“I think a well-designed house means that every room is used every day.” So believes American entrepreneur Ethan Oberman, who, when immigrating to Sydney from the US with his Australian wife Lauren and their two children, purchased a dilapidated Federation Era brick house in the harbour-side suburb of Double Bay, mere kilometres from the city’s centre.
What was to become their new home had little going for it by way of its architecture. Decades’ worth of careless renovations meant that by Ethan’s estimation, the existing house wasn’t well designed. In contrast, however, the property offered a sought-after position. The site, straddling a hilltop and with a jaw-dropping change in elevation from street entrance to rear, was northwest-facing with impressive leafy views towards Sydney’s skyline. It was this outlook, coupled with the Obermans’ desire to reference the industrial architecture of the stateside cities they left behind that shaped their vision of an ‘urban oasis’ family home.
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Colour Compact
Interior designer Kim Stephen’s terraced home in Barnes, London, combines her signature flair for colour with a clever use of its relatively compact spaces
Paris Panache
Designer Robert Normand’s unerring eye for colour and aesthete’s appreciation of decor, objects and art are on full display in his Paris home, where a series of interleading, beautifully dressed spaces each contributes something unique to a house that is an artwork in perpetual progress
The Art Of Chic
The ideal recipe for eclectic chic 21st-century style? Combine the classic details of a Haussmannian apartment with owner Emmanuel de Bayser’s eye for the finest mid-century furniture and design objects – plus a growing collection of contemporary art. Parfait!
In The Zone
A tightly knit curation of design-savvy details, furniture and finishes makes for an innovative spin on apartment living in Cape Town
The Fabric Of All Things
With a nod to traditional English decorating and with references to its Asian locale, this Singaporean family home is a visual tapestry of pastels and patterns
Brute Force
Referencing the industrial architecture of Chicago and New York, the stylish design of a Sydney home offsets raw, Brutalist surfaces and hardware with softer, seductive furnishings
Black Magic
Dark colours and graphic forms combine to create an urban ‘bush lodge’ look in this luxe family home on KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast. The result is serendipitously sexy
I'll Take Manhattan
...and Italian summers too. A New York City loft remains true to its industrial roots while undergoing an upgrade inspired by the warm light and soft textures of the Med
Quiet Riot
By offsetting elegant restraint with strong notes of natural, artistic and design exuberance, architect Frederic Berthier’s Paris apartment combines architectural stillness with human energy to beautiful and refreshing effect
Fresh Start
Interior designer Lynne Harris-Whitfield has melded old and new in her relaxed family home in Cape Town, which combines considered space planning with a trove of creative touches
