A true Tuscan treat: the Florence house brings contemporary living to Brisbane

Sitting at the poolside alfresco patio, looking up past the oversized windows at the rooftop terrace set against a brilliant blue sky, you could be anywhere in the world. And that was the brief - to transport a little bit of Italy over to a new Brisbane build, bridging a 16,000 kilometre distance in the process. The response? A new home design that brings the best of Tuscan style conveniently into the heart of the newly named Olympic city.

Produced by Signature Property Partners and nicknamed the ‘Florence’, the home is unlike most on the market, with a clear dedication to echoing design of a different time - Renaissance-era Italy, to be exact. 

The triple storey home is a stone’s throw from the city in Coorparoo, four kilometres south of the Brisbane CBD, and is designed to emphasise modern, convenient design, through its space and style. Its striking facade uses a mixture of textures, contrasting timber tones to warm up the facade's colour palette with smooth rendering - and 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms make it the ultimate in luxurious and modern family living. 

These generous spaces required clean and bold lines to complement the bold exterior style, which is why the team turned to Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding by James Hardie.

While the style of the home is Tuscan, this cladding is anything but rustic. It has a consistent, fine render texture with subtle and perfectly spaced joins, to give  a feel of modern precision. The fibre cement panels are embedded with a fine render texture that helps to ground the home with a contemporary style, allowing the modern features to shine through. 

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The right materials for a modern take on Tuscany

The grand scale of the Florence house means that more is more - three storeys, three metre-high ceilings, a six metre void, and even a large rooftop terrace that offers the best of views. 

To ensure that a structure with this much to offer wasn’t imposing was a key decision for the designers. That’s where Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding came in. Its lightweight construction and uncomplicated, subtly rendered facade proved to be more flexible to install than brick, while helping to simplify the exterior walls. 

In a home that needs to fill its spaces, the render also helps to diffuse light, giving the white walls a contemporary matte appearance. The consistent finish on the walls allows the shape of the home to stand out, while not overcomplicating the space. 

Bringing Florence’s features to the fore 

Making a triple-storey home look light and weightless can be a challenge, but without the heaviness of masonry, that look and feel was achieved with Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding. 

While the panels have the strength of cement, they sacrifice very little floor space. as they take up less room than bulkier options such as brick. Using innovative building techniques instead of heavier masonry also allows for door and over-sized window spaces to be maximised, letting more light in to add to the airiness of the style. 

This design flexibility and the pared-back aesthetic of Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding allows the bolder stylistic choices to stand out more, including the cantilevers used on the upper levels. The durability of the panels also help to protect the home from the elements, so you can love where you live for longer.

The composition of Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding is resistant to fire, termites and damage from moisture, which makes it the perfect choice for cladding used near water. Florence makes the most of this durability, by using it down to the pool area, promoting a relaxed atmosphere in the outdoor area. 

How cladding can help indoors and outdoors meet 

While the exterior of the Florence house is certainly impressive, the interior holds just as much intrigue. Most houses can’t boast the array of modern features that Florence has: a Spanish lift, outfitted in stainless steel, a sweeping spiral staircase, and two bars - one on the ground floor, and another on the terrace. 

But one of the most impressive features of the home is the connection that it creates between the indoor spaces and the outdoor area, through innovative use of glass feature doors and windows. Using fibre cement cladding around these elements means that the glass space can be extended, with dark, stand-out frames surrounding the doors and windows. Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding unites both aesthetics and functionality to truly serve this home in the best way possible. 

When considering a design for your home, looking overseas for inspiration can feel worlds away from home. But you can achieve your vision when you use the right materials and create your own contemporary oasis right here in Australia.

Excited to learn more about how you can design your dream home? Find out more here: Hardie™ Fine Texture Cladding