THE BOLD & the BEAUTIFUL

Now with a pepped-up palette, this spacious Sydney home has a fun and friendly personality to match that of its owners.

- Chris Pearson

Colour my world," the owner of this home in Sydney's inner west urged Josie Simpson of Altus Design Studio. "I want a happy and joyful home with lots of fun and character." And the interior designer willingly obliged, creating a playful family haven that celebrates the spectrum.

When the owner and her husband bought the home in 2021, it was smart and impressively functional after a renovation in 2017 by Molnar Freeman (now Molnar Architects and TF Architects). That renovation had combined two tired terraces - one double-fronted - and given them a contemporary makeover, complete with a sleek addition at the back. The resulting six-bedroom home is ideally suited to this family with two daughters, now eight and 11, and their steady stream of house guests. "We were drawn by the property's width," says the owner. "Terraces are usually so narrow, but this home had plenty of room for working from home and for people to stay. And the layout was perfect."

Beyond a snug sitting room, media room and guest suite in the original sections at the front of the home, the floor plan flows into a luminous open-plan kitchen/ dining/family area that flanks a soaring atrium. On the opposite side of the space, pivoting panels of glass front onto an extensive landscaped backyard, with a pool to one side and a garage and studio at the back boundary. Upstairs are five additional bedrooms, including a generous main suite with its own sitting room and a study.