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Kate Lawrence’s French-Inspired Revival of a 100-Year-Old Victorian Home 

Iver Team Architectural Hardware Specialists

6 days ago

When interior designer Kate Lawrence first walked through Vikki, a 100-year-old Victorian home in Melbourne, it was the character of the original property that drew her in, and preserving it became her guiding priority throughout the renovation. What’s followed is a home being renovated in two parts, one that restores the property’s original charm while layering in a quiet French Provincial influence, arched steel windows, and a hardware palette that runs, room to room, in Iver’s Sarlat collection. 

A Renovation Unfolding in Chapters 

The first chapter of the Vikki Project focused on restoring and reworking the original section of the home. The build took roughly six months, with sections of the work carried out while Kate and her family were still living there. 

The scope was substantial: two bedrooms became a new master suite with ensuite and walk-in robe, the rear room was opened up, the bathroom was relocated, and several walls came down to let the floor plan breathe. Arched steel doors and windows went in throughout; a detail that draws more light into the home while nodding to its European undertones. 

This first phase now delivers three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and connected living and dining spaces. What comes next will add a second master bedroom, office, laundry and garage, along with new living areas and a landscaped backyard complete with pool. 

Softened by French Influence

“When I first saw Vikki, I fell in love with the character of the original Victorian home,” Kate says. “From the beginning, my priority was to pay homage to its history rather than renovate in a way that stripped away what made it special.” 

Instead of simply preserving those original details, Kate built on them: ceiling roses throughout, traditional moulding worked into the cabinetry, and Calacatta marble through the kitchen and bathrooms. A French and European sensibility runs quietly underneath it all, evident in the arched steel joinery and carried through into the hardware itself. 

Calm was the brief Kate set herself. “My goal with interiors is always to create spaces that make people feel calm,” she explains. “I want someone to walk through the door and immediately feel welcome and at peace, which is why I tend to work with a minimal, restrained colour palette and allow the architecture, materials and smaller details to speak for themselves.” Of everything in the finished home, it’s the bathroom and living room that get closest to that feeling, she says. 

Hardware Chosen with Intention 

For Kate, hardware carries as much weight as any other design decision. “I truly believe hardware can make or break a design,” she says. “It might seem like a small element within the context of an entire home, but often it’s those smaller details that have the biggest impact and make an interior feel considered and resolved.” 

Throughout Vikki, that meant Iver’s Sarlat collection in Signature Brass, a lacquered finish that’s designed to age with the house rather than against it, deepening into a soft patina over time. It appears on the internal doors as the Sarlat Paddington Knob with Oval Backplate, and continues through cabinetry handles, bathroom hardware, door stops and hinges. 

Sarlat Cabinet Pull

CTC256mm

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Signature Brass Details 

Metals weren’t matched throughout the home, and that was deliberate. Brushed nickel tapware sits opposite the warmer, browner tones of the Signature Brass, a pairing Kate uses to add warmth and another layer of character throughout the interior. 

Sarlat was chosen for its French Provincial influence and classic detailing, a natural match for the home’s period character. “It helped bring the more traditional elements of the design to life while still feeling refined and timeless.” Sourcing door and cabinetry hardware, hinges, door stops and bathroom fittings from a single collection also meant the finish stayed consistent from room to room, no small task across a home this considered. 

Quality was non-negotiable. “It’s something that’s difficult to fully appreciate until you actually hold the pieces in your hands,” Kate says. “There is a weight and solidity to Iver’s hardware that immediately communicates the quality.” The Sarlat collection in Signature Brass will carry through into the next phase of work, tying the original Victorian home to the extension still ahead.