Dress circle

Attentively renovated over many years, this elegant Sydney home is as classic and comfortable as a cashmere jumper.

- Elizabeth Wilson

From the moment Eugenie Kelly stepped into this home, she had a good feeling about it. There were sweet leadlight windows at the front door, open fires crackling downstairs, and high ceilings that made every room feel elegant and generous. It needed work – the salmon-coloured walls and velvet curtains would definitely have to go – but there was a sense of comfort and nostalgia about the place that felt right.

It was 2006 and Eugenie and her husband Richard O’Neill were home hunting. They had just welcomed their second daughter into the world and were suddenly feeling the squeeze of their two-bedroom inner-Sydney terrace. They were on the lookout for a more spacious family home and were focusing their search on the city’s Lower North Shore. This home, built circa 1910, struck a chord.

“It’s built in the Arts and Crafts style and has a lovely rambling feel, which adds to its character,” says Eugenie. “I grew up in an old Federation house so I’ve always had a thing for fireplaces, high ceilings and ornate leadlight windows.” They bought it, and moved in with their young daughters Charlotte, now 16, and Daisy, 14. “The first thing we did was paint it all white,” says Eugenie, who is a well-known face in the fashion and beauty industries after a long career in publishing, most notably as editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar magazine.