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 Day house

Emma,

The Federation era was a time of high aspirations for a newly minted nation, and the architecture of the time reflects exactly that. Lofty ceilings, generous proportions, gracious windows letting in the light of a new age… not surprising these houses remain eternally popular and loved by interior designers for their good bones and good graces, in equal measure.

The following is a Creative Interior Plan (CIP) that will be the roadmap to transforming your lovely Federation gem into a beautiful and unique home that reflects who you are and what you aspire to be in this next phase of your life. Style, energy, warmth and comfort are all descriptors we will aim for in the designing of this property - just as they might aptly describe the woman who chooses to live here!

So let’s open the front door and walk on in…

Entry Hall:

Because first impressions count! This space sets the tone for the entire house and so it is critically important that we get this right.

We have had to delete the dado idea - at least we gave it a red hot go!!

As we have eliminated the wallpaper too, I’ve had a rethink….

The colour below is by Porters Paints, called Duck Egg and as you’ll remember, I did have this earmarked for the second bedroom. But as you want to keep the bedrooms light and I think the hallway needs to pack a punch, I’ve swapped things around! Duck Egg has a warmth and an earthiness yet is still dynamic and vibrant which I think is so important in this spot. The brass of the mirror, the rug we’ve chosen, and importantly, the other colours selected for the bedrooms and study will all compliment it really well.

We recently agreed too, that we need a mirror and I think this is the queen.

Next we need a light fitting. The brass and glass ones in this spot currently are undersized and therefore a tad insignificant. This one is a fabulous alternative as the whiteness of it against the blue wallpaper will add a soft relief and a quiet beauty. Two of these, please!

This is from the Normann Copenhagen range called Phantom. It is a high quality resin fabric stretched over a wire frame. I’ve chose two for you, the small for the hallway and the large for the dining area. With a warm white globe (always!) the effect is very muted and soft, candle-like in its light quality.

And of course - a runner is required, the purpose of which is to dampen sound and add warmth.

It’s hard to beat the price point, too, as it’s much cheaper than wool and much stronger, but like all things, there is a lead time.

As I have said already, the entry hall of any home should be the wow factor that sets the tone of the entire house - most especially, for the occupants.

When you put your key in the door Emma, I want you to open up to a home that really knocks your socks off! I’m very conscious that everyone has a budget - and perhaps spending money in a zone of the house that is in effect a thoroughfare, may not have been your first thought. But I hope that I have impressed on you the wisdom of taking this approach and that you’ll agree, this would be a pretty spectacular introduction to the interiors that lie beyond.

The Living Room:

This is a large and light area with a ton of potential. We want it to look and feel beautiful and relaxed, an area where you’ll love be and where you’ll feel good to entertain. But there are some larger budget items here.

But to begin with, let’s get the wall colour and curtains right.

Coming in from the hallway, we want a paint colour that marries well with the blue but gives more light, so after some discussion, we have settled on Porters Paints, Duck Egg half strength. Sadly, there are no stock images of the half strength, so for the purpose of the exercise, the image below left will need to suffice!

You have the paint pot sample to play with and I strongly suggest you splash the colour around to be sure you love it as much as I do!

Hilariously, the Mokum fabric is also called, Duck Egg and it is a beautiful linen, as you can see by the swatch in your sample box. The colour on the wall is a gentle and luscious match with the fabric and the two marry perfectly with the Meadow rug, even if we do have to wait an age for it to arrive!!!

Now for some big moves….

Delete the following in italics after our conversation this morning!!

Firstly, I’d like you to consider something - that TVs are black holes antithetical to good design. Have I made myself clear??!! You have this lovely room that abounds in classic features and right there, in prime position above the fireplace, the dark cloud - quite literally!!!

I’d like to suggest a radical move - that we take the tv off the wall and actually pop it into another room. But let’s come back to that particular fate later.

An alternative could be a landscape painting like this one below left, by a young, emerging Australian artist called Emily Persson. Or a still life one like the one on the right, by an established Sydney artist called Craig Waddell. So much potential!

Above the fireplace truly is too central, too fundamental to the room to be utterly wasted with a TV!!

I’ve given much thought to furnishing options here and I think the winner is modular. I just love the leather chairs you have and I was trying to make them work here, but have decided that they’re better off going with the telly… more later!

I want to keep the colour light and the texture full, so have selected this modular from Globewest called the Madrid. Apologies for the imagery - the location shots are of the range in the other colourway! But you can see our fabric in the shots of the single pieces, and of course, there is a swatch in your sample box.

Boucle is divine. It’s robust, textured, full of character and I love it. The addition of a couple of reindeer hides over the back of either angle will really add to the magic.

