GOOD MEASURE

This Sydney home was the perfect blank canvas, but its new owners knew their existing furniture wasn’t quite right in its rooms. That’s when a showroom visit led them towards a beautifully tailored design solution.

- Sarah Pickette

Colour can do so many things for a house – it can lighten and brighten, create a sense of calm, add personality and underscore the elegance of a space. In the case of this Federation home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, colour performed all of these functions, says Lara Fanuli, the designer who took on this full-scale refurnishing and redecorating job for the family of five who have lived here since 2021.

“The homeowners weren’t afraid to use colour,” says Lara, “and that made the redecoration process all the more fun. My approach was to give each room its own colour palette, with everything tying together tonally to create a beautiful, homely feel.” When they’d bought the house, the owners had loved its recently painted blue walls and they formed the basis around which Lara’s design decisions were made.