- Project: The Carringbush Hotel
- Architect: DesignOffice
- Location: Australia, Abbotsford, Melbourne, Victoria
- Year: 2020
- Area: 280 m2
- Photography: Photography: Tom Ross
In Melbourne’s inner suburb of Abbotsford, The Carringbush Hotel has been sensitively reimagined by DesignOffice as a layered place to live, work, and gather—where a beloved Victorian-era pub meets a refined contemporary interior. The transformation balances civic generosity with private functionality, creating a flexible showroom and residence while preserving a neighborhood cornerstone.
Historical Context
Built in the late 19th century, the Carringbush has long served as a local landmark in Abbotsford’s social fabric. Any intervention needed to respect the building’s heritage fabric—retained plasterwork, brick, and proportion—while responding to evolving uses. The brief called for new life without erasing memory: a design that would honor the pub’s role while enabling fresh residential and showroom programs.
DesignOffice’s Vision
DesignOffice’s approach was guided by authenticity and restraint. The ground-floor Collingwood Football Team Club Room was reimagined as a salon capable of hosting fashion presentations and guests; the first floor accommodates a calm, light-filled private realm. The studio conceived joinery as “furniture within fabric”—inserted, not imposed—so that new elements clarify old ones rather than compete with them.
Interior Design & Material Palette
A deliberately quiet palette allows the heritage envelope to lead: restored timber floors, natural white walls and ceilings, and soft grey trims that gently delineate openings. A gloss steel balustrade reads as a single sculptural gesture in the arrival sequence, while tactile layers—timber, painted plaster, finely detailed joinery—add domestic warmth. Lighting is tuned for intimacy and display, enabling easy shifts between everyday living and showroom mode.
Spatial Organization
The plan prioritizes clarity and flexibility. A central stair anchors circulation and choreographs the threshold between public and private. On the ground level, adaptable zones support events, fittings, and informal gatherings; upstairs, a serene sequence of rooms supports dwelling and focused work. Storage, kitchenette, a fold-down bed, and a discreet ensuite are concealed within joinery, maximizing utility without visual clutter.
Community-Centered Hospitality
Crucially, the project sustains the pub as a key tenant, protecting the building’s civic relevance. The refurbishment restores significant fabric while introducing a contemporary layer that’s durable and low-impact—efficient lighting, restrained finishes, and thoughtful reuse where possible—so the building can keep serving its neighborhood with minimal environmental burden. This is adaptive reuse anchored in community benefit rather than spectacle.
Atmosphere & Guest Experience
The experience is deliberately calm: a backdrop for conversation, gatherings, and presentation. By keeping the language measured—light on ornament, heavy on craft—the interiors foster belonging and slow time. It feels like a continuation of the Carringbush’s story, not a rewrite: guests encounter the familiar character of a Melbourne pub, but tuned with contemporary comfort and versatility.
Why This Project Matters
In a city proud of its pub culture, DesignOffice demonstrates how heritage sites can evolve without losing authenticity. The Carringbush shows that adaptive reuse can be commercially agile (showroom + residence + pub) and culturally generous, offering a replicable model for mixed-program revitalization in dense urban neighborhoods.
Awards & Recognition
- Commendation — Australian Interior Design Awards 2021 (Residential Design)
- Shortlist — Houses Awards 2021 (House in a Heritage Context)