Being a modular, it comes in various component parts, as pictured below, but the configuration above gives a good indication of what might be right for us. Possibly, we could include another single unit to make the right side longer.

Coffee tables are a must, although they can be super annoying if wrongly sized or placed! A round table is a clever option because it makes it easier to get around and somehow appears more slim line. This one from Globewest is lovely in marble, which would be a nice tie in with the kitchen, but more importantly, a lovely colour match with the scheme. I know you think it is low, but I rather like that - it means you can see the fire place and it makes less of an impact on the sense of spaciousness,

In addition to the central coffee table, these little side tables can be placed at either end of the modular to give greater amenity. They’re timber and will be a valuable visual link to the black of the dining table and in the kitchen. They de-formalise the marble and they add an organic lustre that really compliments the space.

The dining table is a feature of the room - and I think this would be a fabulous replacement to your existing. It is called the Kin table and it’s the most beautiful shape. It comes in two sizes, 2400 and 2700mm, so depending on how large you feel you need, your room could take either.

The available imagery from the website doesn’t do it justice - but I know that Manyara Home had it on their shop floor for a while and I assure you, the price I can get it is far less! It’s just so sleek and stylish - an absolute winner.

The big ticket item in this room is the joinery that I really believe must replace the ornament shelf arrangement that is there currently - it’s not your friend Emma! You have spoken about your need for more storage, particularly wine glasses that don’t have a convenient home right now, and the solution has to be most ideally found in this dining area.

Notice in the centre image below the option to incorporate a tall cupboard into the design, should you wish. A mix of books and treasures looks layered and interesting, but not overly cluttered. The cupboards below are great for all kinds of storage; napery and placemats, etc, glasses and serving ware - even puzzles and games. All the ‘stuff’ that does no one any favours by being on open display!

I agree with you, sliding doors may be a better option as you don’t want doors opening on to the dining space. I absolutely love these handles by Studio Henry Wilson, they’d be perfect!

I have an excellent joiner who can help us design the perfect format for you at a reasonable price. I really think proper joinery would be transformational to the room and a massive improvement to style and practicality;

The light fitting for above the dining table is, as already mentioned, another in the Phantom range by Normann Copenhagen. It is big and beautiful, but has soft and gentle presence.

Potentially, we could add another rug underneath the dining table in the same Mojave Cashew as the hall runner. Not everyone wants a rug under the dining table for practical reasons, but if you did, the Mojave is the perfect choice

The most anticipated addition to the house? THE KITCHEN BAR STOOLS!!

Emma’s Study:

The engine room!!!!!

This room HAS to feel special. It needs to reward you for all that hard work and it needs to reflect back at you just what a super woman you are! It needs to be calming, but at the same time inspiring. It needs to beautiful, functional, impressive, comfortable.

So we begin with lighting - the single most important element in any room of any interior. Big statement!! But it’s not just the light fitting and globe I’m talking about, I am referring to the quality of light the room emanates, and I believe that it starts with the colour on the walls. Taking my cue from the tiles on the fireplace, the colour selected is by Porters Paints and it’s called French Green.

The suggestion is that your desk be in the window, taking in the best of the light and giving lawyer Emma some light relief when she needs to look out from lawyering onto the pretty streetscape outside.

We haven’t spoken about how big a desk you’d need, but I have a feeling, not very? your filing cabinet, like many lawyers, is inside that big brain of yours with the spill over on your laptop?? Anyway, we can discuss and I can find something bigger if you require me to. I like the shape of this one, and the dimensions are slim line. My concession to oak!!!

At 1800 x 700mm deep, it is a nice size for under the window and I figure that the deep built-in cupboard has ample storage for files and a printer etc, so the requirements of the desk I assumed were limited to that extent.

When the dining room joinery is done, we can get my supplier to also fit out the internals of the study cupboard to your specifications. We mentioned the printer, files, that sort of officey stuff, but you might like to think of anything else you could conveniently store here as you formulate the plan for this space.

A console table inside the door on the left would be a good spot for keys, mail, etc and it would give structure to the room that had a logic. The one below is the same line as the desk, called the Floyd from Globewest. I like the marble top!

I’d suggest two lamps: one for the desk and one for the console. This one is a beauty - the shade in the location image on the right looks a tad yellow, but it’s not! The lamp is a good height - it’s substantial without taking up valuable real estate on the desk.

A rug in here is also essential and this one is a chunky and delicious pure NZ wool called Petra, in the colour Blanc. Do yourself a favour and take your shoes off and stand on the sample piece I have included in your sample box - you’ll never want to put your shoes back on!!

