Wait And Sea A NSW
South Coast renovation provided the backdrop to a blossoming friendship between homeowner and designer.
After living in it for a while, the owner of this beachside beauty on the NSW South Coast decided to extend – and in doing so, built an enduring friendship.
Renovating can be stressful, with the ever-present potential for unforeseen hurdles to arise as the project progresses. But there are also times when it can be a deeply enriching experience, especially when it forms the foundation for a lasting friendship. This was very much the case for Kavita Faiella and interior designer Dominique Brammah when the pair collaborated on the reinvention of Kavita’s 1930s beachside cottage on the NSW South Coast.
“I’m single, and embarking on a major renovation by myself felt daunting,” says Kavita, a sommelier and sales and marketing manager for Adelaide Hills winery Shaw+Smith. “But Dom and I got along so well from the outset. If not for her, the house would be half the home it is now.” For Dominique, a co-director of interior design firm Duet with Shannon Shlom, this was a memorable project for all the right reasons. “It was a joy,” she says. “Kavita is now one of my closest friends. It’s a pleasure to see someone living in a house that is so ‘her’.”
Kavita leapt at the chance to secure the cottage, set on a 297-square-metre block, when it came up for sale seven years ago.
“It was important to build richness into the extension’s palette so it felt in harmony with the original details of the cottage and Kavita’s collection of vintage treasures.” Dominique Brammah, interior designer