THE little THINGS

TWO BRISBANE CREATIVES JOINED FORCES TO MAKE THEIR 1950s COTTAGE COME ALIVE THROUGH CLEVER DETAILS AND TREASURED FAMILY PIECES

Agiant heart garland, green with foliage, twirls gently on its rope in the whisper of a breeze. It’s a sweltering Brisbane day and the wish for a cooling storm to send it swaying back and forth between the deck and the garden is on everyone’s lips. But the sky won’t comply. Suspended between the growing garden of roses and potted plants, and a recently revived ’50s bungalow, the stunning wreath revolves – posing as a natural and beautiful symbol of the collaboration between its creative owners, florist Nan and Paul, an architect. “When I was a child, our house used to be full of garden-grown flowers,” recalls Nan (pictured above, with the family dog, Cola Girl). “My mother’s a great gardener and I spent a lot of time in the garden with her.”

When Nan and Paul bought the home, more than a year ago, it wasn’t the garden that drew them in – in fact, all the greenery had been stripped back, with not a single tree on site. “The house was blocked off at the back,” says Paul, who turned around the design and build in just six months. “You didn’t really appreciate that you had a garden out there and then the park beyond.”

The first step was to rework the kitchen to open it onto a patio, and then extend the pitched terracotta roof above. Paul chose to leave the roof unlined, creating a unique view from the dining and living areas to the tops of the gumtrees in the adjoining park.

Rather than completely modernising the inner-city cottage, Paul was determined to maintain its distinct features. “I wanted to celebrate the bungalow style of the house,” he says. “A lot of these homes get overlooked but there’s a quality to them. They have such nice materials, the thin weatherboard and the terracotta roofs.”

The home’s vintage has played muse to the delightful design details inside, from a sculptural custom-made island bench to mismatched door handles and a fabulous ensuite with original pink fixtures. It all sits well with a collection of mid-century furniture, that Paul grew up with, and was passed on to him by his parents.

Timber forms a warm backdrop to the striking botanical examples of Nan’s creativity seen throughout the home. Her style reflects a sort of wild “garden-esque” aesthetic. “I found that along with beautiful bunches of flowers, I really enjoyed the making of things,” she says, taming a tangle of gum leaves into a low centrepiece for the dining table. Nan devises her arrangements – for both home and clients – from a studio at the rear of the home, which was formerly a garage. Paul transformed the space, adding a deck and updating the entrances. One of the things as an architect is to know when to push go and when to stop, he adds. “In this case, playing off the era and quality of the house, then the details come from that,” says Paul. Like the garden-grown works of art that are scattered throughout this cottage, it is these little imprints that give this home its true heart.

ENSUITE The home’s original pastel pink fittings have been restored and reframed as stars in the couple’s ensuite ( left & top right). “It’s fantastic to be able to use colour in your bathroom fittings,” says Paul. A Marc Newson Caroma showerhead with...

OUTDOOR AREA No matter the weather or the occasion, the solid brick patio chaise is the perfect addition to the couple’s outdoor area (opposite). “It’s a good spot to sit down and read the paper and drink a coffee,” says Paul. The luscious pot of...

BEDROOM Bold hues fit the bedroom’s classic revamp, which retained the original light fitting and classic panelled walls (top left). The bedside tables were passed on from Paul’s parents (for similar, try Zanui).

LIVING ROOM A new fireplace with bricked hearth and a tiled flue brings the space together and acts as a striking backdrop for the rotating living works created by Nan (opposite). “You can make wreaths any time of year, they are just really nice living...

OPEN SPACES Turning a picture window into a dining nook has saved space in this compact home and also integrated the dining space into the kitchen (above & opposite). Dangling from the ceiling is a Xavier Lust ‘Pleat Box’ pendant light that matches the...

STUDIO It’s fitting to find Nan’s professional studio nestled in her very own garden. The space, originally a garage with a suspended timber floor, was reworked by Paul, who updated the entrances and added a verandah with terraced stairs to mirror the...