MEMORY LANE Her wedding in rural Italy inspired designer Chloe Matters’ renovation of her Sydney semi
Chloe Matters transformed her small Sydney semi into a gorgeous family home by trawling through some very personal design references and literally plastering them on the walls
CHEAT SHEET
Who lives here Chloe Matters, an interior designer; her husband Adrian Oddi, a real-estate agent; and their two young children: Oscar, three, and Mimi, one.
Style of home A Federation semi in Sydney’s Bondi, extended and renovated to become a three-bedroom contemporary home with three bathrooms and two living areas.
The renovation cost approximately $750,000, excluding furniture and artwork.
Her own magical wedding in an Italian masseria [country house] among the olive groves, complete with white plaster walls and bleached timbers, inspired interior designer Chloe Matters in the renovation of her Sydney semi. And every time she turns her key in the door, the happy memories come flowing back. Yet these serene rooms belie the home’s chaotic rebirth. In late 2019, on the day Chloe and her husband Adrian Oddi settled on the Bondi property, she was heavily pregnant, already with a toddler, and setting up her own business – the perfect time to start demolishing a wall! Patience, she admits, is not one of her virtues, so she literally took matters into her own hands. What followed was a whirlwind eight months, which included the arrival of her second child as she steered the home’s transition and made a major change to the plans along the way.
When the couple bought the two-storey Federation home, it was a mishmash of additions and alterations. “Not one thing was consistent,” Chloe explains. “The previous owner was a builder and had added bits here and there, such as odd cornices and skirtings, and panelling in some rooms but not in others, without thinking of the bigger picture.” Instead, she wanted a family-friendly home with a smooth flow. “Storage and the usability of spaces, especially in the kitchen and laundry, was crucial,” she says. “It needed to have at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs as having the kids close to us at night was key. We also wanted a second living space, to double as a study.”
In the end, they moved walls in every room, bar one, with the exception of a bedroom near the front door, although that was repurposed, switching places with a sitting room/study on the first floor to fulfil that need for three upstairs bedrooms. Keeping largely within the existing footprint, Chloe moved the
“My style is using raw and tactile materials to create a calm, soothing atmosphere” CHLOE MATTERS, INTERIOR DESIGNER/OWNER
1 Entrance
2 Sitting room
3 Bedroom
4 Family bathroom
5 Laundry
6 Kitchen
7 Dining area
8 Living area 9 Deck
10 Pool
11 Bedroom
12 Bathroom
13 Bedroom
14 Ensuite
15 Main bedroom
16 Walk-in wardrobe
stairs from the living area at the rear to opposite the kitchen in line with the hallway, which, as with most semis, forms the home’s backbone.
Meanwhile, although not on the original plans, she decided to extend the first-floor main bedroom suite. “Heavily pregnant mid-renovation, I decided to enter a manhole into the ceiling to check out the space,” she says. “The builders loved me! So, halfway through the project we extended the main bedroom into the roof at the front to create a walk-in wardrobe.” And in pursuit of simplicity, she removed all the cornices, skirtings and architraves and replaced the original windows front and back.
For the interior design, Chloe’s inspiration came from the couple’s white wedding in Puglia, southern Italy. “I immediately felt at ease in that country house. It was clean and simple yet so tactile, created through layers of texture, not colour or pattern. The white textured walls and oak timbers played off the surrounding olive groves, with their gnarled trunks and sandstone outcrops. I am naturally drawn to tonal colours derived from natural elements, like stones, olive trees and water,” she says.
Chloe also tapped into the work of her muse, Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen. “I use pure tones and textures to develop a timeless interior. For me, it’s about the feeling when you enter a space – the tactility, the light and the use of natural elements, which creates a sensuality and a connection. Van Duysen does this beautifully.”
The potpourri of finishes Chloe eventually settled on includes traditional Tadelakt lime waterproof plaster (see box on the final page), sandstone, hardwood floors, exposed timber beams, hand-treated joinery finishes and stone-hued paints.
“All these materials have an organic shape or texture and generate an emotional response,” she says.
Now, as the mother of two children, Chloe admits that her favourite furniture pieces not only have clean profiles, they are very practical. “I love my Tigmi Trading dining table and chairs, and my sofa. They are tactile, simple, stunning designs that will stand the test of time and trends – and hopefully my kids!”
Find Chloe Matters’ work at chloematters.com or @chloematters
LIVING AREA (top) This is the left side of the fireplace. Vase, Barefoot Gypsy. Art piece (on wall), The Visuals. KITCHEN (left) Wilton door pulls from Mother Of Pearl & Sons go with the new black metal window. Wall light, Est Lighting. Linen rug, Coppola Home. Flooring and stair treads, whitewashed Cypress pine. DINING (opposite) The Organic round table and Pierre Jeanneret chairs from Tigmi Trading are Chloe’s favourites. Cosydar raffia pendant, Smallable. Leather cone pendants (above bench), Bisque Traders.
Functionality is key in a kitchen. I design with a place in mind for everything from the outset (such as a spice rack to hang on the inside of some pantry doors). Storage is crucial, so I design my kitchens with low drawers instead of cupboards, so you don’t have to bend over to find things and can easily access everything from above. In every kitchen, I include:
+ A dishwasher and bin on either side of the sink
+ Ample bench space on either side of the sink
and cooktop
+ Hidden space for electrical items
+ A golden triangle design, with the oven, fridge
and sink at the points of the triangle
+ Bench space to load and unload the fridge
+ Powerpoints in several locations.
lessons learnt “TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
WITH DESIGN AS YOUR FIRST CHOICE IS USUALLY RIGHT”
“Don’t be in a hurry to start your renovation. Take time to get the design right and gather quotes before you start. However, time was not on my side in this case, so I changed some things on the go, which is a budget no-no. In general, you should always work out where to save money and where to splash. If a quote comes back too expensive, ask questions, because if you understand how the trades propose to build something and with what materials, there could be a cheaper way to achieve the same effect. Then, make sure you brief your trades with visuals so they understand your vision. And remember, contrary to what many people think, reclaiming hardwood floors and staining them is usually harder than laying new flooring.”