Unlikely Bed Fellows

Opposites attract in this split-level Sydney home where Australian Federation proudly meets tropical modernism under one cohesive roof.

- Carli Philips

When it came to the renovation of this home in Sydney’s Mosman, all roads led to architect Daniel Boddam of Daniel Boddam Studio. His clients, Carolina Hughes Elliott and Greg Elliott, had noticed a house he was designing in their street, and he had also been referred to them by friends. Around the same time, magazine articles on the talented architect had fallen into their laps. If there was ever a case of meant-to-be, this was it.

The couple and their children moved into the heritage-listed property with its 1990s extension in 2009 and did a minor upgrade, but always had a long-term plan for a major renovation. In 2017, with growing kids, Carolina and Greg decided that the time had finally arrived. They were keen for a reimagining that would “retain the charm and cosy feel of the [Federation] house” in addition to “more internal space and separate living zones that were flexible”.

Carolina, who was raised in Brazil, approached Daniel armed with a Pinterest of Brazilian tropical modernist buildings and architects such as Jacobsen Arquitetura, Marcio Kogan, Isay Weinfeld and Arthur Casas. Daniel, who has Latin American heritage, greeted Carolina’s contemporary brief with gusto. “Daniel was the perfect fit, with his similar design aesthetic and sensibility,” she says. “The fact that his mother is South American was an added bonus!”

Carolina and Greg also wanted the style to reflect some of their favourite travel spots, a combination of South America, South-East Asia and Mediterranean Europe, all of which have climates similar to the Australian subtropical one. Day to day, they wanted “easy living that was low-maintenance, elegant, simple and timeless”.