(I suggest repeating this rug in the tv room for continuity, but also because like I said, who needs shoes??!!)

Two swivel chairs are up next - because two are better than one and this is a generous room worthy of company! This one is great value and wildly comfortable.

Quick note here, I do NOT work for Globewest, I work for YOU and I think the value at Globewest is just so good. Probs they should PAY me to be such a fan but the point is, they wouldn’t need to. You will see a lot of their furniture at Manyara Home and other fashionable and stylish stores at a much higher price point - but their trade program is irresistible and I pass on the full trade discount to you, which makes me a very happy designer!!!

The side table below to place between the chairs is from Trit House and it’s called the Mason, in travertine. I selected the larger of the sizes - at 550mm it is more useful for coffee cups etc. It weighs 60kg which is a bonus!

The travertine abounds with all the gorgeous textures of nature and will be glorious next to the fabric of the chairs and the rich rug beneath!

We need to talk about art - you have plenty of walls to dress!! You might consider, in the fullness of time, adding to your collection with some photography… it can add a really fresh and contemporary finish to an interior at a surprisingly friendly price point (with the possible exception of Bill Henson!!!)

The examples above are by a Sydney photographer called Poppie Pack who has a gallery shop in Paddington. I’d suggest the portrait orientation in the big 105 x 141cm format. If you like the idea, there are many to choose from and she’s a delightful young woman who’d be happy to meet with you and show you more. I love the idea of two really large photographs above the chairs here.

Spare bedroom:

This room, the first on the right as you enter the house, is lovely. But I want to spend your money elsewhere!! I think we paint it, add side tables and lamps, a headboard perhaps (if you don’t already have one) and lovely linen. In doing so, we make a room with high impact but save time and energy for the rest of the house.

Whether it’s one of your kids or a friend coming to stay, you don’t want their experience of the house to be clouded by an ordinary guest bedroom…

So first up, colour! Porters Paints, Rubble.

We don’t absolutely HAVE to have a bedhead, or the purchase of one could be delayed in the interests of prioritising budget. But my recommendation would be to plan for one, either now or at a later stage, because with one, the room looks so much more finished.

For a contemporary and relaxed vibe, I’ve gone for the linen option from my favourite linen supplier, Hale Mercantile, a beautiful Australian company who manufacture the product in Europe and who have worked their way up the sheet ladder to pretty much be the top of the pops for linen in this country - and that is some feat as there are now a myriad of companies pumping out bedding and having tried a lot of them, this is hands down my pick.

Selecting the colours for the sheeting is the easy part - you can see just how delicious they are, but I would suggest the bedhead be in the colour Sable as it is perfect against the proposed wall colour.

Bedside tables in a spare room are for a lamp and a book (and depending on who’s coming to stay, a glass of teeth!!). So we don’t need bedsides with drawers.

I think these are lovely -

Bedside lamps. You may already have some we could use here, perhaps you have bases we could add new shades to, or you might consider these. The base is bronze and the colour Moss linen would be the customised shade colour.

Art for the walls will be a future focus once we ascertain what you already have, what you’d like to explore, what the budget will allow.

Spare room 2:

Having spoke today about this room, I am reverting!! We make a second bedroom, sumptuous amd irresistible.

Let’s start with the room colour. As already mentioned, Duck Egg full strength! This is a colour that feels cosy and dreamy, whilst also being modern and bold. I have used it a number of times, once in a baby’s nursery! When you see it on the wall, you will be thrilled by just how clever you are to have chosen it. The curtains will balance the richer, deeper tone and really build on the charisma of the room.

The heavy velvet drapes in their surprising shade of green need to be donated in favour of something that will warm the cockles of your guest’s heart. I love this - by Mokum, it’s called Obi Stonewash in the colour Driftwood.

A repeat of the Hale Mercantile bedhead (continuity is king) in a deep tone for this room - it is a different look and feel to the room next to it, but the continuity of linen and palette is luscious.

I’m thinking for both these spare rooms, we use champagne hides rather than rugs. They’re so fabulous and super economical, as well as being practical for bedrooms. They cover the floor for bare tootsies in winter and they give the space a dreamy texture.

I am leaving the Utopia Goods cushions here for reference as I know you love them, but I’m not keen to have them on the bed as they’re a bit busy!! But lets keep them in mind for use - somewhere!!

Lamp light is always number one for ambience. I’d suggest the Finlay. These lamps are great value both economically, and aesthetically, the touch of honed or muted brass giving that subtle pop of colour but remaining in the organic vibe of natural materials. Two please!

