BLUSHING BEAUTY
A ground floor renovation gave this Sydney family the confidence to embark on a voyage of discovery
A ground floor renovation was the catalyst for one family to move out of their comfort zone
DOWNSTAIRS To gain extra floorspace, the renovation extended into the light well adjacent to the kitchen, which was brightened up with a skylight along the length of the addition. Floorboards are spotted gum from Nash Timbers.
Self-awareness is a powerful thing. It can be liberating to know where your strengths lie, as well as when you’ve reached the limits of your comfort zone and need support to venture beyond. Chris and Elizabeth, who have lived in their terrace in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs since 2012, are proof of this. “We’ve found that we can’t help making safe choices,” admits Elizabeth. “We like grey, and we ended up with pretty well everything in our house being grey.”
And there’s nothing wrong with that, per se. Grey can be lovely, after all. But they’d started feeling stifled by their default choice. The tipping point coincided with the arrival of their third child in 2014. Looking around at their home, the couple knew something needed to change. “It was dark and compartmentalised and small,” explains Elizabeth, “so we decided to open things up to make it more liveable for a growing family.”
Focusing chiefly on the ground floor, the renovation they planned wouldn’t actually add much to the floorspace; the only increase in the footprint was an extension into the light well alongside the kitchen. Strictly speaking they didn’t need new furniture at all, but that wasn’t the point. “This was our chance to start afresh,” says Chris. “The other option was to move back in without buying anything new and use our old things until we decided what we wanted. But we knew if we did that, five years later we’d still have that same old furniture.”
So, with the house a construction site and the family living in rental accommodation, they enlisted interior designer Lara Ette to coax them into using colour.
“When they first reached out, it was for advice on furnishings,” says Lara, who started the process by reviewing the floor plans and asking for examples of styles that appealed. “We gathered pages from magazines,” says Elizabeth, “and Lara would say, ‘Now tell me what it is that you like about it. Is it the colour? Is it that specific chair?’ I realised I hadn’t actually thought about it.”
A month later, based on these conversations, Lara presented concept images and products for consideration, while her clients made a conscious effort to be open-minded. “We tried not to say no to anything without going to see it first,” recalls Chris. “So for every chair we bought, we probably tried out ten. Lara sent us to shops we didn’t know existed. We’d never have chosen some of the things we went for without her involvement.”
As their trust in the designer grew, so too did the scope of her remit, until Lara was helping with everything from curtains and light fittings to tapware and artwork, her encouragement never waning. “I suggested introducing a colour onto the walls of the dining room, combined with darker trim on the woodwork, and for ages they didn’t go for it.” she says. “I think it was the day the painter actually started that they said, ‘We’re going to do it!’”
The end result is a home that embraces colour and contrast in a very soothing way, favouring the likes of powder blue, blush and navy for an aesthetic that’s subtle rather than loud. And just like that, the family was converted. “My favourite thing is the wallpaper as you come into the house,” says Elizabeth, pointing out a recessed panel in the hallway with a textured ombré effect that blooms from white to deep pink - much like her blossoming love of colour. See you later, grey!
“Painting the joinery and picture rails in the same shade as the walls was an idea of Lara’s I loved. It’s much more interesting” ELIZABETH, HOMEOWNER