Harbour Perfection

A thoughtful renovation has resulted in a home away from home that captures the best of its beautiful Sydney setting.

- Judy Pascoe

Occupying an enviable north-facing waterfront position in inner-city Sydney, this elegant house had plenty going for it. However, the owners, whose main residence is in California, wanted to maximise its potential by adding another bedroom as well as a swimming pool at the harbour’s edge.

Interior designer Thomas Hamel came highly recommended – he had, after all, designed houses for the wife’s sister and the husband’s brother. However, that’s where it becomes tricky, according to Thomas. “You don’t want to do anything similar. You have to do a reinvention of the style.”

Fortunately, Thomas has a vast array of ideas in his design arsenal, so he was able to deliver a substantially different home while keeping within the parameters articulated by the owners. With grown children and grandchildren, they wanted to use the home as a multi-generational gathering place when they visit three or four times a year. To that end, the desire was to increase the existing four bedrooms and three bathrooms to five bedrooms and four bathrooms – all of a generous size.

“The owners loved the idea of a beach house that was so close to the suburb’s village-like amenities,” says Thomas. “There’s an intimacy that it offers.” Says the owner: “The location and size of this home immediately attracted me. Everything I needed was just a short walk away and the house had a relaxed, holiday vibe.”