The latest stories from Remodelista

by Fan Winston

A while back, I wrote about a thoughtful, eco-conscious remodel in Melbourne, Australia (see Retrofit Over Rebuild: An Architect and Interior Designer’s Sensitively Restored 1970s Home). The original home was hand-built—and so, too, were many of the elements inside the home, from the furniture-quality kitchen cabinetry to this hand-thrown ceramic basin I can’t stop thinking about. Here’s what I unearthed about the artful wash bowl.

The Sighting

Above: The handmade basin, atop a handmade vanity, in the handmade home of Brad Mitchell and Kerli Valk, the founders of Nüüd Studio. Photograph by Tom Ross, courtesy of Nüüd Studio.
Above: Turns out, the ceramic basin also featured prominently in this project covered by Margot in Bathroom of the Week: A Spa-Style Refresh for a Modest Bath in Melbourne, Before and After. Photograph by Lisa Cohen, courtesy of Kim Kneipp.

The Source

These artful hand-thrown hand basins are by Lindsey Wherrett, a former architecture student from Scotland who discovered a passion for ceramics while traveling in Japan and now resides in Tasmania, where she makes these basins (as well as tableware) for a growing clientele of designers, architects, and admirers of hand-crafted everyday objects.

Above: “I was asked to make a hand basin by a local architect around seven years ago, I think,” says Lindsey. “It takes a while to develop the skills required to make larger pieces in clay, but I enjoy the physicality of it and it was good to dip my toes back into the architecture and design world. So I persisted with it and found there was a lot of support for the product.”
Above: Her basins are made to order and range in price from $1,040 to $1,630 (USD) depending on the glaze, and can be shipped worldwide. Custom inquiries are welcomed. For more information, go to her website.
Above: “The clay for the main body of my work comes from Australian commercial clay producers,” says Lindsey. “I do use some wild clay which I dig in small quantities from various locations around Tasmania, but this clay is only used in my glazes. These wild clays give very unique properties and are quite special to work with.” Glaze samples are available for purchase.

For more in the Remodelista Reconnaissance series, see:

• Remodelista Reconnaissance: A Wall-Mounted Sink in a Kitchen Upstate
• Remodelista Reconnaissance: The Endless Appeal of Silver-Tipped Lightbulbs
• Remodelista Reconnaissance: Shaker (Ish) Peg Rails in an Upstate Kitchen

N.B.: This story originally appeared on March 1, 2024 and has been updated.

by Alexa Hotz

Paris-based Iranian architect Saba Ghobanalinejad has an acute ability to reveal the inherent qualities of a building rather than overwrite them. Her renovation of a former working barn attached to a family country house in Montigny-Lengrain, an hour outside Paris, is no exception. Tasked with transforming the dormant 700-square-foot building into a flexible space for creative work and guest visits, Ghobanalinejad approached the project with a light hand and a particular sympathy for its historic, utilitarian character. Existing stone walls remain visible alongside newly sprayed hemp-lime insulation left raw beneath limewash finishes, allowing the building to remain breathable and creating a dialogue between rough stone, textured hemp, and smoother plaster surfaces. The interiors are layered with terracotta and wood flooring, a custom stainless steel kitchen, and a sparing selection of vintage and iconic furniture. Here’s a look around.

Photography by Alix Vossieg for Saba Ghobanalinejad.

Above: The barn is annexed to a Parisian family’s country house located an hour outside of Paris in Montigny-Lengrain.
Above: The family had previously renovated the adjacent house but was looking for additional, multi-purpose live-gather-work space to host pottery workshops, naturopathy, cooking, music, dance, artist residencies, and to provide an additional bedroom for the home.
Above: A look at the hemp-lime walls and newly-laid terracotta tile floors set in a herringbone pattern. “Originally, the barn had a simple earth floor,” describes Ghobanalinejad. “However, the intention throughout the project was to create an atmosphere in which every intervention felt as though it had always belonged to the building.”
Above: The main open space serves as both living/studio area with an open kitchen developed in collaboration with Framaco.
Above: The back wall is a floor-to-ceiling sliding door that opens into the garden. A vintage bench is set with a Charlotte Perriand Les Arcs Light.
Above: A vintage Jens Risom chair in the living space.
Above: Finishing some walls in plaster allowed for creative organic forms—at top—above the custom stainless steel kitchen.
Above: The single bedroom in the barn is upstairs in the loft. “The platform is made from Okoumé plywood. It was initially designed to address several technical constraints within the room, but it also functions as an additional sleeping platform for children,” says Ghobanalinejad.
Above: Original stonework meet new built-in plaster seating.
Above: A Lola Herzburg freestanding wash basin.
Above: A view of the architectural ventilation designed between rooms.
Above: A closer view of the newly created hemp-lime walls.

For more projects from Saba Ghorbanalinejad, see our posts:

• A Considered Renovation in Old Versailles by Architect Saba Ghorbanalinejad
• Plan Study: A 1970s Apartment in Oberkampf, Paris, Reconfigured by Saba Ghorbanalinejad
• Multiplying Light and Space: A Compact Paris Apartment with a Vintage Quality
• Kitchen of the Week: A White-Out Kitchen Extension in Paris from Saba Ghorbanalinejad