THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL
Finding an already revamped period home meant this owner could focus on adding her colourful style
This already renovated bungalow in Melbourne was the perfect blank canvas for a young family
Finding the perfect family home in the leafy bayside streets of Melbourne was, according to Anna Chisholm, a case of broadening her horizons. Back in 2008, having unsuccessfully searched suburbs near her home in Fitzroy, Anna threw the net a little wider and found a renovated Californian bungalow, which offered clean lines and period character intact. After a winning auction bid, the family moved straight into the house with plans to decorate their newly acquired ‘blank canvas’.
A big attraction of this two-storey home was the family-friendly layout.With one baby in tow, Anna had always thought about having a separate ‘children’s retreat’ for the years ahead. The upstairs extension would, in time, afford each member of the family space and privacy, and according to Anna, “centralise the Lego to a part of the house that no-one else would see.” That’s what you call forward planning in the parenting stakes.
But as a keen entertainer, Anna also had her eye on the prize of the large light-filled and contemporary family living and dining area downstairs, which seamlessly spills out to the verdant garden and deck via floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors. “It’s such a joy to watch the boys chase our dog Maggie around the garden and through the house. They couldn’t have done that in our tiny old shoebox terrace!” says Anna.
Anna was equally sold on the fusion of old and new within the revamped house. “I loved our old terrace but moving to a home combining period features with a contemporary extension was a new chapter,” she says. “Mixing styles and eras was all part of the enticement and decorating challenge for me.”
The challenge began with Anna carrying out a giant cull of unwanted “brown and beige” furniture then filling her new and much larger home with a variety of family antiques and modern pieces that packed a punch with colour.
Five years after moving in, Anna opened an interiors store around the corner from her home, appropriately named Bungalow Trading Co. “Friends had always made lovely comments about my home, so it seemed like a good idea to combine my decorating hobby with my business background,”she says.