The quiet, the beauty, the glamour: Roy Grounds Collection

Roy and Betty Grounds, Ramsay House, Melbourne, 1953.
Gordon De Lisle. State Library of New South Wales.

With his prolific architectural output and commitment to liveability, Sir Roy Grounds left us a lasting legacy of beautiful, enduring and affordable furniture pieces that reach beyond their mid-19th century origins, to speak to our modern day needs.

Australian architect Sir Roy Grounds was one of Australia’s earliest build-to-rent architects, notable for his Four Flats projects in Melbourne, designed during 1940-41. These small, compact multi-residential buildings – referred to back then as bachelor flats – were designed to provide complete living facilities for one to two people.

Grounds had had plenty of experience living in small spaces throughout London and Europe and so had the kind of first-hand experience which would condition his thinking and attitude towards small-footprint architecture.

Led by the belief that everyone deserved or needed a space for themselves to live in, Grounds conceived his Four Flats – first Clendon Flats, followed by Quamby, Clendon Corner and Moonbria – as simple, elegant and highly liveable spaces. The apartments, located in suburbs of Armadale and Toorak, were conceived specifically for workers and women moving to Melbourne from the regions to take up city jobs during the war.

Bedroom furniture study by Sir Roy Grounds.
Roy Grounds Collection, State Library Victoria.

Clendon Flats, Melbourne, 1943.
The original interior that inspired the contemporary Grounds Collection by KFive. State Library Victoria.

As stated in Tony Lee’s publication, Roy Grounds: Experiments In Minimum Living, Grounds was known for his human-centred philosophy towards architecture –designing, shaping and building shelters that encouraged his clients to lead full lives. He believed architecture was an art to serve humans and that it should be beautiful to look at, as well as simple and elegant to live in. His work also reflected his fondness for tactility and moments of subtle glamour, a Modernist approach that was human, comfortable, and warm to touch.

Grounds took a holistic and thorough approach to small apartment living, not only designing the spaces but the furnishings – both integrated and freestanding – that would become essential to how the spaces would function and how people would function within the spaces.

For Grounds own home he had already designed his own furnishings – tables, chairs, a sofa and daybed, even his own drawing board. These became the prototypes which he would adapt into furniture for firstly, Clendon Flats – and his other three flat projects thereafter.

The furniture not only made the flats rentable but became integral to their ability to function. Based on his own experience of living in small spaces, these furniture pieces were highly functional and enabled small studio apartments to feel incredibly liveable.

Quamby Coffee Table

Clendon Dining Table

Clendon Bench Seat

Almost a century later, Grounds’ original furniture designs remain highly relevant to our modern lifestyle and the contemporary Australian aesthetic. Not only are they suitable for smaller spaces, and thanks to their minimal detailing and quintessentially Australian design vernacular, they translate into all manner of settings – residential, commercial and institutional alike.

Grounds’ original pieces were fabricated from local hardwood, to provide unity, calm coherence and connection with the Australian culture and identity. Today, KFive produces these pieces in partnership with architect and historian Tony Lee, and with support from Grounds’ daughter and custodian for her father’s legacy, Victoria Grounds. 

“The Roy Grounds Collection sits comfortably alongside KFive's broader range and reflects our ongoing focus on furniture that carries genuine meaning – pieces with a story, a provenance, and a place in the Australian story,” comments Erna Walsh, CEO of KFive.

Clendon Day Bed

Clendon Ottoman

Clendon Ottoman

The partnership between KFive and Tony is a natural one, founded through their shared respect for Australian design heritage and commitment to local hardwood fabrication. KFive, too, brings the same values to this partnership, that Grounds stood for: honesty, quality craftsmanship, and the belief that good design should be accessible and liveable.

The Roy Grounds Collection from KFive comprises Grounds’ Clendon series of pieces: the Clendon Dining Table, Ottoman, Side Table, Bench Table, Bench Seat and Bench; and a Quamby Coffee Table. KFive’s expertise in specification, production oversight and delivery ensure each piece honours the spirit, local hardwood materiality, and detailing of Grounds' originals. Importantly KFive has ensured the piece remain affordable, in the spirit of their 1940s predecessors that were made for build-to-rent apartments.

Clendon Bench Table

Clendon Dining Table

Clendon Side Table

Clendon Bench Seat

These are quiet pieces that hold beauty and glamour – as was Grounds’ way, while also being innately empathetic – designed for the everyday person, living their everyday lives. Their purpose continues to renew as we move towards higher-density living and seek practical and relevant pieces that reflect our contemporary way of life.

Browse the Roy Grounds Collection here.