crowdPLEASERSTORY ANNA McCLELLAND PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS WARNES STYLING STEPHANIE POWELL

A SMART NEW BUILD COMBINES MID-CENTURY TOUCHES AND NATURAL ELEMENTS TO CREATE A LIGHT-FILLED HOME FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

HOMES

GRAND ENTRANCE In 15 years of dreaming about the home she and her husband Theo would create for their family – with sons James (pictured) and Samuel – Alison had plenty of time to ponder the details. At the front of the Sydney home (below), an ornate wrought-iron gate, inspired by a trip to Ravello on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, greets visitors. “I took a photo looking through a fence there six years ago, and I said, ‘One day I’m going to build a house, and that’s going to be my front door’,” explains Alison. Inside, at the entrance (opposite), guests are greeted by a mix of modern and classic style, a look that flows through the whole house. >

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LIVING ROOM The sunken living area is the family’s haven and epitomises Alison’s wish for a sanctuary that didn’t sacrifice style (below). “We lived on bean bags for six months while we chose all our furniture,” she recalls. Gorgeous Globe West Juno ‘Conrad’ armchairs in Khaki Velvet with bronze legs pick up on the tones of the ‘Le Forge’ coffee table from Boyd Blue — as well as Maximus, the French bulldog! — while the ‘Madison’ New Zealand wool rug from The Rug Collection has a plaited weave that plays up the room’s natural textures. The striking Eames chair and ottoman in Walnut and Vincenza leather — a favourite of Theo’s that James (pictured opposite) also enjoys — is illuminated by a standout Foscarini floor lamp from Space.

“WHEN PEOPLE COME OVER THEY SAY ‘YOUR

DOG matches YOUR HOUSE’” ~ ALISON

D uring her years of living in a unit with her husband, Theo, and two growing boys, James, now 18, and Samuel, 16, homeowner Alison dreamt – in minute detail – of her forever home. “For 15 years I’d say, ‘One day boys, we’re going to build a house’,” she says. “And

we finally did it.” And how: Alison and Theo outdid themselves, fulfilling her vision of bright, contemporary spaces filled with mid-century Danish design, a home that exudes warmth but has modern minimalism at its heart. “It’s not fussy, it’s not OTT,” she says. “I wanted to create a natural feel with clean lines, lots of glass, stone and timber.” Virtually every box on her wishlist has been ticked, and everyone lucky enough to live here agrees it was worth the wait.

The prospect of a new build would be daunting for many, but Alison says she would do it again in a heartbeat. “I can’t think how many times I couldn’t sleep, not from stress, but from excitement,” she recalls. The mother-of-two had a strong sense of what she wanted from the start, honed through her work in real estate and years of keeping cut-outs from magazines. “If you’d looked at our apartment, you would have found towers of interiors magazines,” she admits. “I am truly a magazine junkie.”

The couple cut costs by employing an architect – whom Alison describes as “the world’s loveliest” – for the design phase, and then oversaw the construction themselves, a process which lasted more than 18 months. At a site meeting each Friday, Alison would be

given homework from her builder, while she had one non-negotiable for him – space for a pool table smack bang in the centre of the main living area. With a custom felt surface to tie in with the home’s neutral colour palette, it was one of the first pieces of furniture to be moved in. “I didn’t want it hidden away out the back,” she says. “I wanted the kids having fun right in the middle of our home.”

To achieve the polished yet warm look she coveted, Alison enlisted the services of interior designer Lisa Santamaria right from the start, drawing on her expertise for both the build and the interior design that followed. “What’s so interesting about Alison’s home is that she’s brought back a lot of the old, such as the bronze window frames and sunken lounge, but in a really classic, contemporary way,” says Lisa. “I took the bronze frames as my starting point to create an earthy, natural look with a mix of textures and tones.”

Alison, who has long loved mid-century modern design, sourced the home’s stand-out pieces of Danish furniture herself, with the unexpected help of her sons. “Believe it or not, my son picked our Walter Knoll dining table – I’d originally chosen a much less expensive piece for budget’s sake,” she says. “But James walked right up to it in the shop and convinced us we had to have it.”

A year on, the last piece of artwork has just gone up on the walls. “Even though we’ve been in for 12 months now, I’ll still walk in sometimes and say, ‘This is a beautiful house’,” says Alison with a smile. “We waited a long time for it.” >

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KITCHEN The kitchen’s dramatic colour palette (above & left) was inspired by magazine cuttings collected by Alison. The rich, chocolatey tones of the overhead cabinetry, in New Age Veneers ‘Verde Noce’, perfectly complement the dark-stained oak legs of the Space Copenhagen ‘Mater High Stools’ and contrast beautifully with the base cabinets in 2-pac polyurethane Dulux Vivid White. A trio of Normann Copenhagen ‘Bell’ pendant lamps from Surrounding Australia add a tactile earthiness. Alison originally wanted Calacutta marble benchtops, but when she found out this would mean having visible joins between slabs, she sought out other options. “The bloke who was building the vegetable box outside recommended I ring his brother-in-law, who does an engineered surface called Riverstone,” says Alison (pictured left, with the family dog, Maximus). “It was perfect — it came in one slab, it was matte and it was all-weather.” The benchtop flows from indoors to out, right through to the alfresco barbecue area, with a unique window splashback and a frameless corner window introducing an expanse of lush greenery from the garden into the kitchen.

