Metal As Anything

This glamorous entertainers’ home is the ultimate showstopper with its ultra-luxe lashings of brass, nickel and gold.

- Carli Philips

From distressed outdoor limestone to charcoal Pietra stone, black granite and slabs of Calacatta, this Sydney house is a wonderland of marble that has been leathered, polished, honed and even laid in mosaic patterns with custom brass inlays. The extensive application of such materials was, quite simply, “non-negotiable”, explains interior designer Greg Natale of his client’s brief, which essentially directed a “more is merrier” approach when it came to the surface. It’s an expression that adds both drama and glamour to the home.

The homeowners, a couple with three teenage children, had seen Greg’s work in Belle and at another property close by, and approached him straight after purchasing this secluded three-storey home in Hunters Hill. Built in the 1990s, it was dated but well oriented and had solid foundations. Their instructions were clear: a full gut and renovation of everything from the ground up.

From feats of engineering to carefully selected dish trays, the first-time clients entrusted Greg with the two-year transformation of their home. The house was also Greg’s first to use pieces mostly from his eponymous homewares and product collection. “I wanted to keep the furniture contemporary with my tailored designs, a bit of deco and some mid-century mixed in, too,” says Greg, who was inspired by 1950s American designer Milo Baughman.