Australian House & Garden

Restored Glory

Rescued from disrepair, this Federation home in Sydney is now the perfect balance of period character and fresh new features.

- WORDS Sarah Pickette | PHOTOGRAPH­Y Kristina Soljo | STYLING Kate Nixon

This Federation home in Sydney is the perfect balance of period character and fresh features.

The old Federation home had seen better days. But as Tony drove by it, winding his way along the tree-lined street in one of Sydney’s loveliest harboursid­e suburbs, he stopped to take a look. “From that point, he couldn’t get it out of his mind,” says Kim, his wife. “Even with its verandah half falling off, the house had a real pull to it.” The couple were living in Queensland at the time, but their grown-up children and grandchild­ren were in Sydney. When Tony and Kim sold their business and made the decision to move south, they contacted interior designer Brett Mickan to see if he’d take on the task of restoring and sensitivel­y updating the home. “We’d seen Brett’s work on another Federation home

that appeared in Australian House & Garden, and we just knew that he was exactly right for the job,” says Kim.

They felt this so strongly they gave Brett complete creative freedom to renovate the home as he saw fit. And for Brett, the direction was clear. “The house essentiall­y showed me what it needed,” he says. “The soft colours in its stained-glass windows pointed the way to the colour palette, and the period features have inspired some of the contempora­ry inclusions.”

The home’s heritage facade now appears as it might have when the house was first built in the 1900s; its marble steps, brickwork and tessellate­d tiles are new, but inspired by the originals. The exquisite timber window frames were painstakin­gly stripped back and restored by the build team.

Following a format familiar to many Federation homes, the front door opens onto a wide hallway. The formal sitting room is located to the left of the hall and it’s here that Kim loves to settle into her bay window seat with a good book. Period features such as the marble fireplace and the ceiling’s decorative grid patterning have been reinterpre­ted by Brett, with a mix of timbers and designer furniture providing a contempora­ry counter.

To the right of the hall is Tony and Kim’s bedroom. It has another generous bay window, their four-poster bed and a custommade rug in the softest art silk. The door to the en suite closes to appear like the floor-to-ceiling cupboards next to it, but open it up and a clever marble wall hosts double basins on one side and a sectioned-off shower and toilet on the other.

Kim and Tony’s main bathroom is the epitome of understate­d elegance, with materials carefully selected for their natural variance – handmade gloss tiles on the wall, mottled terracotta tiles on the floor, verdigris on the brass tapware and blinds inspired by the neat pleats of a tuxedo shirt. Down the hall, the second bedroom presents as a masterclas­s in how to use pattern and colour: hand-blocked wallpaper is teamed with a silk-blend headboard and gorgeous linen-blend curtains in lime. The third bedroom is all about the grandkids and is set up with two beds topped by Indian toile headboards and fun pops of fluoro.

But it’s the new open-plan kitchen, dining and living area that steals the show. “It’s a space that has to work hard, to offer lots of points of interest to the eye,” says Brett. And that it certainly does. The citrus tones in the stained glass are again reflected beautifull­y by the kitchen’s joinery in Dulux Apple Cucumber Half. “I love colour,” Brett adds, “and I guess you could say this is my somewhat unusual take on monotone.”

The island bench, topped with Super White Quartzite, is perfectly proportion­ed for the generous space, as is the walnut dining table that accommodat­es Kim and Tony’s extended family with ease. In the living area, a bank of low joinery provides plenty of storage and doubles as overflow seating when a big crowd is visiting, while the printed blinds offer a subtle nod to the home’s 1900s heritage.

Meticulous planning and careful attention to detail are evident in every room of this home. “It was all about keeping the character of the home but making sure it felt neither new nor old, more a subtle blend of the two,” says Brett. For Kim and Tony, the home is quite simply perfect. “I can hardly put into words my love for what Brett created for us,” says Kim. “Every time I walk in the front door, I think, ‘It’s so beautiful and we get to call this home – how lucky are we?’”

# Brett Mickan Interior Design, Surry Hills, NSW; bmid.com.au. Filmer Architects, Haberfield, NSW; filmerarch­itects.com.au.

