Good wicket Sara and Glenn McGrath’s art-filled Sydney home is perfect for their family (left)

AN ART-FILLED ABODE IN SYDNEY’S SOUTH IS THE PERFECT RETREAT FOR A “BUSIER THAN EVER” GLENN MCGRATH, HIS DESIGNER WIFE SARA LEONARDI-MCGRATH AND THEIR GROWING FAMILY

shades of cerulean and royal blue create a tranquil first impression at Glenn McGrath and Sara Leonardi-McGrath’s home, echoing the peaceful waters nearby that lap gently at the rear edge of their property in Sydney’s south. The sea casts its spell, drawing visitors like a magnet to its outdoor terrace, but along the way, there’s a feast of curated riches to seduce the eye inside too. “Our home is definitely a reflection of my travels and background, but also the things Glenn and I have collected through the years,” says Sara, an art dealer turned tie-dye fashion entrepreneur. “I love a home that tells you a story about the people that live in it.”

Here, the beloved retired cricketer and his creative-powerhouse wife of nine years have created a space that caters to every family member’s needs: the sanctuary the coach and commentator retreats to after his overseas trips is also the engine of Sara’s “wearable art” label, It’s A Fad, and the ideal home for the evolving needs of children James, 19, Holly, 18, and Madison, four. “I’m busier now than I’ve ever been, and obviously having two older kids and the little one, there’s never a dull moment,” says Glenn with a laugh, as Madison clambers all over him. “Hormones and tantrums!” quips Sara cheerfully.

It was Glenn who bought the fivebedroom house on a 3500sqm block 13 years ago. “Being a country boy, I always like space,” says Glenn, who was raised on a sheep and wheat farm near Dubbo in western NSW. (The co-founder and president of the McGrath Foundation is working towards attaining his helicopter pilot’s licence so that he can return more often to the bush, where his parents still live.) This house, he says, “appealed because it was on a large block, on the water, peaceful. That’s why I fell in love with the place.”

He fell in love with Sara, who was then studying interior design, after they met in Cape Town in 2009, and they exchanged vows on the terrace at home – doing their best to ignore the drone of news helicopters – in November 2010. When Sara fell pregnant with Madison, they launched a major renovation that involved gutting most of the interiors. “It’s a beautiful home, because it’s all on one level, and it’s very airy and breezy – we definitely wanted to keep that – but the idea was to have the spaces flow,” says Sara, who worked with the late Bobby Singh from BKH Interiors on the design. “I would be in my robe overseeing what they were doing,” says Sara. “We had no project manager.”

While the renovation progressed to schedule, “Sara was crook the whole time,” says Glenn, explaining that his wife’s pre-eclampsia took a near-fatal turn that led to Madison being delivered eight weeks early. After two months in hospital, baby Maddy joined her parents and siblings for the move back into the revived family home, following the seven-month renovation, just in time for Christmas 2015. Updates included a stunning kitchen showcasing a colossal Carrara marble island, four bathrooms (worthy of a five-star hotel) – including a new ensuite for James – and a built-in marble desk in Holly’s room. “I think that was so special for the kids, that our house was fresh and we brought the baby to the house and everything was brand-new,” says Sara.

Decorating was a slow burn, as it always should be, Sara believes. “It’s years of collecting that makes a home,” she says. “A lot of people want an ‘instant home’ to have character, but character is your life and where you’ve lived and places you’ve travelled.” As much as Glenn loves jetting around the world with his wife, and has indeed “lugged a few things on planes”, chuckles Sara, it’s walking in his front door – and straight for the water – that he cherishes. “I love nothing more than coming home,” he says, smiling. “I’ll make myself a cuppa, go outside and just take it all in. It’s the simple things that I think we should treasure the most.”

“IT’S SO PEACEFUL AND RELAXING, LOOKING OUT OVER THE WATER” ~ Glenn

“ART NEEDS TO SPEAK TO YOU. THAT’S WHEN A PURCHASE SHOULD BE MADE” ~ Sara

“I LOVE MIXING ANTIQUE, MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY PIECES” ~ Sara

KITCHEN Holly takes a seat at the scene-stealing marble island (opposite top left), where a Moroccan rug from Beni Kesh adds a dash of warmth to the luxe space featuring Crafty Kabinets’ handiwork. “Everything is Carrara – the stonework has been so immaculately done that all the grains match,” says Sara of the marble, all cut from one slab and used throughout the home, from Benchmark Stonemasons. DINING ROOM Chairs (opposite top right) are covered in fabric tie-dyed by Sara, whose kitchen-sink experiments led her to found her label, It’s A Fad, in April 2019. “I would be tie-dying day and night if I could!” she says. STUDIO NOOK In Sara’s studio (opposite below far left), a striking piece by Sicilian painter Luciano Bellia sits above one of her collection of vintage nudes. SITTING ROOM “We’re so lucky, we’re healthy, we have each other,” says Sara (wearing one of her It’s A Fad designs, opposite below right) with her husband Glenn and their daughter Madison.

LIVING ROOM Antique treasures, including her grandmother’s circa 1920s armchairs, coexist harmoniously with contemporary pieces in this generously sized space (below), where a custom lounge by Ambience Upholstery invites relaxation. Sara says Maddy “spills crumbs” on the c.1700s rug that once graced Sicily’s Musmeci Palazzo, whose ochre tones are repeated in the furnishings and piece by Chinese artist Liu Bolin. “The angels are carbon sketches used to make cathedral angels,” says Sara, who was born in Miami and raised in Sicily, where her family were patrons of the arts. The charcoal sketch is by Sicilian artist Paola Vasta Bella and the artwork, centre, is by Salvatore Fiume.

MAIN BEDROOM With its outlook to the water, Sara and Glenn’s bedroom (opposite) lends itself to easy, breezy Sunday mornings. “If the weather is good, we take our paddleboards and go out the back,” says Sara. A drawing by Luciano Bellia hangs above the bed and a Beni Kesh rug adds comfort. STUDIO Glenn’s office made way for Sara’s “woman cave,” as she laughingly calls her studio (top left). The room is filled with artistic finds and mementos, including the bookshelf by New York artist Daniel Arsham, and a photo Glenn took of Sara in Portugal. The chic rug is from Beni Kesh. ENSUITE Penny rounds and Carrara marble evoke high-end glamour in the guest ensuite (top right). TERRACE Glenn kicks back in his “favourite space” with James (above right). “I sometimes think you can get a bit blasé about what you have,” reflects Glenn. “Out there, I can really appreciate everything. It’s where I relax the most.”