Photography: Marnie Hawson, Styling: Belle Hemming
Swings and slides don’t often change the course of your life, but for Kylie, her children Casper, 11, and Clio, eight, they did. “I’d always take the kids to this park and look at the houses backing on to it and think ‘I’d love to live in one of those’,” Kylie recalled. Finally, in 2019, one went on the market but it needed work.
“It had a very strange floor plan, with a sunroom behind the kitchen which blocked all the light and views to the garden,” explains Kylie. Still, the thought of living in her dream location outweighed the negatives and when she showed the house to architect Imogen Pullar, Imogen saw the potential hiding behind bad first impressions.
Who lives here?
Kylie, a lawyer and writer, her children Casper, 11, and Clio, eight, with their pet cat Luna.
Favourite mealtime rituals?
Kylie: “We make dinner a ritual. This is naff but we do ‘rose, bud and thorn’ where we talk about a wonderful thing (the rose), what we’re looking forward to (the bud) and the thing that was tricky (the thorn).”
Favourite material in the home? “I love the recycled ‘Messmate’ floorboards. Jake [the builder] went to great care to choose ones that had … big burling knots. I love how imperfect they look.”
Best renovating advice? “Choose an architect and builder that you really click with personally. It made everything so much easier and pleasant.”
After a delay due to the pandemic, the renovation began in September 2021, with Imogen and Jake Reilly from J&RC Builders at the helm. The brief called for greater connection to the backyard and greenery beyond, with an open plan design that allowed for easy gathering. “Our previous house was very small and we avoided having people over,” explains Kylie.
“We wanted space to be together and space to be apart.” The backyard’s oversized pool was reduced to create more space for the new living and dining areas, which also replaced the sunroom. This north-facing zone benefitted from generous windows and glass doors, maximising the natural vistas on offer.
In early 2022, a challenge arose. Kylie was struck down for six months with long Covid. Despite the debilitating illness, she trusted Jake and Imogen to forge ahead without her.
“One day a woman from the couch company showed me all these different shades of beige fabric,” says Kylie. When Jake saw that she was struggling, he stepped in. “He took one look and said ‘that one.’ I didn’t expect the builder to do that but he’s a good guy with a good eye.”
Trusting the process worked out. When Kylie saw her finished home for the first time she exclaimed, “It looks just like the drawings!” Now, not only do Kylie and the kids adore their home but they can share it with loved ones, too. “People say our house is really easy to be in. It’s not fussy, it feels warm.”
Kitchen
Timber is the hero material, but Kylie wasn’t always confident about how it would turn out. “I wondered if it would clash because they were different sorts of timber, but it works beautifully together,” she says. Featuregrade blackbutt veneer and black laminate for the joinery combines with silvertop ash cladding above and blackbutt handles from Auburn Woodturning.
Pops of colour break up the palette, including a painting by Emma Currie and wall hanging by Maryanne Moodie. A dining table sits beneath two ‘Jolly’ double pendant lights, all by Mark Tuckey.
The island, custom made by J&RC Builders, creates a centrepiece in the kitchen. The sides are finished in Dulux Colorbond Headland, which helps to delineate the kitchen from the dining area. ‘Moon Garden’ terrazzo (discontinued) from Fibonacci is on the benchtop.
“It makes me happy every time I look at it,” says Kylie. The Brodware ‘Yokato’ mixer is another feature she loves as the finish patinas over time. ‘Hida’ tiles from Academy Tiles and ‘Bobby’ stools from Design By Them.
WE LOVE…concealed cooking
A slimline Daikin ‘Bulkhead’ unit sits above the kitchen joinery. “The air conditioner is the most efficient form of heating and cooling, but we wanted this to be concealed out of view so it did not interrupt the clean lines of the space,” explains Imogen of the silvertop ash cladding from Radial Timber Sales. Beyond, a ceiling-mounted clothes airer from Air Made peeks out from the laundry, situated behind the kitchen. For details on the heatingand cooling units, visit daikin.com.au.
Living
“My favourite space is the lounge room, looking through the epic window to the pool and the trees in the park beyond,” says Kylie. Supplied by Binq Windows, this was initially going to be divided up with panes but a five-by-three metre sheet of glass was selected for a dramatic effect.
I can see the sky, the birds. It feels like we’re in the countryside but it’s about seven kilometres from the city.”
Kylie, homeowner.
Recycled ‘Messmate’ flooring from Timber & Rose sets a warm tone throughout the house, complemented by flooring offcuts on the underside of the stairs and silvertop ash cladding battens from Radial Timber Sales.
While storage wasn’t mentioned in Kylie’s brief, Imogen delivered in spades. Lifestyle Designs International created the built-in cabinetry under the stairs, finished in Dulux Carmen Miranda, as well as the built-in joinery under the window seat, made from blackbutt veneer. Both feature leather pulls from Made Measure. A Skantherm ‘Shaker’ wood heater from Oblica completes the cosy scene.
Bedroom
Original features of the home were improved, including the bay window in the bedroom, which was double glazed by Thermawood. Soft furnishings include the Slowdown Studio throw and curtains by Vanessa Taranto Interiors.
Bathrooms
“It feels like my little cocoon,” says Kylie of her ensuite. Pinks, terracottas and warm whites create the enveloping sensation.
This comes in the form of ‘Kayo Brick’ wall tiles from Academy Tiles, ‘Ember Terracotta’ floor tiles from Perini Tiles and tessellated tiles from De Fazio Tiles & Stone on the splashback, as well as Fibonacci’s ‘Fatima’s Reflection’ for the benchtop. The ‘Yokato’ mixer in Weathered Organic Brass by Brodware and joinery in blackbutt veneer and black laminate enhance the natural beauty.
Architect: Imogen Pullar Architecture, imogenpullar.com
SOURCE BOOK
Builder: J&RC Builders, jrcbuilders.com.au
Joinery Lifestyle: Designs International, lifestyledesigns.net.au
Landscape design: McNuttndorff Landscapes, mcnuttndorff.com.au
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