Coopworth House

Designed by Australian architecture practice, FMD, Coopworth House is a modern interpretation of a country farmhouse, located on Bruny Island, Tasmania.

The Farmhouse Reimagined

Coopworth was inspired by the forms, materials and colours of Bruny Island, all abstracted and simplified into a clear form that sits comfortably in the landscape. Architect Fiona Dunin suggests the kitchen is almost like a lean-to on a traditional farmhouse. That's a big almost. The immaculately integrated kitchen is defined by a lowered ceiling and recycled timber island. Above, plywood lining gives way to polycarbonate, making a feature of the Coopworth wool used for insulation.

Project Type: Rural House

Location: Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia

Architect: FMD Architects

Photographer: Adam Gibson

Distributed Appliances

As a working sheep farm, the brief required that the house be able to expand from two people at most times to 20 or more at others. The internal eave with inset sleeping mats speaks to this requirement. While the kitchen is fairly compact, the architects have distributed the kitchen appliances into zones. There is an oven on one side of the kitchen under the cooktop, but we placed the other one on the island bench, so two people can cook independently of each other in the space, rather than collecting the two ovens together, which is more conventional in many ways, says Fiona.

Close up view of kitchen assets inside Coopworth House.

Design Details

Coopworth's kitchen has been designed in deference to the surrounding views. Integration is really important to me in the kitchen design so that the concept of the architecture is maintained and you're not distracted by feature appliances, says Fiona. Wherever possible the kitchen appliances have been detailed so that they are concealed behind the plywood wall panelling that is a signature material throughout the home. The two contemporary ovens – one steam, one convection – are located under-bench, so they're also concealed from view from the main living spaces, complementing the simplicity of the integrated aesthetic.

Interior photo of the kitchen island inside Coopworth House.

Island History

The recycled timber island has two single format DishDrawer™ Dishwashers either side of the sink for a seamless ergonomic workflow. The island is a design feature that speaks to the heritage of one of the clients. The recycled timber is actually from the family farm where he grew up, says Fiona. He stored it for many decades until we found the right project to use it on. And we finally found it using it on the island bench in this beautiful house.