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Few Australian brands are quite as distinctive as SUKU Home.
Founded by creative director and entrepreneur Chrissy Lafian in 2013, the business is known for playful bedding and loungewear, distinguished by hand-painted patterns and colourful designs.
Working with a team of skilled artisans in Bali means each SUKU Home textile is unique. So, it’s no surprise that Chrissy’s own family home in Melbourne’s west is similarly one of a kind.
‘We saw the listing online and went to inspect it just hours before we were meant to go to a completely different auction,’ says Chrissy, who shares the house with her husband, business analyst Chris Zancan, and their four-year-old son, Enzo.
‘We fell for it straight away: the unique architecture, the light, that bright and airy feeling. Something about it just felt calm. It was one of those instant, no-hesitation decisions.’
The property was a new build in Brooklyn that was only about ‘80 per cent finished’, having been listed for sale by the owner who was unable to see the project to completion.
Set well back from the street, the contemporary house offered an unusually large front yard, and the interiors were lined almost exclusively in plywood.
Intrigued by the vendor’s vision, Chrissy and Chris sat down with him after buying the house: ‘He’d been really inspired by the simplicity of Japanese design, which happens to be something Chris and I are drawn to as well.’
‘The bones of his vision are still there; we’ve just injected our own personal take on top of it. What you see now is really a layering of the two,’ Chrissy adds.
With the structural details and logistics complete, the couple jumped at the chance to have the final say on the house’s internal finishes. The biggest updates included finalising the kitchen’s design in the open-plan living space, which now overlooks the fresh landscaping in the once-untouched front yard.
While they loved the home’s minimalist concrete floors and timber-lined walls, after much deliberation, Chrissy says they decided to cover up some of the existing plywood panels with white plaster. It’s a small change that ultimately enhances the harmonious material palette, making room for the family’s personal collection of furniture and art.
‘Designing for SUKU has made me realise how much joy colour and prints can bring into a space — it’s made me not afraid to use them,’ she says of the home’s expressive styling.
Vintage gems are styled alongside cinematic prints from Jakarta-based photographer Leandro Quintero throughout. The bedrooms upstairs showcase SUKU Home bedding, alongside one of Chrissy’s most recent DIY projects: ‘I updated the IKEA drawers in there with a timber veneer front, and it made me fall in love with the piece all over again.’
‘I’m all about giving something you already own a new meaning, being able to look at it and find a new love for it. That’s what makes it special to me. I also love changing my bed sheet depending on my mood, so the room never feels the same twice.’
Thanks to this creative flair, and a bit of patience over the last few years, the once unfinished family home now feels inviting, eclectic, and completely whole.
