SPECIAL GUEST
Designer and entrepreneur Terry Kaljo draws on her instinct and skill to dream up gorgeous holiday retreats
Any way you look at it, Terry Kaljo is a creative force. Having trained as a graphic designer, she honed her skills as an executive fashion director in magazines for many years — and she now develops and manages chic holiday rentals as part of her latest venture, Contemporary Hotels. “I don’t renovate to sell… I renovate to nurture!” says Kaljo, laughing. “I started this business because I realised that the properties I do could easily be sold, but why not keep them and see if I can make a return on them?” Kaljo is constantly updating her burgeoning portfolio of glamorous listings. Most recently she shifted attention to her own home, Mona Vista, in Sydney’s Darling Point, which has been a work in progress since she bought it 20 years ago. She understands the importance of light and situation, and this drew her to the 1920s home. “It was a good base to work with,” she says. “It had lovely rooms, very high ceilings — and being a large and freestanding house, it had big, long windows in every wall.” Light floods in from the rear of the two-storey house, which she opened up to exploit the favourable north-western aspect. Upstairs, Kaljo retained the original layout. A central corridor leads past two bedrooms and a powder room to the right and the formal lounge to the left through to the dining room with outdoor deck on the end. “You walk through the hallway onto the deck and see the arch of the Harbour Bridge,” she says. “That’s captivating and I will never change that.” She gradually made small tweaks, installing new door hardware throughout, while larger projects include updating the powder room and kitchen. “I really do love a functional environment where you feel a sense of nostalgia — a type of old-cum-not-brand-new,” she explains. Kaljo is not one to stand still, and as a result at least one room in her house is regularly refreshed. “I like to change the colour of the formal lounge every two years,” she confesses. Peter Lewis of Porter’s Paints is her co-conspirator on the colour choice, which has morphed into black from midnight blue, dusty pink, white and caramel. “Every time I do it, people say, ‘That’s great… that’s the best yet,’ ” says Kaljo. “I’ve had this colour for a while. The next one may be a dark forest green.” With joinery stacked with books and walls full of mirrors alongside inherited and contemporary art, this transformation is not as easy as it sounds and is proof of her endless energy and passion for interiors. Kaljo recently made some significant changes to the lower level. “My three children come and go,” she says. “Now that they have all left home, I took the opportunity to renovate downstairs, and that has probably completed the house in a way.” While the upstairs is also available to rent through Contemporary Hotels, the downstairs is geared for guests and comprises a living room, a self-contained kitchen, two bedrooms with ensuites, a laundry and a powder room. “Upstairs is quite European but it has a touch of fun and modernism — and downstairs is quite contemporary but still has an old Polynesian theme to it, so it’s that touch of old and new,” explains the designer, who has had fun decorating with her collection of Polynesian bric-a-brac and custom graphic wallpapers. The outdoor spaces have not been overlooked. “Deck space is very important,” Kaljo says. “Even though I like a European edge, the reality is that Australians live outside.” Areas for living and dining have been created with the right mix of furniture and objects, clever heating and outdoor lighting, including in the garden. Her latest triumph is the addition of a heated 15-metre pool. “That pool is magic,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s new… but I can’t keep away from it!” The design, a collaboration with architect Gabe Reed, is based on a pool she saw in Bali that was perched over a forest. “I did tweak it with a spa, and of course I had to put pylons on mine,” she says. “You have to be careful what you dream about.” Kaljo is already planning her next project — a secret attic. “If you love what you do, it becomes an addiction,” she says. With her innate sense of style and can-do attitude, an attic won’t be the last addition to her sanctuary, either. Visit contemporaryhotels.com.au.
“I really do love a functional environment where you feel a sense of nostalgia”