Houzz Tour: Punchy Patterns & Bold Colours Find a Home in Sydney
A family's love of colour and mid-century design takes centre stage in this contemporary new build
Julia Fairley
27 September 2017
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture that is thoughtful, sophisticated and champions an element of the unexpected. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW and becoming a journalist, I studied interior architecture. For over a decade I have interviewed inspiring creative minds from around the world to write about design in its many different forms. Recently, I have also become an accidental gardener, to everyone's surprise.
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture... More
When Jacinta Woods and Sonia Warner, co-directors of Woods & Warner, were asked to design the interior of this Rose Bay home in Sydney, it was the start of a bold artistic collaboration that resulted in a fearless finish. The owners – a husband and wife with two grown-up sons – love mid-century design and were not afraid to go with punchy patterns and bright splashes of colour throughout the interior.
But the owners did not want a straightforward recreation of their favourite mid-century style – the home had to embody a contemporary edge. “Progressive and fashion-forward is our clients’ style; they have a clear vision of their likes and dislikes,” Woods says. “Our brief was to pay homage to the mid-century Palm Springs era.”
But the owners did not want a straightforward recreation of their favourite mid-century style – the home had to embody a contemporary edge. “Progressive and fashion-forward is our clients’ style; they have a clear vision of their likes and dislikes,” Woods says. “Our brief was to pay homage to the mid-century Palm Springs era.”
Houzz at a glance
Who lives here: Margaret Kirby and Frank Bauchet, and their two sons, aged 21 and 18
Location: Rose Bay, NSW
Size: Land size 877 square metres, internal floor area 600 square metres; 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Interior designers: Jacinta Woods and Sonia Warner, co-directors at Woods & Warner
Architect: Tony Legge, principal architect at Legge & Legge Architects
Landscape architect: Murray Cox
Year completed: 2016
Tony Legge, principal architect of Legge & Legge Architects, began designing the family’s home in 2011. Legge’s architectural vision involved a complete knock-down rebuild, so the family of four moved out during the build. Woods & Warner joined the creative team in 2013 and the build finished in 2016.
Who lives here: Margaret Kirby and Frank Bauchet, and their two sons, aged 21 and 18
Location: Rose Bay, NSW
Size: Land size 877 square metres, internal floor area 600 square metres; 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Interior designers: Jacinta Woods and Sonia Warner, co-directors at Woods & Warner
Architect: Tony Legge, principal architect at Legge & Legge Architects
Landscape architect: Murray Cox
Year completed: 2016
Tony Legge, principal architect of Legge & Legge Architects, began designing the family’s home in 2011. Legge’s architectural vision involved a complete knock-down rebuild, so the family of four moved out during the build. Woods & Warner joined the creative team in 2013 and the build finished in 2016.
The designers added some finishing flourishes in 2017 with minor decorative pieces, and the family of four is now happily ensconced in their new home.
Artwork: Martine Emdur; walnut veneer wall cladding: Briggs Veneers
Artwork: Martine Emdur; walnut veneer wall cladding: Briggs Veneers
The ground floor is home to three bedrooms, the media room and living/dining/kitchen areas.
Woods & Warner could easily have saturated each space with bold hues to quench the owners’ thirst for colour, but they adopted a more curated approach. Look closely at the hard surface finishes on the ground floor – you’ll see that the base design follows a monochromatic colour palette of marble, steel and polished chrome. “These finishes act as the glue that binds the continuity of the scheme,” Woods says. “If you break down the interior finishes of flooring, paint colours, cabinetry and lighting, they are sleek, clean and minimal.”
Minimal, however, is unlikely to be your first impression of these dazzling interiors – the rich colours and bold patterns are what instantly command attention. Woods & Warner used injections of bright primary colours in the form of furniture and soft finishes to breathe life into the monochromatic base palette. Considering Kirby and Bauchet’s passion for colour, the designers’ approach sounds counterintuitive, but it left their clients thrilled.
Red chairs and blue lounge: Jardan; chaise: Cult Design
Red chairs and blue lounge: Jardan; chaise: Cult Design
The owners collaborated closely with Woods & Warner when choosing vivid hues. “For instance, the colour of the casual lounges was a non-negotiable; our client wanted the pool reflected right into the lounge room,” Warner says. “We then had to work a concept around sky blue and mid-century design.”
