Let there be light A sunny Queenslander with a Hamptons vibe
SEASONED RENOVATORS JOSIPA AND DAVID HAVE TRANSFORMED A RUNDOWN QUEENSLANDER INTO AN OPEN, AIRY SANCTUARY FOR THEIR FAMILY
Just over 15 years ago, Josipa and David embarked on their first home renovation project together. “It was an old innercity cottage,” remembers Josipa. “We purchased it on a Monday and by the Friday had installed a new kitchen. We sold a couple of years later, and after that we were hooked.” Five properties and three children later, the pair have the process down to a fine art. Yet their latest renovation is particularly close to their heart – it’s a large, sun-drenched home in Brisbane’s northeast, which they share with their sons Luka, 14, Tomas, 11, eightyear-old Nicolas and Penny the cavoodle. “The original house hadn’t been touched in years,” says Josipa. “It didn’t have much going for it except the facade, which we had to keep under character protection guidelines. But the block was gorgeous! It was big – over 1000 square metres – and only four streets from the river. We wanted to replace the old house with a much bigger one full of space and light.” Josipa’s vision was to consolidate all of her previous building experience to design the family’s dream home. “I had a chance to think about everything that did and didn’t work before, and make sure I avoided any mistakes,” she says. High on the list was having a large backyard for the boys to practise sport, and a kitchen that opened directly onto an outdoor entertaining area. “You really have to think about how your family lives and plan around that,” she says. The facade was retained but the house was demolished and rebuilt, giving her plenty of freedom to design. “With the boys older now, I located their bedrooms, bathrooms and living room down one end of the house to give them some independence and help buffer noise,” explains Josipa, whose brother Ante took care of the construction. “I also included the kitchen servery I really wanted, and a secret study nook in the butler’s pantry.” In keeping with Josipa and David’s love of classic American homes, the ceilings and doors were specified at above-standard height to emphasis the building’s already spacious proportions, while large custom windows and lashings of Dulux Lexicon Quarter, a pure white, keep it light and bright. “We then added warmth by way of natural finishes: oak on the living area floors, marble on the benchtops, French limestone on the fireplace and Croatian limestone on the bathroom floors,” explains Josipa. The result is a spacious, inviting and beautifully lit home resplendent with high-end finishes, and only a short stroll from local parks, cafes and the riverfront. With the family happily ensconced in this welcoming abode, it’s hard to believe they would ever move on. “We do feel very fortunate to live here, but you never know!” says Josipa. “Renovating gets strangely addictive.”