SYDNEY BOLTHOLE
Interior designer Megan Brown turned a run-down Sydney bungalow into a chilled-out sanctuary
Interior designer Megan Brown found a way to take in her forested bushland surroundings with a contemporary extension
when nature is left to its own devices, eventually it will encroach on any man-made structure. Such was the garden of the 1930s bungalow that Megan and Martin Brown bought at auction. ‘The backyard was a jungle. At the sale, the woman next to me said, “who would buy this place?”. We were the only bidders,’ Megan laughs. Yet its position, on the edge of a bushland reserve, gave the house a secluded quality rarely found in the homes so close to Sydney’s Manly Beach. Unperturbed by the fecundity of the plot, the couple saw it as a characterful addition to the house. ‘The garden backed onto a steep escarpment with tall gum and palm trees. It was beautiful to look at and gave us the feeling of being in an urban forest,’ Megan says.
The solid double-brick construction also appealed, meaning the house had insulation suited to the Australian climate. ‘There were also lovely original features, such as the high ceilings and elaborate plasterwork,’ says Megan. Left untouched for decades, the last change had been an extension added in the 1980s featuring cedar and slate. Inspired by the transformation that lay ahead, Megan, an interior designer who founded the studio Penman Brown, saw the project as an opportunity to exercise her creative instincts. ‘Planning took a year and a half. You’re so meticulous when it’s your own home. I was trying to achieve a distillation of many years of ideas,’ she says.
With the bungalow facing south, Megan was keen to open up access to the northern sky. To maximise daylight, a pavilion with a Dutch gable roof was added to the bungalow. This multifunctional space accommodates the kitchen and utility room, plus the dining and living areas. Sliding doors give an uninterrupted panoramic view of the newly landscaped garden and pool. ‘As you walk into the pavilion you can see the tops of the trees and sky through the skylights – you feel as if you are sat among the trees of the bushland,’ she says.
‘The new addition is contemporary and it’s a lovely experience to move through the classic, more elaborate, features of the bungalow and find yourself in the simplicity of the pavilion,’ Megan notes. To marry the two components and create consistency, she used a colour palette of soft, earthy whites. ‘I wanted a sense of continuity and relied on texture to add interest and depth. We used Marmorino plaster to soften large volumes. It has a lovely waxed texture, so as the light moves through the space the walls glisten and glow,’ says Megan.
With their original intention to move to the northern beaches being prompted by the desire to embrace a slower pace of life, Megan and Martin’s home has become a special bolthole. ‘When you walk up the decking to the entrance you feel like you’re coming out of everyday life and crossing over into a completely different experience,’ says Megan. ‘The house is an absolute oasis to be in and there’s a sense of peacefulness and calm we all cherish.’