ALL FOR ONE

To achieve a coherent renovation that would please three generations, a Sydney couple turned to an interior designer who knew their home almost as well as they did.

- Dan F Stapleton

PORTICO An artwork by Sophie Cape welcomes visitors into the home. The weathered metal chair has been in the family for decades. Pendant light, Dunlin. The stained glass and tessellated tiles are original.

EXTERIOR The house is painted Murobond Raw Earth 200%, with trims and fence in Dulux Lexicon Quarter. A band of Dulux Monument defines the separate levels; the same colour was chosen for the Colorbond guttering.

LIVING Coffee table, side table and sofa, all Coco Republic. Paintings by Morgan Stokes (abstract) and Grace Cossington Smith (still life); sculptures by Caroline Duffy (left), John Born (middle) and Luca Wearne (right). Dish ceiling light, Anna Charlesworth. Serge Mouille ceiling light, Cult Design. ClassiCon ‘Euvera' rocking chair, Anibou. Vintage Turkish rug, Cadrys. Banquette, Bober Furniture. Hearth tiles, Surface Gallery. Walls painted Dulux Silver Tea Set.

ALice and David had lived in their grand old house on Sydney's leafy North Shore for three decades without once thinking about renovating. Then, in 2018, a particularly rainy week changed everything."We realised the gutters needed replacing," recalls David, a surgeon. "Once the scaffolding was up, we thought we might as well paint the exterior too. That quickly led to a decision to paint indoors." With the interior in play, the couple decided to embark on a more extensive makeover. For years, while raising their three children there, they had been too busy to worry about the freestanding Victorian property's quirks. But those issues were becoming harder to ignore.

ENHANCING THE SENSE OF LIGHT AND SPACE WAS A TOP PRIORITY.