Rose Seidler House - Wahroonga - Sydney - Review
Visiting an architectural designed house in Wahroonga might not be the first thing you have in mind to do with kids on the weekend but if you enjoy art, design and 1950s furniture and showing the kids around a well designed house, you will be in for a treat with the Rose Seidler’s House. Designed by Harry Seidler for his parents Rose and Max and completed in 1950, this house was the most talked about house in Sydney at the time and you can see why.
Photo credit: @busycitykids
Harry graduated from Harvard in 1946, an enthusiastic and committed modernist. That same year his parents and brother migrated to Australia, he however remained in New York, until his mother enticed him to Australia with the offer of designing and building her a house. He arrived in Sydney in 1948, intending to remain only until his parents’ house was completed, but the architectural success that followed persuaded him to stay.
Photo credit: @busycitykids
All rooms in the house except for the main bedroom, have panoramic views of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The floor plan flows really well as the house is divided into two distinct zones, the living and sleeping areas linked by a transitional zone of a central playroom, stairs and sundeck that can be used to extend either public or private areas, depending on the occasion. The designed kitchen might look dated however it was pure luxury in the 1950s.
Photo credit: @busycitykids
Photo credit: @busycitykids
The house was donated by Harry Seidler in 1988 to Historic Houses Trust and was reinstated with 1950s original colour scheme and stays in great condition today. We just love the original 1950s furniture and the simple yet tasteful design and furnishings. Seidler had a great eye for design and making sure that the property had the right features, furniture, spacious aspect and sufficient storage while keeping his simplistic approach in design.
Photo credit: @busycitykids
Photo credit: @busycitykids
Photo credit: @busycitykids
The house has a series of flexible dividers instead of walls to allow spaces to be reconfigured into different areas. The modern sliding doors that slide right back into the window’s cavity is a genius yet modern idea that is common in today’s houses but was not back in the 1950s. Trying to find a builder to build this intricate house post second world war and finding the required material was no feet for Harry but he managed to do so after some difficult years.
Photo credit: @busycitykids
Our info & tips:
Open Sundays only 10am to 4pm
Entry Adult $15, Concession $12, Family (2 adults 2 kids, 1 adult 3 kids) $38, Members Free, Under 5 yo Free
Closed Christmas Day
71 Clissold Road, Wahroonga, NSW 2076
No toilets onsite that we could remember
Please be mindful with little ones of the balcony, stairs and be mindful not to touch furniture
For more ideas on what to do with the kids in Sydney, head to our blog, our daily spots list or pools & beaches or playgrounds list. And for a full list of parents rooms around Sydney, head to our parents room page.