When you’re onto a good thing, you stick with it. And the owner of this renovated terrace in Sydney’s eastern suburbs hit the jackpot when she met interior designer Marco Meneguzzi.

Together they undertook seven stylish house renovations, two of which sold for the highest price ever paid in Sydney at the time. This latest project was a complete change from these previous homes.

“With her two children now grown and in college, the owner just wanted something small and simple, within walking distance of everything she needed,” says Marco.

“Her last home was a seven-bedroom, five-bathroom house on the Northern Beaches, but this time she wanted less maintenance, less stuff. By downsizing to a two-bedroom pied-à-terre in the city, she could also have a second base in the countryside.

From the outside, the ivy-covered brick house looks like a cute doll’s house, but inside “it was very tired and cramped,” Marco says.

“Downstairs, the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom were three different spaces, and the dining room was separate again. Everything was very compartmentalized.

The best solution was to gut and disassemble the entire house, then rebuild it again, with the aim of opening up the layout and making each room as spacious as possible.

Narrow doors leading from one room to another were widened to let in more light and create the illusion of space, and the walled stairwell was opened up with the addition of a wooden balustrade. iron.

Marco designed bespoke ornate cornices, architraves and plinths to reintroduce historic character to the living spaces and upstairs rooms, and the kitchen was fitted with new marble worktops, period joinery shaker and high-end household appliances.

The living room is a charming and welcoming space featuring a lovely window seat with storage underneath and straw-colored linen cushions on top. The walls are painted pale celery (Dulux Green Alabaster) with white woodwork and ceilings.

Across the street, the cramped dining space is now a cozy alcove, with two bookcases built on either side of the round dining table. “There was no room to display her stuff, so we put it here so she could show off some of the things she’s collected over the years,” Marco says.

A sofa tucked against the wall is a great place to read the newspaper each morning and two comfortable armchairs allow for intimate dinners. On the wall behind, a rosette converted into a light fixture resembles a light sculpture.

Upstairs is the owner’s private residence, where she can enjoy her bedroom, veranda, bathroom and dressing room all to herself.

“The green marble bathroom is a fabulous space,” says Marco. “When you’re in there, there’s a feeling of light and brightness and joy.”

“It is a very pleasant house to live in, light and bright, designed according to the needs of the owner.”

MARCO MENEGUZZI, INTERIOR DESIGNER

With the owner wanting a simple life, Marco kept his material choices to a minimum. Herringbone parquet floors run through the downstairs spaces while a pale silver sisal rug features upstairs.

“By keeping the flooring consistent, it gives the rooms the illusion of being larger,” he adds.

And with only one person living here, there were plenty of opportunities to showcase the owner’s vivacious personality and tastes. The vibrant, aquatic wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom was all her choice.

“She wanted something a little crazy and unexpected here,” says Marco of the original design depicting tropical fish, squid and octopus. A custom vanity and ceiling-hung mirror free up valuable real estate in the small space, while a shelf of glass containers from the owner’s former home showcases her favorite bath salts and oils.

“The owner wanted something a little crazy and unexpected here.”

MARCO MENEGUZZI, INTERIOR DESIGNER

Plenty of artwork accompanied it, too, from John Olsen lithographs amassed on the stairs to Emma Walker’s rounded-edged acrylics in the window corner to framed plants in the living room that have been with it ever since. 20 years old.

“It’s a very pleasant house to live in, light and bright, designed according to her needs and filled with everything she loves,” Marco explains. “Nothing too adult or too serious; she already had all that.

The redesigned home includes several places where the owner can sit and enjoy her surroundings. “The courtyard gets the morning sun, as does the living room windowsill, allowing for sitting inside or out with a book or a cup of tea,” says Marco. And when the owner leaves town, the simplified space can be locked and left as is, ready to welcome her when she returns.

THAT’S LIFE

Marco Meneguzzi Design: marcomeneguzzi.com.

TJ York Constructions: tjyorkconstructions.com.

The design team

Writer

Stephanie Hope

A writer and editor with a passion for interiors, Stephanie loves peeking into readers’ homes and appreciating little nuggets of advice from industry creatives. Mum to two crazy boys and an equally crazy dog, she loves a good decluttering hack and usually hides in the garden with a pair of pruners every chance she gets.