When First Avenue Homes founder Anthony Karlovic set out to build his own family home, he wanted to create a place where he and his family could get the most from life and be proud to call home.
The resulting contemporary home in Melbourne’s Brighton East has garnered multiple accolades, including the HIA Custom Home of the Year ($750,000- $1 million) and the HIA Victorian Kitchen of the Year.
First Avenue Homes meticulously designed and executed every aspect of the home to deliver the living and entertainment experience that the Karlovics sought.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom custom home flawlessly blends style and functionality throughout its spacious, light-filled dimensions.
Its stunning fit-out includes herringbone European oak parquetry matched to a custom oak staircase highlighting the ground floor ceiling height of nearly four metres. Sleek timber joinery enhances interior spaces, while luxurious stone surfaces such as Brazilian ‘super white’ marble benchtops, Carrara marble mosaic, and terrazzo tiling tie lavishly appointed bathrooms together.
Its layout features an expansive open-plan living zone flowing directly onto a poolside outdoor dining and entertainment terrace. A marble bench continues from the kitchen beneath a bi-fold servery window to form an outdoor bar.
Upstairs a palatial main suite incorporates a study, dressing room and luxury bathroom, with sliding doors opening to a wide north-facing balcony offering city skyline views.
Karlovic says the choice of window and door systems was hugely important for this home, which required high-quality customised systems with the latest functionality, capable of framing large expanses of glazing.
“Capral designs and manufactures our favourite window and door systems in Australia. The profile of the joinery ties together the inside and outside of our homes and suits our designs.
“In this home, we have immensely high ceilings of nearly four metres on the ground floor, and Capral is one of the only companies in Australia that can make bi-fold doors able to complement this height,” Karlovic says.
Six-metre-wide Artisan bi-fold doors connect indoor and outdoor living areas; a zero-threshold integrated within the continuous polished concrete flooring ensures seamless connection.
“Most of the homes we build are similar to this, and the Capral systems work perfectly.”
Karlovic also notes that although the home is on Centre Road, which connects Brighton with the Nepean Highway, there is no traffic noise inside the house.
“The house has fantastic acoustic and thermal properties.”
Architectural window and door fabricator Audsley Windows made and installed the home’s window and door systems. Project manager Ben Wersching says Audsley exclusively uses Capral door and window suites.
“Most of our work is architectural, and Capral gives us the capability to provide the systems, functionality and styling our clients want. We have confidence in the testing and rating of Capral systems – their testing is some of the best on the market. We know we can safely achieve the heights and spans our clients require.”
Furthermore, Audsley works with Capral technical advisors to overcome any design limitations and check the safety of window dimensions and wind loads.
Wersching says Audsley works closely with builders and architects to maximise the style, functionality and value they will get from window and door systems.
As the Centre Road house design required a lot of light to flow from the entry, Audsley made and installed a full-height insulated glazed pivot door. A keypad controls the door and enables remote opening and locking, with a hold function and automatic closing.
Another feature is a splashback window running the length of the butler’s pantry behind the kitchen, naturally illuminating workspaces.
In conclusion, the incorporation of Capral's innovative architectural solutions, including the Capral 425, Capral Artisan Bi-Fold, Capral 900 Sliding Door, and Capral 225 Hinged and Pivot Doors, played a crucial role in creating a home that is not only visually stunning but also highly functional and energy-efficient. These products demonstrate the perfect synergy between design, performance, and sustainability, contributing to the home's overall success and recognition by the home building industry.