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?? ?? LIVING In this hard-working space, a Jetmaster fireplace is flanked by custom-made joinery by Bespoke Creations, with plenty of seating when family and friends call around. B&B Italia ‘Bend’ sofa, Space. Normann Copenhagen ‘Era’ lounge chair. Blinds in Lee Jofa ‘Camille’ fabric in Celery Bark, James Dunlop Textiles. Custom-made cushions using fabrics from South Pacific Fabrics. Rubn ‘Hunter’ floor lamp, Fred Internatio­nal. My Dreaming artwork by Claire Cavanna.
LIVING In this hard-working space, a Jetmaster fireplace is flanked by custom-made joinery by Bespoke Creations, with plenty of seating when family and friends call around. B&B Italia ‘Bend’ sofa, Space. Normann Copenhagen ‘Era’ lounge chair. Blinds in Lee Jofa ‘Camille’ fabric in Celery Bark, James Dunlop Textiles. Custom-made cushions using fabrics from South Pacific Fabrics. Rubn ‘Hunter’ floor lamp, Fred Internatio­nal. My Dreaming artwork by Claire Cavanna.
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?? ?? KITCHEN Top left and opposite Brett chose two-pack joinery in Dulux Apple Cucumber Half for this space in a nod to the citrus tones in the home’s stained-glass windows. The generous island is topped with Super White Quartzite from Granite & Marble Works and edged with sandstone blocks. Crop bar stools, Relm Furniture. Capital pendant, Archier. Tapware by CEA. DINING Family meals are well and truly catered for with the Mila walnut table from Catapult Design and Pedrali ‘Ester 691’ dining chairs from James Richardson Furniture. Line brass pendant, Douglas & Bec. BUTLER’S PANTRY Casa Handmade tiles in raw terracotta were sourced from Onsite Supply & Design and the wine fridge is Vintec. Atlantic Blue stone flooring from Granite & Marble Works. STUDY NOOK A tan leather Moroso ‘Bloomy’ chair from Hub Furniture sits at the built-in desk. Hotel Santa Caterina Amalfi framed photograph by Stuart Cantor, MCM House.
KITCHEN Top left and opposite Brett chose two-pack joinery in Dulux Apple Cucumber Half for this space in a nod to the citrus tones in the home’s stained-glass windows. The generous island is topped with Super White Quartzite from Granite & Marble Works and edged with sandstone blocks. Crop bar stools, Relm Furniture. Capital pendant, Archier. Tapware by CEA. DINING Family meals are well and truly catered for with the Mila walnut table from Catapult Design and Pedrali ‘Ester 691’ dining chairs from James Richardson Furniture. Line brass pendant, Douglas & Bec. BUTLER’S PANTRY Casa Handmade tiles in raw terracotta were sourced from Onsite Supply & Design and the wine fridge is Vintec. Atlantic Blue stone flooring from Granite & Marble Works. STUDY NOOK A tan leather Moroso ‘Bloomy’ chair from Hub Furniture sits at the built-in desk. Hotel Santa Caterina Amalfi framed photograph by Stuart Cantor, MCM House.
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?? ?? LIVING Left and right Interior designer Brett Mickan tests out the window seat. Curtains in Mokum Couture fabric from James Dunlop Textiles. Navarra desk, Fanuli. Hay ‘About a Chair’ desk chair, Cult. MAIN BATHROOM “This room has a quiet kind of glamour,” says Brett of the bathroom, which features a showstoppi­ng Posh Solus freestandi­ng tub from Reece. Handmade ceramic wall tiles, The Art of Tiles. Popham Design floor tiles, Onsite Supply & Design. Elephant chair, Fanuli. KIDS’ BEDROOM The third bedroom is set up for when the grandkids come to visit. Matching bedheads in Zanskar Indian toile fabric, Seneca Textiles. Lap credenza, Blu Dot. &Tradition ‘Bellevue’ wall lights, Great Dane. Mingus ‘P2’ pendant light, Cult. Latitude rug, Armadillo & Co. FORMAL LIVING Opposite A Redondo sofa and armchairs by Patricia Urquiola sit atop an oversized rug from Tappeti. Carrara-topped coffee table, Catapult Design. Prometheus brass and crystal pendant, Christophe­r Boots. Torry Valley II artwork by Kristen Lethem.
LIVING Left and right Interior designer Brett Mickan tests out the window seat. Curtains in Mokum Couture fabric from James Dunlop Textiles. Navarra desk, Fanuli. Hay ‘About a Chair’ desk chair, Cult. MAIN BATHROOM “This room has a quiet kind of glamour,” says Brett of the bathroom, which features a showstoppi­ng Posh Solus freestandi­ng tub from Reece. Handmade ceramic wall tiles, The Art of Tiles. Popham Design floor tiles, Onsite Supply & Design. Elephant chair, Fanuli. KIDS’ BEDROOM The third bedroom is set up for when the grandkids come to visit. Matching bedheads in Zanskar Indian toile fabric, Seneca Textiles. Lap credenza, Blu Dot. &Tradition ‘Bellevue’ wall lights, Great Dane. Mingus ‘P2’ pendant light, Cult. Latitude rug, Armadillo & Co. FORMAL LIVING Opposite A Redondo sofa and armchairs by Patricia Urquiola sit atop an oversized rug from Tappeti. Carrara-topped coffee table, Catapult Design. Prometheus brass and crystal pendant, Christophe­r Boots. Torry Valley II artwork by Kristen Lethem.
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?? ?? ENSUITE Clever features abound in the couple’s ensuite. Vanity topped with Carrara marble from Granite & Marble Works. Drawer pulls, Savage Design. Gubi mirrors, Cult. Evergreen wall sconces, Robert Long Lighting. Elk basin mixers, and Icon heated towel rails, Astra Walker. MAIN BEDROOM Putting hotel rooms to shame, the master bedroom is filled with a Maxalto ‘Alcova 09’ canopy bed and Mad Queen low armchairs from Space. Custom-made art silk rug, Tappeti. Printex wallpaper, Ascraft. Floor lamp and six-arm chandelier, Cromwell. For Where to Buy, see page 192.
ENSUITE Clever features abound in the couple’s ensuite. Vanity topped with Carrara marble from Granite & Marble Works. Drawer pulls, Savage Design. Gubi mirrors, Cult. Evergreen wall sconces, Robert Long Lighting. Elk basin mixers, and Icon heated towel rails, Astra Walker. MAIN BEDROOM Putting hotel rooms to shame, the master bedroom is filled with a Maxalto ‘Alcova 09’ canopy bed and Mad Queen low armchairs from Space. Custom-made art silk rug, Tappeti. Printex wallpaper, Ascraft. Floor lamp and six-arm chandelier, Cromwell. For Where to Buy, see page 192.

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