“TERRAZZO ISN’T DONE often ANYMORE, BUT IT MAKES FOR

SUCH A practical AND BEAUTIFUL FLOOR” ~ ALISON

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DINING The sandstone dividing wall is the dining area’s standout feature. “All our sandstone was hand-cut on site by a wonderful father-and-son team of stonemasons,” says Alison. “I could have watched them creating their masterpiece for hours.” The natural surface adds texture and warmth, and is offset by a white quartz Walter Knoll ‘Sato’ table from Living Edge, teamed with Eames moulded-wood ‘Black Eiffel’ chairs with leather seating pads in Santos Palisander, also from Living Edge. A cowhide rug anchors the setting. >

WE LOVE...function in disguise

That mirror on the sandstone wall above the dining table is actually a television. “I like to watch the news at night when I’m cooking

dinner, but I didn’t want a TV taking over that space,” explains Alison. She bought a Samsung

LED Mirror TV and had Sydney Picture Frames create a custom

frame to heighten the mirror effect. “When it’s turned off

it looks just like a mirror,” she says. “You’d never know.” Visit sydneypictureframes.com.au.

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“EVERYONE WE DEALT WITH WAS REALLY knowledgeable, HELPFUL,

AND JUST MADE THE WHOLE

process SO GOOD” ~ ALISON

MAIN BEDROOM Alison and Theo’s bedroom has a more classic feel compared with the rest of the house (below), with a custom winged bedhead (upholstered in Warwick Fabrics ‘Kanda’ in Oatmeal), pastel soft furnishings (we love the turquoise butterfly cushion from No Chintz) and romantic sheer linen curtains. Alison chose the ‘Urban Lifestyle’ carpet in Bridge Hampton from Carpet Court, due to its irresistibly plush feel underfoot. “It’s synthetic, which sounds revolting, but it feels beautiful and is wearing so well,” she says.

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STUDY The Grace Garrett ‘Banana Palms’ upholstered pinboard is the first thing that catches the eye upon entering the boys’ study (right). Interior designer Lisa Santamaria had the tropical-style print re-scaled to better fit the space, which is now used to display the boys’ study notes and photos. “I saw Grace Garrett’s textiles in a magazine and just fell in love,” says Alison. The vibrant tones match the outlook of virtually every room in the home, which soaks up views of a neighbouring golf course.

ENSUITE The ensuite (below right) looks extraordinarily luxurious — “We went for a day spa feel,” says Lisa — but actually contains the least expensive tile in the home. Large format Calacutta marble-effect porcelain tiles line the walls and floor, while a feature wall of real marble hexagonal mosaics – both were sourced from Alexandria Tiles — elevates the effect. The spacious ‘Barcelona’ freestanding bath from Just Bathroomware is drenched in sunlight thanks to the louvre windows, while a dark grey ‘Pietra Grey’ marble benchtop anchors the light-filled look.

SAM’S ROOM “Sam was 14 when the house was built and his brief to me was aqua, charcoal and a giraffe!” recalls Alison. A Designer Boys ‘Neon Lights’ artwork between the twin beds (below left) delivers on his colour scheme, as do the custom grey bedheads (Warwick Fabrics ‘Sumo’ in Zebra) and Aura bedlinen. The American oak chest of drawers from Sounds Like Home is a practical solution for a boy’s bedroom and is less fussy than two bedside tables. >

POOL Alison dreamt of a jet-black swimming pool, which would reflect the surrounding gum trees to best effect. “The pool company warned me that we’d get spiders in the pool with black, so I had to change my mind,” says Alison (pictured below with Samuel, left, and James). The alternative? Mottled, deep blue Ezarri Metallica ‘Lava’ mosaics from Surface Gallery.

CONTACTS

Architect Roger Rajaratnam, SRAI, (02) 9340 7315, srai.com.auInterior designer Lisa Santamaria, Santamaria Design, 0409 772 657, santamariadesign.com.auBuilder Danny Sassin, Matrix Additions,matrixadditions.com.au

“MY HUSBAND AND TWO BOYS WERE really INVOLVED

– IT WAS A FAMILY effort AND I loved EVERY MINUTE!” ~ ALISON

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Who lives here?Alison, a real estate agent; her husband, Theo,

who works in property; their sons, James, 18, and Samuel, 16; and Maximus the French bulldog.

What’s your top tip for anyone considering a new build?

“Research, research and more research. I’m an avid magazine collector and kept clippings of things I love way before we even purchased

the block to build on. The better the brief for the architect, builder and interior designer, the more

efficient the process will be.”One decision you’re really happy you made?“The architect wanted the kitchen to be on the

right hand side, but I felt it would be better having it on the left, because I knew that when the sun rose, it would stream straight in. It’s so nice preparing breakfast in a sunlit kitchen.”

INSIDE STORYALISON & THEO’S HOME

MODERN CLASSIC

1. Juno ‘Conrad’ armchair in Khaki Velvet, from Globe West.2. Upholstered pinboard in Grace Garrett ‘Banana Palms’ fabric. 3. Try Lump Sculpture Studio for a similar screen.4. Normann Copenhagen ‘Bell’ pendant lamps from Surrounding Australia.5. Samuel and James enjoy the custom-made pool table by Master Billiards.6. Pink throw from Sheridan.7. Sandstone exterior wall. For a similar effect, try Veneer Stone.

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