The warmest welcome An old beach house gets a new lease of life
FOUR YEARS OF HANDS-ON WORK PAID OFF FOR A SYDNEY COUPLE, WHOSE PASSION FOR REVIVING AN OLD BEACH HOUSE REWARDED THEM WITH A FAMILY HOME THAT SETS A NEW STANDARD IN LAID-BACK LUXURY
LABOUR OF LOVE
Pops of sunshine pierce Monique’s signature all-white colour scheme at ‘La Casa Bianca’, the swoon-worthy three-level family home on the northern beaches she and husband Andrea brought back to life during a meticulous four-year renovation. “There are always little subtle touches of yellow in the house,” says Monique, who loves relaxing with her family in her Malawi Cane double hanging chair, sitting outside the couple’s bedroom (below). “Nutella loves to swing on the hanging chair with Mati and I,” adds Monique, pictured opposite with daughter, Mati, four, and labrador Nutella, one of the family’s four pets. The front door, dressed in Dulux Dandelion Yellow (opposite), sings against exterior walls in Dulux Lexicon 15 per cent. Greenery in pots by The Pot Warehouse adds a final flourish to the scene-stealing entrance. >
DINING ROOM
Pendant lights from Home With Grace spotlight a glorious place to dine (below), flowing out from the living room. Malawi Cane Traditional single chairs and seat pads in White set the scene for a long lunch, while pieces from Coastal Drift (the ‘Ilala’ woven mirror tray and ‘Buhera’ bowl) enhance the vista’s raw appeal. The previous owners’ use of a yellow-and-white awning inspired Monique to introduce yellow as a motif inside and outside the family home.
One week before she was due to give birth, Monique and her husband, Andrea, were sitting in her obstetrician’s waiting room when their solicitor called: their offer on a dilapidated 1950s home with a heavenly view on Sydney’s northern beaches had been accepted. Buying a home had not been on the agenda for the expectant parents, who were about to start “a huge renovation” of their cottage in the eastern suburbs. “We were literally a week from putting bulldozers through,” says Monique who, with Andrea, had inspected the beach house on a whim. “We saw its previous glory years that had been left to ruin,” she recalls. “We had the vision to be able to return it to glory – and to take it to another level, as well.”
The spectacular result, renamed ‘La Casa Bianca’ – in homage to Andrea’s Italian background – is testament to their unwavering commitment to that vision. Across four years, Monique – the founder and director of homewares company Malawi Cane and wholesaler Coastal Drift – and her husband transformed the rundown house with its green-and-violet walls into a luxurious four-bedroom, three-bathroom home that beckons all who step beyond the sunny yellow front door to kick their shoes off and unwind. With its white walls and all-white floorboards enlivened by tactile rattan, wood and soft furnishings adorned with tribal prints that nod to Malawi-born Monique’s heritage, her signature style is “rustic luxe”, according to the chic homeowner. “It gives us permission to have our relaxed lifestyle, while still having an appreciation for beautiful design and finishes,” she says.
The slow-and-steady transformation didn’t overwhelm Monique and Andrea, even in the early days when daughter Mati, now four, was a newborn and they were juggling the works on their original home in the east of Sydney (they moved into this house when Mati was six months old). Yet, Monique laughs off any suggestion she’s a home-reno superhero, though she’s completed at least 10. “Renovations, construction and interiors is just in some people’s blood,” she says.
Since downing tools last July, the couple has been savouring the fruits of their hard work. “One of my favourite times of day is when it’s us as a family all up in the master suite,” says Monique, painting a picture of how they greet the new day from the gently swaying balcony chair. “We all – dogs, cats, humans – hang out here every morning, coffees and milk in hand, enjoying the sunrise from the ocean horizon year-round and spotting whales. It’s a tranquil and private family space where we share our first hour of every morning and where only we create the memories,” she says.
KITCHEN
Custom-made doors (with hardware from Hepburn Hardware) are a focal point of the kitchen island (above, by an Ikea stool) and conceal a surprise. “Our TV’s in there,” says Monique with a laugh.
The island benchtop (left, showcasing crockery from Mud Australia) is restored Tasmanian oak with a dark stain treatment. “There are always neighbours popping over, or people visiting from the east, or people coming for weekends,” says Monique who, along with Andrea, regularly entertains. Nonetheless, the kitchen’s six-burner Ilve oven has been getting a rest lately. “We always used to be a big ‘roasts’ sort of family, and now everything’s pizza!” explains Monique, whose Mediterranean courtyard features a popular pizza oven. >
LIVING ROOM
“My husband used to spend quite a bit of time in the south of Italy when he was a child, so I guess there’s that sort of rustic feel, and any of our interior decor has come from collections throughout our lives, and things that have meaning to both of us,” says Monique. Anchored by a Lifestyle Collective sofa adorned with a Beachwood chunky European linen throw and cushions including, second from left, the Walter G ‘Swazi Mud’, Coastal Drift ‘Zimbabwe Block White’ and Eadie Lifestyle ‘Simpatico’ in Mustard, the light-filled living space (below & opposite, below far right) brims with cross-cultural mementos. Atop a Beachwood coffee table, a traditional parat (plate) and a coral, both from Home With Grace, draw the eye, while the tones of a rug from Home On Darley call to mind driftwood and a stormy sea.