Kirby and Bauchet travel frequently and already had a collection of artwork and vintage posters, which Woods & Warner added to during the build. In the formal lounge area on the ground floor, a Ned Kelly masterpiece takes pride of place. It was painted by Adam Cullen, the late, great Archibald Prize-winning Australian artist.
Vintage chair leather upholstery: Rino Mastrotto; Crosshatch Chair with walnut frame and Mt Stuart Dover upholstery: Living Edge; The Nook sofa: Jardan
Vintage chair leather upholstery: Rino Mastrotto; Crosshatch Chair with walnut frame and Mt Stuart Dover upholstery: Living Edge; The Nook sofa: Jardan
“The owners love, love, love artwork,” Woods says. “In the guest room we could not resist ‘Man About Town’ from the The Artwork Stylist – a quirky yet distinctly placed tourist in Tokyo – peering out to the [property’s] pool.”
Kirby and Bauchet were adamant that they did not want a homogenous style of decor to be applied, cookie-cutter style, throughout their home.
“Each room needed its own style and personality,” Warner explains, adding that the owners and designers referred to Houzz to visually articulate concepts. “It’s a useful tool for clients and designers to communicate their ideas in a relaxed fashion,” she says.
As well as colour, patterns and textural accents play an important role in delineating spaces and linking rooms. This guest room and ensuite on the ground floor are united by bright pops of yellow, which you see in the joinery, chevron-patterned curtains and sunny velvet bedspread.
Blue velvet armchair: Jardan; curtain fabric: Jonathon Adler; curtain design: Woods & Warner
“Each room needed its own style and personality,” Warner explains, adding that the owners and designers referred to Houzz to visually articulate concepts. “It’s a useful tool for clients and designers to communicate their ideas in a relaxed fashion,” she says.
As well as colour, patterns and textural accents play an important role in delineating spaces and linking rooms. This guest room and ensuite on the ground floor are united by bright pops of yellow, which you see in the joinery, chevron-patterned curtains and sunny velvet bedspread.
Blue velvet armchair: Jardan; curtain fabric: Jonathon Adler; curtain design: Woods & Warner
Woods & Warner carried this vein of yellow from the guest room into the guest ensuite by virtue of the floor tiles. These visual cues – in the form of colours and patterns – link each space and express the characters who inhabit them.
It’s a perfect example of how colour can be used as a signature to express someone’s individuality, and signal when you are entering or leaving their personal quarters.
Wall and floor tiles: Academy Tiles; Custom Innate Seared Oak vanity: Briggs Veneer; Cirrus White benchtop: Corian; Goccia mounted bowl basin: Abey Australia
It’s a perfect example of how colour can be used as a signature to express someone’s individuality, and signal when you are entering or leaving their personal quarters.
Wall and floor tiles: Academy Tiles; Custom Innate Seared Oak vanity: Briggs Veneer; Cirrus White benchtop: Corian; Goccia mounted bowl basin: Abey Australia
Nestled near the guest room on the ground floor is a striking powder room, resplendent in all its rebellious glory. The glittering black mosaics and dark finishes of this shared space sit in stark contrast to the adjacent private sleeping quarters, which are light and airy.
Skull and Crowns wall tiles: Bisazza; black wire column basin: Parisi
Skull and Crowns wall tiles: Bisazza; black wire column basin: Parisi
Like the powder room, the dark colours of the nearby media room on the ground floor give a nod to the space’s shared use. Here, black and midnight blue take centre stage, while the softness of the textured wall treatment tempers the punch that’s packed by the stronger colours.
Teak Crown Cut walls: Briggs Veneers; Arte wallpaper: Woods & Warner
Teak Crown Cut walls: Briggs Veneers; Arte wallpaper: Woods & Warner
Likewise, the sons’ bedrooms reflect the boys’ different personalities, tastes and styles. Both are located on the ground floor and vary greatly in their patterns, textures and colours. The first bedroom uses graphic geometric patterns on a large scale in the tonal grey wallpaper and slabs of single colours, which you immediately see in the plush crimson bedspread and complementary bedside table.
This bedroom, in contrast, was an exercise in using pattern on pattern. It features a fine gold wallpaper and an intricately detailed herringbone-style bedspread with multiple colours woven through.
When Woods & Warner joined the team in 2013, the owners’ teenage sons were entering their final stretch of high school. When the build finished in 2016 they had graduated.
