Remote control

The cohesive blend of Australian esprit and US west coast sensibilities in a San Francisco home is a triumph for the Sydney design studio that masterminded the project long distance.

- JUDY PASCOE 

We all became accustomed to doing unlikely activities on Zoom during the pandemic but delivering a full renovation and furnishings via the video meeting app to a house on the other side of the world probably seemed a little implausible.

However for Justine Hugh-Jones and Katrina Mackintosh, principals of Sydney-based Hugh-Jones Mackintosh design studio, once they had adapted to the radically different way of working it was full steam ahead. Then when they were finally able to visit the house in San Francisco after the two-year project was completed it was all they had hoped for and more. Most importantly, it was exactly what the client had ordered.

The process started with an unexpected phone call one day from an American family who were riding out the pandemic at their holiday house in Hawaii. “They had seen our work on Instagram and decided they wanted an Australian aesthetic for their San Francisco home,” explains Justine. “It was a very refreshing call to receive but I kept asking, ‘Are you sure? We are on the other side of the world?’” she laughs. “We thought we needed a challenge but from day one it was a really delightful project and not challenging at all.”

The clients were adamant they wanted a different look from their friends’ houses that all had a traditional American, heavily layered approach created by well-established design names. “They wanted a lighter, more contemporary feel for their home – which is just our aesthetic,” says Katrina.