Side tables for this room - we are after a more contemporary style and the timber ones I had suggested previously are not the right colour. So on the left below we have concrete ones similar to the ones in the first bedroom, or on the right, these from Globewest in Onyx are pretty fabulous! Both have been quoted.

Given you’re a mother of four - I totally get that you want to have bedrooms for your kids who will visit regularly. So let’s make these spare rooms super visit-worthy!

Outside:

Your garden is a divine suntrap and I can see many a quiet moment with a coffee in the sun, or rowdy dinner parties on summer evenings gathered around an outdoor dining setting.

So we need a table and chairs, and then a secondary grouping of a lower coffee table and armchairs to sit on the raised platform in front of the pool house. But first the dining -

This range from Franka fits with our contemporary, fresh approach in the design of your home, and is well priced for powder coated furniture. It is robust and weighty enough, without being too heavy and being powder coated, it makes it durable enough to stand up to our harsh climate.

The black and white photo below is too good not to include - but the colour I would suggest is the Eucalypt. Why? Because sitting at a white table on a hot sunny day is blinding, and the charcoal, though tres glam, is way too hot. The green is fresh and clear - it will look oasis-like in the heat of summer and it will be a natural, harmonious addition to the gardenscape.

(Note: I have another client who purchased this exact setting - the 2200mm table and 6 dining chairs without arms. She has since decided she wants to delete outdoor dining altogether and so there is a near new setting you could purchase from her in Cremorne at a reduced price. Let me know if you’re interested.) I have requested a quote for two additional chairs with arms to increase the seating to 8.

A dining table is absolutely necessary, but if you’re like me, I don’t want to sit bolt upright in a dining chair my whole outside life. So these…. so fabulous I bought them for myself!!

In time your garden will develop and you will figure out what it is you want to look out at - flowers, potted herbs, whatever it may be. If you need help with this, I have a wonderful woman who can perform miracles standing on her head. Her name is Yvonne and if you’d like a consultation, I will organise it.

To the pool room!

Pool room:

Are we going to call it that? Let’s get real. You have people over, they schmooze inside, enjoy garden vibes, love themselves sick being at number 73. But I don’t think I’m being negative in saying the notion of a pool party has passed??!! Don’t get me wrong, I love a pool and have vowed never to live in a house without a pool again.

But.

YOUR pool house is a privte, peaceful and very pretty spot and the way you are most likely to use it, is as a guest house. So I think we make it into a bedroom. We paint it, install a bed and a few extra pieces of furniture, lamps, a rug, and there you have it. A pool room well loved by the lucky few.

When your kids come to stay, they’ll love it because it is just that whisker of separation from the ‘big house’ and it allows them to have that sense of space. If it’s friends coming to stay. they’ll love it too, for the same reasons. I know there is no loo, but what the hell, they can manage the few steps into the house to use the bathroom there. Life isn’t all about convenience!!!!

Here is what we are doing.

Curtains are necessary for privacy and light control. The fabric I have selected is another one by Mokum, called Palo in the colour Seafoam. It has a relaxed look and feel and is light and earthy with hints of blue and green. We add a couple of shealring cushions to bring in more organic wonder.

A rug here needs to be hardy and the one I’d suggest is made of jute. It’s called River in the colour natural. You’ll see from the sample that it fits the bill 100%.

A bed, bedsides, lamps and other bits and bobs I think we can discuss and I can add to the plan as we get underway. I’m just not sure exactly what you have already and would like to just check there aren’t things we can recycle before shopping for more items in room that are not primary to your day to day use.

After our chat, I totally agree that a long bench down the window side of this room is an ideal spot for a sewing machine and all the bits. We could even get the joiner to custom make one with a cupboard to store the sewing machine when the room is otherwise occupied, and to create storage for all the paraphernalia that sewing entails! What a beautiful spot to be creative!

Emma’s boudoir:

You have mentioned that your room will not be on the critical path at this stage, but that we will include it in the overall plan for renewal. As I see this as a really important room to get right, I have decided to speak more with you and gauge how you feel about the foregoing before I approach the bedroom scheme.

I have included in your box of tricks another wallpaper sample for your consideration - it’s also Porters Paints Grasscloth and it is the colour Maple. If we were to use this, a lovely compliment to your dark bed, then we would add rich musky pinks or neutrals in the bed linen we choose, and we’d also potentially add brass in the lamps.

Once we get underway, we will address this.

Summary:

Emma, the foregoing is a guide, it is not set in stone and I very much look forward to your feedback, questions, revelations and surprise!!!!

I think we can make your home really special and stylish, a unique and charismatic place where you feel totally relaxed and happy.

Time to get cracking.

Henrietta x