The Cloud House by McBride Charles Ryan

With both Downtown Abbey and Mad Men on hiatus, I've been finding myself in serious period-design withdrawal. So what's a girl to do? Go trolling the interwebs for inspiration, that's what. While I'm more than familiar with all thing mid-century (à la the Draper household), I quickly realized that my knowledge of Downton-style Edwardian architecture is nil.

So, I wasn't terribly surprised to find this home referred to as an example of the Edwardian period:

[all photos by John Gollings via Contemporist]

But this? Edwardian? That doesn't seem right...

Now, here's the kicker: What if I were to tell you that these are two facades of the same house?

Designed by McBride Charles Ryan, The Cloud House is an addition and renovation of an Edwardian home in the Fitzroy North neighborhood of Melbourne, Australia. Taking into account the character of the neighborhood, Ryan left the street-facing facade alone, while building out an undeniably modern structure stretching into the backyard.

In order to link the seemingly opposed elements, McBride undertook the design in three parts, allowing "for a sequence of distinct and unexpected episodes, with glimpses previewing oncoming spaces and experiences as you move through the home," he wrote.

Starting from the front of the house, the spaces inside the original building are mostly white, accented with a bold floral carpet. This leads to the second space, a disembodied red box that houses the kitchen and links the Edwardian and modern sections of the home.

Finally, you come upon the fluffy, cloud-shaped addition in which floor, walls and ceiling blend together seamlessly to form the home's common area.

So, I try to give you Edwardian and I veer into uber-modernity. Would you expect anything less of me?