Monday July 21 2008

It takes more than building work and interior updates to create a truly beautiful home. The very best houses are packed with personality and reflect the people who live there; this harbourside terrace in Sydney’s inner west is proof of that. It has had a total renovation and gone from a dilapidated, faded beauty to a gleaming, finished home. Elegant lines and new spaces blend with historical pieces and collections treasured by the owners.

Architect Virginia Zanarini has overseen the two-storey terrace’s reconstruction. “When I first saw the home, I couldn’t believe how much work there was,” Zanarini says. The gardens were overgrown, the foundations decaying and the interiors neglected and damaged from a water leak on the first floor.

Zanarini’s brief was to retain the historical features of the house and build an extension that was sympathetic in style to the original. The owner also wanted a large Victorian conservatory that would capture the sun and light all year round.

The result is an expansive house that sits on the original home’s footprint. Upstairs are four bedrooms, two new bathrooms and a study on the landing. Downstairs, off a central entry hallway, are the formal dining area and living room to the right, and a library to the left. At the back of the house is a light-filled, open-plan living/kitchen area, and the conservatory, which opens to the garden. “The shape of the back living area was generated by the shape of the jacaranda in the middle of the garden,” Zanarini says. Years ago, the owners’ young son had sawed off the tree’s main trunk, causing the tree to grow tilted to one side. “Things like this give this house a very personal history.”

The space beneath the house was also excavated to create a new garage and basement to house the owners’ antiques collection and accommodate a carpentry workshop.

The home’s interior, created with help from interior designer Rikki Stubbs of Pure Colour, combines exquisite architectural detailing and an assortment of antiques and pieces treasured by the owners with light, bright colours and textures. Eggshellmpaint used throughout the interior was from Covered In Paint. “The house really dictated its look as well,” Stubbs says. “It’s very light, warm and relaxed, and I wanted it to feel fresh too.”

Details in the house, such as the Victorian mouldings on the walls and doors, which were looking tired, were replicated and replaced to keep the home’s traditional flavour.

The owners’ antique collection is large, but most of the pieces were in poor condition. Stubbs worked with the owners to choose pieces that could be restored, reupholstered and reused in the new home.

“They had a lot of things they loved that they could use to create a home they’re comfortable in,” she says. “It was very exciting going down to the basement to discover yet another antique piece of porcelain or a chair.”

Stubbs then carefully selected contemporary pieces to work in harmony with the existing, classical ones. Like the elegant striped sofas in the formal living room, which she had custom designed. And the modern Gervasoni cane sofa from Anibou and circular cane, glass-topped table in the conservatory, which houses the owners’ collection of shells.

In the main bedroom, a soft green and white floral fabric complements the brass bed and dressing table that were part of the original furniture. “It’s very soft and romantic,” Stubbs says.

The kitchen and surrounding cabinets were all built new, from timber panels finished with polyurethane and Calcutta marble benchtops. Custom-built cabinets beside the kitchen were filled with the owners’ collection of ceramics.

Despite the grand proportions of the home, colour and texture ensure warmth and intimacy throughout. “I bought rugs for every single room,” Stubbs says. “It’s all about layering the colour, pattern and texture. That’s what creates the whole feeling of warmth in the house.”

After years of neglect and wear, this house has been restored to an elegant standard that shows off its beautiful bones, charming character and endless history.