BALCONY
The star of this space (below), off Mati’s room and the guest bedroom, is Monique’s original design for the Malawi Cane single hanging chair. “It was the prototype that I brought in for the first trade show, so it’s the one that’s never going to leave us,” says Monique (pictured), who has accessorised this relaxing outdoor zone with a ‘Bamileke’ table sourced from Africanologie sitting atop a cotton rug from Home On Darley. “It’s right outside my daughter’s bedroom, so it’s kind of become her swing. She jumps around on it every morning.”
GUEST RETREAT
Lucky guests of ‘La Casa Bianca’ enjoy their own fully appointed retreat on the home’s lower level, which incorporates an alfresco dining space featuring Malawi Cane Traditional single chairs in White (far left, around a table topped by Coastal Drift’s ‘Betty’ woven tray). For Monique and Andrea, who welcome a steady stream of visitors all-year long, the space plays an important role in their lifestyle, yet “the home is completely adaptable,” says Monique. “You can use the different areas at different ages and for different needs as your lifestyle requires,” she says. >
MAIN BEDROOM
Comfortable bedlinen from In The Sac and a white ‘Fringe’ rectangular cushion from West Elm create a cloud effect in the home’s main suite (above), while Leilah cushions mirror the moody sky in an Africanologie print above the bed (which is strewn with a Portia cotton throw and ‘Lila’ linen bathrobe, both from Papaya). A bench from Home With Grace echoes the natural tones in a Coastal Drift planter basket and keeps essentials within reach, while a striking pair of old African doors (one visible, above) bookend the room. “They’ve lived different lives for different purposes,” says Monique. “Here, they’re parted as if they’re the doors into the ensuite bathroom.”
MAIN BALCONY
The balcony beyond the couple’s bedroom offers a cleverly built-in couch on one end (above). A Malawi Cane Traditional open-weave table displays a Sondu ‘Iringa’ basket from Papaya (used as a plant holder) and is the ideal spot for a morning coffee.
FAMILY BATHROOM
“We jackhammered three layers of tiles away from the floor in here,” recalls Monique, who designed the stunning concrete vanity (below), which has Brodware tapware in Weathered Brass Organic and a Nero Stone sink accessorised with Coastal Drift’s ‘Tiffin’ basket, against a Beaumont Tiles splashback. A pendant by Home With Grace completes the starkly beautiful space. >
GUEST RETREAT
In the dedicated guests’ area that lies on the lower level, visitors step up to a raised sleeping space (right), where they can nod off amid the sounds of the ocean in calming white and spare surrounds. “The rusticness definitely comes from both our childhoods,” says Monique of the home’s style. “You know, if you put the current house in a field in Tuscany it would be a farmhouse. It’s just coastal because of the location, really.” Zara Home linen and decorative cushions from Coastal Drift amp up the comfort levels, while a round mirror (seek similar from Horgans) enhances the ample sense of light and space.
REAR COURTYARD
In the dreamy space that Monique calls “the heart of the home” (left), a Moroccan-tile table from Doug Up On Bourke, Malawi Cane Traditional single chairs and seatpads, cushions and throw from Eadie Lifestyle all work together to invite guests to take a seat, relax a little and forget their cares. “It’s where everyone congregates,” she says. As well as a place to soak up the sun in winter, this versatile outdoor zone “is just a really lovely setting for evening,” sums up Monique.
CUBBY HOUSE
Bringing Mati’s storybookpretty cubby house (below) to life was a true family affair: Monique designed and painted it (in Dulux Lexicon 15 per cent with Dulux Dandelion Yellow barn-style door, mimicking the family home) and Andrea constructed the 4m x 2.5m structure, with help from Mati. The cubby even had its own house-warming party! “All the neighbours came because they’d watched us do this eight-month construction,” says Monique, adding a neighbour made the bunting as a cubby-warming gift.
“EVERY HOME WE’VE represented LIVED IN HAS WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE LIKE”
~ MONIQUE
HOME OFFICE
“We call it a den,” says Monique of the office, where Mati is pictured holding court from a Malawi chair in Dark Brown that’s paired with an Ikea desk (the cute seat outside is the children’s Malawi chair from Malawi Cane). As with the rest of the home, this is a multi-purpose area that can mould itself to the user’s needs. “It’s an escape room for anyone wanting peace, or time alone for either work, catching up on a book or watching a few episodes!” adds Monique. >
EXTERIOR
During the lengthy renovation, Monique and Andrea worked just as hard outdoors as in. “We got rid of a whole layer of jungle in one whole level of the garden – we re-turfed all three levels in the garden, built the cubby house and put in fencing,” says Monique, whose exterior renovation included landscaping, building planter beds in the courtyard (below), and replacing aged weatherboards.
CONTACTS
Structural Design and Interiors
Monique Ryan-Musacchio, 0424 644 684.
Builder
Ellwood Building & Co, 0432 245 546.