10 Steps - Small Wonders

In expert hands, even the trickiest spaces can deliver lovely, liveable results. Here’s a case in point.

- John Mcdonald

This Victorian Regency semi-detached home, facing a waterfront park on Sydney Harbour, had been subjected to a 2000s renovation that stripped much of the character from its interior.

The current owners called on interior designer Andrew Waller of Mr Waller (mrwaller.com) to reinstate period details, reconfigure the layout downstairs and up, and decorate the home.

1 MAKING SPACE

Andrew made clever use of this once awkwardly positioned nook, turning it into a character-filled, functional butler’s pantry with country-cottage-style open shelving that allows everyday tableware and cookware items to become charming displays.

The pantry adjoins the windowless kitchen (see #2), so Andrew installed a glass pantry door for natural light. Above the cupboards in the kitchen proper (above, at right), glass-faced doors were added “to form a sense of depth and create an illusion of more windows”, says Andrew. The joinery is painted in Dulux Natural White with a ‘brushed’ handpainted finish, and the flat cupboard knobs are from Tradco (tradco.com.au).

2 NEW PURPOSE

To create a better floor plan, the old dining area and kitchen swapped places. The existing fireplace recess was cleverly repurposed as a cooking alcove housing a Fisher & Paykel cooker, a neat idea given polish with Carrara marble detailing that echoes the island benchtop. The former chimney is now home to a rangehood, while the Franke gooseneck mixer and Zip filter tap make a graceful pairing on the island.

3 PERIOD DETAILS

Andrew flanked the cooking zone with cabinetry featuring Amsterdam pull handles from Tradco that nod to the home’s heritage. Other deft period touches are the ‘19th Century English Openwork’ pendants (this page and opposite), sourced from Restoration Hardware in the US (restorationhardware.com).