Each bedroom and ensuite reflects the sons’ maturity as young adults rather than teenagers. These spaces juxtapose punchy patterns that evoke the playfulness of youth with sophisticated finishes and furniture, such as this marble table, black leather armchair and dark drapery.
Kirby and Bauchet saved their sons’ artworks from when they were children, and it is these treasured pieces that adorn the boys’ rooms. “It’s always nice that you can have a gallery of pieces yet still keep the essence of a family home,” Warner says.
Vintage armchair: Grandfathers Axe
Each bedroom and ensuite reflects the sons’ maturity as young adults rather than teenagers. These spaces juxtapose punchy patterns that evoke the playfulness of youth with sophisticated finishes and furniture, such as this marble table, black leather armchair and dark drapery.
Kirby and Bauchet saved their sons’ artworks from when they were children, and it is these treasured pieces that adorn the boys’ rooms. “It’s always nice that you can have a gallery of pieces yet still keep the essence of a family home,” Warner says.
Vintage armchair: Grandfathers Axe
Separate his and hers master bedrooms crown the upper level, which is split into two flanks. These sleeping quarters are connected with a bridge that frames views of either side of the property – a design reminiscent of the neighbouring houses that Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera shared.
The bridge between the two rooms can be seen clearly on the first-floor floor plans.
“Having [their] own space meant there were no compromises with colour palettes or finishes. Each has a mid-century influence, while having their own distinctive male and female design schemes,” says Woods.
No doubt you immediately notice the inherently feminine quality of this bedroom and ensuite. The space echoes the monochromatic colour palette used on the ground floor and introduces rich pops of colour through artworks and soft finishings.
‘Silvi Wanted to Play’ artwork: Kerry Armstrong
No doubt you immediately notice the inherently feminine quality of this bedroom and ensuite. The space echoes the monochromatic colour palette used on the ground floor and introduces rich pops of colour through artworks and soft finishings.
‘Silvi Wanted to Play’ artwork: Kerry Armstrong
White, voluminous curtains enswathe the floor-to-ceiling windows in the female master bedroom, and Woods & Warner custom designed a chaise, which offers an elegant repose near the freestanding stone bath.
A-127A Bath: Australian Construction Supplies; Moooi Paper Chandelier XL: Space Furniture
A-127A Bath: Australian Construction Supplies; Moooi Paper Chandelier XL: Space Furniture
By contrast, the masculine master bedroom and ensuite embody an entirely different style and colour palette. Compare the two sleeping quarters and you’ll find this space conjures a more sombre, masculine feel.
Moody, smoke-coloured curtains drape the full-height windows and hang in perfect unison next to the brooding grey accent wall. “Each room could have new fabrics, furniture and artwork without feeling overbearing and misplaced,” Woods says.
Moody, smoke-coloured curtains drape the full-height windows and hang in perfect unison next to the brooding grey accent wall. “Each room could have new fabrics, furniture and artwork without feeling overbearing and misplaced,” Woods says.
A spacious study connects to the masculine master bedroom, as does an ensuite. Ask the designers which rooms are their own personal favourites and these ‘his’ and ‘hers’ bathrooms take out first prize. “We absolutely adore the bathrooms,” Warner says. “Using the Tex Mutina tiles was a slight challenge for the tilers, however, the simplicity of the execution makes it all worth it.”
Tex Mutina wall and floor tiles: Academy Tiles; Goccia basin: Abey Australia; towel hooks: Doug Up On Bourke
Tex Mutina wall and floor tiles: Academy Tiles; Goccia basin: Abey Australia; towel hooks: Doug Up On Bourke
The laser-cut screen designed by Legge, which grabs your attention at the home’s facade, makes a second appearance in the masculine master bedroom. This time we view it from within and, rather than looking at a pattern, here we look through one.
“The laser-cut screen provided an enormous amount of privacy [and] the aesthetics soften the cubic formation of the home,” Warner says. “The effect is not only cleverly designed by the architect, but also thoughtfully curated for the clients’ wishes.”
Tell us
What aspects of this mid-century Palm Springs-inspired home do you love? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
“The laser-cut screen provided an enormous amount of privacy [and] the aesthetics soften the cubic formation of the home,” Warner says. “The effect is not only cleverly designed by the architect, but also thoughtfully curated for the clients’ wishes.”
Tell us
What aspects of this mid-century Palm Springs-inspired home do you love? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
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An absolutely beautiful edgy and creative home. Wow - the laser-cut screen!