IN THE PINK

The pretty pastel colour palette and floral wallpapers of this grand Federation house evoke English style in a very Australian way.

This room is evocative of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, dressed in a pink chiffon gown,” says the owner of this home on Sydney’s lower north shore, surveying her blush-pink living room. “It’s light, fresh, owery and so pretty.” Like that Cecil Beaton creation, the room is elegant, romantic and, as with the famous lm, this showstopper represents a dramatic transformation, for the house, the owners and even partly the designers themselves.

After buying the grand, two-storey, six-bedroom brick Federation house in 2014, the owners contacted interior designer Thomas Hamel of Thomas Hamel & Associates and his team of Brendan Guy and Carla Barton to create a new chapter for their young family. “Typical of the grand Federation merchant homes of Sydney, the 3.6-metre ceilings and large gardens had so much potential to create a modern dream home while honouring the original structure,” Thomas says. Luckily, most original features, such as the ornate plaster ceilings, ceiling roses, archways, architraves and leadlights were intact.

But the old part of the house was dark and enclosed, and the owners wanted to ensure that the grand scale of the home did not overwhelm. Because one of the owners had grown up in a rambling old home in postcard-pretty English countryside, this informed the brief. “They required our mixture of fresh and clean interiors with a traditional English feel, an edited Australian approach to a classic home,” explains Thomas.

Little needed to be done to the oorplan. Previous owners had extended the house with a large airy open plan at the rear, complete with banks of doors leading to a well-established garden.

Within the original section of the house, Thomas opened up the rooms to give greater connection to each other, creating a free- owing layout responsive to the demands of family living, while also offering retreats for both parents and children. The largest structural change was removing part of the formal dining-room wall to open up the entry and improve the ow from the front to the back of the house. A book-lined niche at the end of the family room became a media room and retreat for the children, while an enclosed verandah facing the street is the parents’ domain.

Double doors were installed to the study beside the entry and the main bedroom to lend gravitas. “We wanted to create a hierarchy with these spaces,” says Brendan. “Double doors to the main bedroom and columns in the adjoining hallway make it look like a gallery – a lobby to the bedroom”.

The team introduced “an eclectic combination of unique pieces that create a wow factor”, says Thomas, such as the pink drawing room with its new panelling and pink Murano pendant, an adjacent dining room with hand-painted silk de Gournay wallpaper and a second pink Murano pendant, and the main bedroom with a four-poster bed and oral “striped” walls, “all re ective of an English interior adapted for an Australian lifestyle”. “The living and dining areas are like a jewellery box, but they’re also super-comfortable,” says the owner.

Especially striking is the palette (rose pink yielding to pale sage in the dining room, main bedroom and upstairs sunroom, powder blue in the family bathroom, and pale wisteria lilac in another bedroom) and orals, both a departure for Thomas who is better known for his re ned use of timeless neutrals and classic pattern. He also “pushed the limits by introducing an overhead custom steel cabinet over the kitchen island, which added an unexpected and necessary contemporary edge to a rather traditional space.”

Meanwhile, the family’s collectables, mementos of their world travels are layered throughout. “I love how the house instantly feels established and full of travel souvenirs. It’s important to collect things that mean something to you,” says Thomas.

During the revamp the owner was shopping at an eastern suburbs antique store and fell in love with a French antique gilt mirror, but was disappointed that it was on hold for someone else. It later emerged that the mystery buyer was Thomas who had earmarked it for her. It now hangs in the main bedroom, reminding the owner of how in sync designer and client were. “Everything came together beautifully. Thomas and his team were mind readers,” she says. #

For more go to thomashamel.com.