True Colours

Saturated colour and playful pattern are the stars of this fabulous designer’s latest creation in melbourne

- Jackie Brygel

BOLD BEAUTY Almost every corner of this home, designed by interior designer Carolyn Burns-McCrave (pictured opposite) marshals colour, pattern and texture to scene-stealing effect. The home – in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs, with a lake and bush reserve nearby – was a labour of love. “I don’t think our building company was prepared for my attention to detail, from the placement of light fittings to the colour of the grout and laying of the herringbone tiles,” says Carolyn, who designed the home for her family − husband Leonard and sons Fintan, 18, and Lorcan, 16. Carolyn admits she’s not a minimalist. Case in point: the dining area, with ceiling and walls lined in wallpaper from Caitlin Wilson (try Mel’s Buffalo Check wallpaper by Milton & King for similar), a vintage chair (an eBay find, custom-sprayed in Billiard Ball by Dulux), a dining table – another eBay find – and the chinoiserie-style chairs snapped up on Gumtree. Together, they form Carolyn’s favourite space. “This is the room you spend time in, rather than pass through, so I think of it as a ‘destination space’,” she says. “It’s the ‘Ta-daaa!’ moment in the house, so I didn’t hold back.” >