Interior designer Melissa Marshall and husband James purchased this sandstone home three years ago, but only moved in just over a year ago. Located in Bellevue Hill, just minutes from busy Bondi, the property is surprisingly private, and serves this (soon to be growing!) family perfectly.
The home underwent a massive overhaul before the family moved in, and Melissa’s interior design flair is evident in every corner of the home. She explains that the renovations maintained the original sandstone and majority of the exterior structure, but they ‘opened the whole house internally by removing walls and heightening and widening doorways.’ Four new doors connect the back of the house to the garden, and link to an extended veranda and pool.
Inside, every surface is new, including the doors and joinery. The renovations also converted a previously external element into an interior feature, through enclosing the stunning portico to create a large (and seriously wow-factor!) foyer entrance. Custom steel doorways welcome guests to the house, and bring a contemporary edge to the century-old sandstone structure.
Melissa works from home, and has used her interior design expertise to create a calm and peaceful house and workspace that is also robust enough for kids to play in. ‘I love a home that looks interesting and unique, but that you can live in’ she explains – ‘it has to be practical.’
The understated, refined aesthetic here has been achieved through the use of Mediterranean sandstone, and a soft, muted colour scheme. Melissa explains that she ‘kept a fairly neutral palette inside’, with rooms in white, Dulux ‘beige royal’, and the master bedroom featuring a soft green.
This serene colour scheme allows for the artworks and beloved objects to really sing, including the stunning ‘Lindfield Gardens’ painting by Brett Whiteley (yes!) which Melissa highlights as a particular favourite. Other special items include the Formations dining room table, that she admits to dreaming about ‘for years before I even had a spot for it’, and the Den Holm custom designed table in the entrance, that ‘is so dramatic and sculptural it looks and feels like art.’
The whole home has an impressive sculptural element, as the converted portico frames the entrance to the house. Here, Melissa has created a robust and refined home that reflects her own aesthetic style, as well as accommodating the needs of their young family.
