FOOTLOOSE - fieesta

An Australian idyll gets colorful with bold art and Mexico inspired vibrance

-  STEPHANIE HUNT

Blue water and breathtaking shorelines are as much a Sydney signature as its iconic Opera House, but along the metropolitan hub's northernmost coastal stretch, Palm Beach has an allure all its own. "Think the Hamptons of Sydney, but more relaxed," says Yasmine Ghoniem, founder of YSG Studio, the Sydney-based interior design, architecture, and curation studio behind this fiesta-infused retreat for two Sydney professionals and their four young children.

The family loved the chill vibe of Palm Beach and the home's breezy beachfront location overlooking a serene inlet and dramatic ocean headlands, but its two-decades-old floor plan and clichéd seaside decor needed a refresh. Given YSG's multicultural team and Ghoniem's own Egyptian-Australian heritage, it's no surprise that borders get crossed and boundaries unbounded in a renovation bowing to the home's earthy surroundings.

"I knew I'd be blown away by the water views, but the dense jungle greenery is equally phenomenal," says Ghoniem, who infused her own vine-wild whimsy into the project-artwork borders grow out onto the walls; vivid color blooms at will. In lieu of traditional nautical blues and bright whites, she ushered in saturated ochres and terra-cotta reds, checkerboard patterns and stoneware art pieces-a playful Mexico meets Côte d'Azur mash-up geared for comfort and ease.