A Family’s Modernist Home Among the Gumtrees

Surrounded by nature and mid-century architecture, Subtle Bodies founders Courtney Gibbs and Tommy Ashby have created a beautiful home on Melbourne’s outskirts. Here, they live with their two daughters, Aurelia and Paloma among towering native trees, which sprung into bloom just in time for our visit. While the house carries the unmistakable scent of incense, the couple's creativity runs even deeper. Courtney is also a designer and project manager in the field of architecture, while Tommy co-founded Wombat, an electric cargo bike business. Together, they have shaped a modernist space grounded in the warmth of timber, cosy linen beds and a restored outdoor table made for long lunches. After our shoot, we too lingered here, sharing fresh bread from the local bakery and stories about their time in Los Angeles and the slower rhythm they’ve discovered in this peaceful pocket of Lower Plenty.

Our Cocoa bath & hand towels are draped over the home's original towel rack.

On buying a home, sight unseen…

“We live in our home with our two daughters, Aurelia and Paloma, and have been here for just over a year and half - we are loving the tree change! We purchased the house, sight unseen, while living in Los Angeles - but it all worked out well and feel very lucky to have a slice of Australian Architectural history. The house is a modest, modernist home, built in 1982 by Fasham Johnson. It's a light-filled space with floor to ceiling glass to the east, north-facing clerestory windows, and surrounded by large eucalypts. There are plenty of interesting details to enhance everyday behaviours and rituals, and a really useful downstairs space which we use as our studio. The house is an odd shape, very long and narrow, which is not a typical proportion for homes in this area - but it means all windows have views of trees. It’s a peaceful place, with the constant sound of birds and a never-ending list of odd jobs and projects!”

“We are still settling into the house, but some of our favourite items in our house are our collection of tables we have collected over time, each contributing in their own way to our house and daily activities. The first is a midcentury dining table, found on the side of the road shortly after moving in. We fully restored it and whilst it was in pieces, discovered the furniture maker's signature stating it had been made in Eltham, in 1957! Our solid American Oak desk was a custom-designed sample made for a client while I was working in New York. It followed me across the country back to Los Angeles, and then we moved it with us to Melbourne. Outdoors, is my favourite table- a huge, Donald Judd inspired table - purchased off marketplace. When we found the table, it was heavily painted Monument Grey, which we painstakingly sanded back for weeks before restoring further and adding solid recycled Oregon timber legs - it’s the perfect banquet table to share long lunches and dinner with family and friends. ”

The girls room, with views of flowering Grevillea is complete with Chestnut, Lilac & Dove Grey linens.

On spaces of sanctuary...

"We try to keep our bedroom minimal and simple, with beautiful linen and sunlight streaming - it keeps it peaceful and not cluttered. Some nights we end up with all four of us all sleeping in the one queen-sized bed! Generally though, we don't spend a lot of our time in our bedroom but always prioritise our morning ritual of a cup of tea in bed!"

“The kids bedroom is definitely the best space in the house, with 2 full walls of floor-to-ceiling glass and its own balcony looking out to nature. Their room is at the end of the house, so it really is a special retreat and space for the girls to play and watch the birds.”

“Our house is intentionally kept simple, letting the architecture do most of the work with lots of natural wood accents. We chose white linen to be consistent with the rest of our things and I LOVE the pairing with the soft lilac colour pillowcases. The lilac color is such a great tone, both warm and fun. We are especially impressed with the texture and thickness of these pieces, we have used linen bedding for many years and its always been our preference. In the girls room, the chestnut sheets complement the window frames and view to nature - it works beautifully against the white walls and is a great natural tone.”

We try to keep our bedroom minimal and simple, with beautiful linen and sunlight streaming - it keeps it peaceful and not cluttered.

A lesson in softness; our White & Lilac European linen bedding creates a peaceful haven for Courtney & Tommy

On the shift from Los Angeles to Lower Plenty..

"We really enjoy being home with the family, but we always have a lot going on! Last year Paloma was born and that allowed some space to focus on growing our family and our incense brand, Subtle Bodies. This year I am working with Neometro to further expand knowledge around housing, medium-density living and thoughtful city-making. Tommy founded an electric cargo bike brand called Wombat - which has been really fun - we are always moving around on our wombat bikes and Tommy is regularly product testing new ideas on the girls, who love to go for a ride along the nearby Yarra River and on the surrounding bike paths!"

Moving to a quieter suburb in Melbourne was certainly a big change of pace from being in Los Angeles - it’s a much more peaceful and easy-going environment. Living in Los Angeles meant that we were used to being in the car and on freeways - so it hasn't been much of a shock to commute and spend time in the car. Living in LA we grew to love, nature, freeways and supermarkets! Now living in Lower Plenty with only one car, we ride the Wombat bike to bush kinder pickups, and take turns catching the train to the city!"

Moving to a quieter suburb in Melbourne was certainly a big change of pace from being in Los Angeles - it’s much more peaceful here and easy-going environment.

On evening rituals…

"Our bedtime rituals tend to change each night and the one thing the house is missing is a bath… so the girls either have a shower, or bathe in a rubber bucket from Bunnings outside under the trees. Once they have gone to bed, we will usually have a herbal tea, light some incense and hang out in the lounge or downstairs in the studio to work on projects."

We will usually have an evening herbal tea, light some incense and either lounge around or head downstairs to the studio to catch up on any projects.

Details of our linen tablecloth in Khaki on the family's dining table

On their favourite locals…

"We came to this area primarily because my sister lives on the same street! There are so many trees and so much wildlife - there are blue tongue lizards in the garden, lorakeets, owls and tawny frog mouths. We love exploring down by the Yarra River and head out most nights for an evening walk as often as possible. Being just outside of the city, we love when our friends visit and stay for a long lunch and garden hangs."

"Getting to know the local area has been great - there are a lot of interesting places nearby- the girls love visiting Eltham Library (designed by legend Greg Burgess) and miniature train, Sunday mornings are spent at Eltham Farmers Market, bike rides to Heide and Monsalvat, and fresh bread and coffee beans from Craftwork in Eltham! Oh and the huge garden centres around here are really fun to explore."