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Art and colour star in cottage reno inspired by Kit Kemp

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Shortlisted in the House & Garden Top 50 rooms award in the โ€œBest Use of Artโ€ category, this art-filled heritage cottage is nestled in Sydneyโ€™s Neutral Bay. Inspired by the ownerโ€™s passion for Kit Kemp, the home has been renovated and extended and features plenty of fabulous art (obviously!) and playful pops of pink throughout.

Lounge room
Lounge room

โ€œThe clientโ€™s bravery and love for Kit Kemp inspired a lot of the design โ€“ her love for art also helped. The use of bright and bold colours and patterns has made this one of the most colourful projects Iโ€™ve worked on,โ€ says architect Brooke Aitken who extended the home at the rear to provide a more spacious and user-friendly kitchen and dining while creating a connection to the rear garden. 

Heritage listed, the original part of the semi-detached home remains the same. โ€œThe extension is at the rear and not visible from the street which gave us a little more leeway,โ€ says Brooke who explains that one of the key renovation challenges was gaining approval for the works.

Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom

Providing visual relief from the rest of the colour-soaked home, the homeโ€™s kitchen is a clean, neutral space. Carrara marble bench tops are paired with white satin rhombus shaped tiles from Surface Studio. โ€œThere was already so much colour and texture in play. The white in the kitchen provided a clean base and ensures the spaces are bright which is much needed as the front of the house is lacking in a lot of natural light,โ€ says Brooke. 

Kitchen

The adjacent dining room was reimagined as a conduit between the existing garden and main house, set two steps below kitchen level with large steel doors flowing to the fresh entertaining deck. Art-filled, the dining nook is one of the homeโ€™s most gorgeous spaces.

Dining nook
Dining nook

The bathroom is another tranquil, neutral zone that complements the kitchen. โ€œThe bathroom design brief was for a simple, clean room flooded with light, so the colour and tone, finishes and detailing were all designed to work around this starting point,โ€ says Brooke.

Bathroom
Bathroom

Brooke repurposed many of the ownerโ€™s existing items using paint and reupholstery to give them new life. โ€œWe spray painted the TV unit green and we reupholstered the dining chairs, living room occasional chairs and living room sofa which were all the clientโ€™s own,โ€ says Brooke. One such item was the occasional chair that lives in the lounge room โ€“ covered in $4,000 worth of fabric, it was the biggest splurge of the project. โ€œOur client works long hours, so we wanted to create a beautiful home that she can enjoy in her downtime.โ€

The reupholstered occasional chair and freshly painted green TV unit
Lounge room

Photography: Prue Ruscoe

For more on Brooke Aitken Design

Bedroom
Worker’s cottage dramatically transformed by architect couple
Weโ€™ve featured the work of Melbourneโ€™s Splinter Society before and todayโ€™s home has many of the same details that weโ€™ve…
The gorgeous internal courtyard
Renovated cottage has unique lookout to take in coastal views
Originally a two-room 1920s workersโ€™ cottage in the Perth coastal suburb of North Fremantle, this home has been substantially expanded…

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December 13, 2022

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New @kmartaus home has dropped! Hit up the link i New @kmartaus home has dropped!

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And even if you're not in the market for new linen, the bird cushions would look fab on a sofa. The pink one might be finding its way to my house...

More info on the homepage now via link in bio.

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While we featured a gloriously colourful home on M While we featured a gloriously colourful home on Monday, this one is a masterclass in serene neutrals! And how good is this bunk room?!

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In this 80s villa reno, @trentinidesign took inspiration from an archway typical of the era and used it throughout the home.

The bathroom was transformed from a classic three-piece set up that included a shower, bath and vanity. Kathryn removed the bath and split the room in half and designed an arch to sit between the two zones. 

โ€œI wanted something spectacular. Rather than having a vanity with a piece of glass like you would typically see, I was really trying to push myself as a designer. It was costly but it worked out well and the feedback has been great."

Swipe for the before and follow the link in bio to see the rest of this home.

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One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavet One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavetimeforthis, turns out former Neighbours actor @gemma_peanut is even more multi-talented than we thought! Will you check out the joyful and colourful reno of her holiday home (and airbnb) @yo_caba_caba?!

Head over to the blog via link in bio to read all about why she went bold and full of pattern in this project, which is a stark contrast to her zen and neutral Northern Beaches abode.

There's also plenty of details about where things are from etc.

"Iโ€™m not an interior designer so I just chose what I liked and followed my gut. Ultimately this home has been an opportunity to explore my alter ego โ€“ it allowed me to do things that I wouldnโ€™t normally do.โ€

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Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial family category and they're a special gift. So ends three weeks with @danisteve81 who left her husband and son in the UK (I'm forever grateful they lent her to me!) to come and cheer me up and help me in the most practical ways after I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital. There were tears and I miss her so much already but how amazing to have had all that time together as adults. Such a rare treat and would never have happened without having been through something so challenging. Silver linings and all that. So many other friends have also been incredibly thoughtful and kind. There aren't many times I'd say this without cringing but I am 100% blessed!

I still cannot believe we have been friends since we were 12! 12! Are you still close with your childhood besties?
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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