Adelaide Bragg

In the conservatory is a custom-made table from The Restoration House. Chairs from Sentosa Designs with cushions upholstered in a Tigger Hall fabric. Console and lamps from Cromwell. Altamira curtain fabric. The conservatory overlooks the expansive garden

Like the story of many inheritances, this one is bittersweet. For the design beneficiary, Adelaide Bragg, it was a legacy she embraced with sorrow yet valour, for this house was midway through a renovation when its original designer, the beloved Stuart Rattle, passed away. It was a tragedy that shook the design world and clients such as these, crippled by indecision as they weren’t sure that Stuart could be replaced. Eventually though, the time came to engage another designer and Adelaide was brought on board, the owners crediting her as of “similar mindset … making the switchover seamless”.

The task at hand was to remain sympathetic to Stuart’s vision for the unfinished house but in completing it, add her own stamp. “The fun part of the reno had begun,” say the clients. “Adelaide provided something magical … we knew we were in capable hands. We put our faith and trust in her and when it came to presenting her vision for each room we were blown away. Not only did she flow on from Stuart’s previous work, she brought the rooms to life.”

Stuart had created a long-term, two-part master plan for the 1930s red brick Georgian home which included decorating the original formal lounge and dining rooms. This was completed in 2007 and, when he died a few years ago, part two of the structural works was well underway. Adelaide was engaged as a decorator midway through work on the upstairs extension, additional garden room and traditional English conservatory.

To the right of the entryway, the dining room leads to a kitchen and meals area overlooking the lawn and pool, while to the left, a broody red sitting room connects to the living room via double doors. Behind, the playroom provides access to the new conservatory and, at the very rear of the house, steps lead to the “adults only” garden room addition facing the terrace. The smart glasshouse is the heart of the home, and with its oversized lantern and abundance of light, the bright botanical space has a chameleonic nature that works just as well entertaining for a “three-year-old’s party, 20 friends or a corporate cocktail party”, say the homeowners of the vast space with its clerestory windows.

“The brief was to provide a seamless extension to the original vision Stuart had for the house and it was important to us all for it to be finished in a way that would make him proud. Also to fulfil the clients’ brief of creating a comfortable, classic yet timeless interior through the use of colour, texture and layering, giving the house longevity and the ability to evolve,” says Adelaide.

Upstairs, the layout is neat and simple. The generous, pale mint master bedroom with ensuite overlooks the garden landscaped by Jenny Smith. Parallel to the hallway are the remaining three bedrooms. There are two studies: hers in duck-egg blue, his in deep chocolate tones wrapped in

seagrass wallpaper. “We wanted to honour Stuart’s stamp and be sympathetic to his long-term vision, but his design would have been more masculine, we’ve done a much softer look,” says Adelaide, who saw her role as marrying the back of the house with the front.

She credits the internal structural work to Stuart, humbly accepting her role as “just left to fill it”. “The proportion and structural detail that he saw was extraordinary, You don’t walk into a weak house that Stuart designed. They are strong and gutsy and well defined and well detailed, so for people like me that’s such a pleasure because somebody has thought about the architraves and the skirting and what the window proportions are and how the curtains are going to sit and if there is enough for the curtains to sit over the top. He kept the strength of the original house, even in a renovation.”

For the owner life had evolved from a bachelor existence years prior, to a family, with the birth of two children, so a lighter, gentler palette was applied with the utmost sensitivity. In the rear garden room the drapes and sofas are heavy but share a muted colour, and Michael S. Smith’s ‘Ondine’ fabric in teal has been used to upholster the custom-designed wing chairs. “It spoke to the garden but was also incredibly sophisticated,” says Adelaide of the material. “The rug had to talk to that fabric.” That hue and the teal cushions were pivotal in the custom-designed Behruz rug. Pared back with all the fabrics within the room, injections of khaki and splashes of plum create a contemporary anchor to the otherwise classic interior.

The structural robustness of this home couples flawlessly with its quiet strength. The result of two disparate designers, it has a privileged past and a graceful new beginning. #

For more go to adelaidebragg.com.au.