Photography: Nicky Ryan / Styling: Stephanie Powell
It’s difficult not to gasp when entering Larry Emdur and wife Sylvie’s majestic cliff-clinging home in Sydney. Glide through the spectacular double-height entrance foyer – “If I was ever on Dancing With The Stars, this is where I would train,” jokes Larry (who actually appeared on the show since our visit) – and guests are drawn to what feels like the edge of the earth.
Floor-to-ceiling glass means the lounge room is an enviable viewing platform for the coastline for Larry and Sylvie, their grown-up children, Jye and Tia, and any other friends and family members who drop by.
Today, whales are dancing through the waves and within hours the sea has transformed from stormy grey to deep blue, like an ever-changing artwork that takes its shades from the colour of the day. “You can actually hear the view here,” says the Aussie TV host. “We listen to crashing waves, we hear whales swimming about and when there are huge seas, it splashes up to the house, so you’re very much a part of everything. It’s quite dramatic and that’s what we love about it.”
It was on a walk a little more than two years ago with Jazzy, the family’s beagle, that Larry and Sylvie first spotted their soon-to-be home. The couple lived a few streets away for 17 years and had recently survived a major renovation. “We’d gutted it all and had only just got the house how we wanted,” says Sylvie with a smile.
But that didn’t stop Larry from having a stickybeak inside the new discovery. “He went in, had a look and said, ‘I think I want that house.’ I just said, ‘Oh yeah, good luck, go for it.’ And three weeks later we had the house.”
Luckily for the couple, there was little to do in the meticulously designed home, which boasts a hard-to-resist infinity pool, a wine cellar under the lounge room and two double-storey wings with all of the bedrooms drinking in the water views.
“If someone’s got a stylish home and it’s beautifully furnished, it’s timeless.”
Sylvie
Understated white walls and chic parquet floors are matched by classic furniture pieces – “We just freshened it up,” says Sylvie – while a streamlined kitchen and dining space makes room for an army of entertainers, which is just as well: “We’ve become the party destination for the family,” says Larry. “It’s the venue of choice! The house is pretty bulletproof. We have had big crowds gather here – we just hose it down afterwards and it’s fine.”
Dreamy artworks by Larry’s sister, acclaimed artist Martine Emdur, take pride of place on the walls. “I tell Martine, ‘We’ll just mind them for you,'” says Larry with a laugh. “And if she doesn’t take them back within three months, I Dynabolt them to the wall.”
But it’s the view that enraptures them most. “We watch it more than the television.” says Sylvie. “It’s like living at the zoo. Between the whales and dolphins and Larry, it’s very entertaining.”
“I couldn’t see anything else but the view, I actually couldn’t,” recalls Larry, of the moment he first stepped into his Sydney oceanside home, complete with an awe-inspiring heated pool. “When I walked away, I couldn’t remember anything. My wife Sylvie said: ‘What are we going to do about this and what are we going to do about the dining room?’ I didn’t even know if there was a lounge room. I just went straight for the cliff.”
“It’s an amazing house to come home to. I grew up on the water and it’s always been an important part of my life.”
Larry
Luckily for the couple, there was little to do in the meticulously designed home, which boasts a hard-to-resist infinity pool, a wine cellar under the lounge room and two double-storey wings with all of the bedrooms drinking in the water views.
How would you describe your decorating style?
Sylvie: “Just easy living and really relaxed. It’s about comfort and everyone being happy, being together and enjoying it all. I’m not too precious about the furniture.”
Are you very handy, Larry?
Larry: “I think I am – I think I’m quite good! But if Sylvie asks me on a Friday to do something on Saturday, she’ll also book the handyman for Monday to fix it up.”
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