Perfect harmony

If the world’s a stage for singer and songwriter Guy Sebastian, his home on Sydney’s eastern beaches, which he shares with wife Jules and their two children, is no exception. His talents can be on instant display to the steady flow of friends and family who regularly cross its threshold. Arranged in a U-shape, the home’s his ‘amphitheatre’, his grand piano having pride of place in the central foyer, a raised space within a soaring nine-metre void. When he’s alone, Guy tinkles away, but, when friends drop in, he and Jules throw open the doors along each side of that U and everyone can listen to him perform. If he wants to make a showbiz entrance – not really his style – the helical staircase forged in steel and encased in crisp white render, which descends the void, provides the perfect vehicle.

This is a home that’s full of grand gestures and an element of theatre – it’s a fascinating fusion of both the public and private person, never losing sight of the fact that it’s also a family home for the couple and sons Hudson, seven, and Archer, five. Its moods shift with the time of day and the many purposes to which it is being put.

After a long search, the couple chanced upon this property about six years ago, seduced by its generous 1400 square metres, rare in this suburb, and its proximity to the beach. “We fell in love with the large block. My dream was to have a big backyard and tennis court,” says Guy. The only drawback was that the site was hogged by a 70-year-old bungalow showing its age.

Drawing on the talents of Joe Snell of Studio Snell – a former judge on a home renovation show, he and Guy met through sharing an agent – they bulldozed the old-timer and created a modern fourbedroom, three-level home. Design-savvy Guy and Jules presented Joe with a bursting scrapbook of images from Pinterest and other