was a former share house, run down and barely advertised, but even then, they could imagine the life it might hold.
“We could hear the dogs. We could kind of hear the kids. We could hear the future when we were in there,” Fiona says.
Nearly 30 years later, that future has unfolded exactly as they imagined. Three daughters have grown up here. The walls still hold their height marks. Milestone birthdays have drawn crowds through the house over the years. Family, friends, animals, art and collected pieces have all found their place within it. This is not a home held carefully at arm’s length. It is a Melbourne family home that has been lived in fully.
The original 1924 California bungalow still holds much of its early character, from its leadlight and tiled details to the feeling of another era in the front rooms. But the family life that followed was shaped most powerfully by the rear extension, designed by David’s father, architect Neil Clerehan, in the early 2000s. Built right to the boundary because of the railway line behind, it created the kitchen, dining and living space that became the true heart of the home — generous, open and still feeling remarkably ahead of its time.
That is where TH Brown found its place.
This is not a house that casually admits new furniture. As Fiona says, David hates new. Pieces usually need to be inherited, discovered or carry some kind of story to belong here. That is exactly why the TH Brown Martelle Bar Stools mattered. Fiona was drawn to them immediately, but it was more than aesthetics. The connection to a historic Australian design brand, still remaking original pieces with integrity, meant they carried the sense of lineage and story the home demanded.
The orange upholstery mattered too. Because of Fiona’s long-held commitment to animal protection, she wanted a faux leather rather than animal leather, so together we worked to find the right solution: Warwick Chisolm faux leather in the orange the room needed. The result feels entirely at home in the space vibrant, practical and deeply considered.
Around them sits a house layered with family history: Fiona’s grandmother’s Art Deco cabinet, David’s grandparents’ 1930s lounge suite, David’s mother’s paintings and sculpture, and details added slowly over time, including the tuck-pointing and bespoke gate completed for the house’s 100th birthday. Very little here is generic. Almost everything has a story. That is what gives the home its depth and what makes the TH Brown pieces feel so naturally part of it.
This is what makes Fiona and David’s home so special. It is beautiful, certainly, but more than that, it has been shaped by decades of real life by memory, generosity, Australian design history and care.
Fiona and David heard the future here long before it arrived.
And this house has been holding it ever since.
Explore more from our In Residence series.
Photography by Georgina Egan
