Cookie cutter townhouse becomes cosy retreat for downsizers

Midwife-turned-interior-designer Bec McNicol has taken an unassuming townhouse and turned a once stark and cookie-cutter home into a warm Japandi retreat.

When Annie and Mark found a townhouse to downsize from their larger Adelaide Hills property, they faced the weighty challenge of transforming a four-metre-high, somewhat lifeless space into a warm retreat for their next season of life. Their two Cocker Spaniels in tow, they enlisted the help of interior designer Bec. Drawing on Annie’s love of Japandi and modern organic styles, she has thoughtfully utilised the transforming powers of warm panelled timber, custom joinery, neutral tones, curved furniture, textural fabrics, and thoughtfully curated artwork, to completely transform the soulless new-build.

The couple decided to downsize from their larger home and create a simpler lifestyle without the upkeep of a large garden and pool.

“The style Annie and Mark really loved was modern organic mixed with Japanese design elements,” Bec says. “We set out to include lots of warm panelled timber in the custom joinery, a warm neutral colour palette overall with modern organic artwork and plenty of texture and curves in the furniture pieces. I wanted to inject a lot of warmth and layering to the interiors to create a beautiful, cohesive space where both the ground floor and upstairs felt connected.”

Bec started by having the place painted throughout (a big job with a multi-level, double-height void in the mix), replacing the floors with a walnut toned engineered timber, laying new textural loop pile carpet upstairs and in the bedrooms, and having custom S-wave linen-look sheers made to allow lots of natural light into the space, whilst adding a lot of texture and warmth.

“To draw from the Japandi style, we used the same timber-look panelling on both levels and carried the same joinery colours throughout. I also mixed timber tones with different furniture pieces, to keep the space feeling layered and organic. I also wanted to create a beautiful contrast to the sharper lines of the joinery by adding lots of curved shapes into the furniture pieces.”

The townhouse was built in 2020 and had lots of natural light, high ceilings in the main living space, and a small internal courtyard and double-height void to increase the sense of space. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living spaces.

The footprint of the living area was challenging with its four-metre-high ceilings combined with small floorplan. “It took the right furniture layout to ensure it didn’t look cramped but also provided enough seating for friends and family. I designed the large living room joinery to be in proportion to the large wall it sits on, so that this central room felt inviting horizontally and vertically,” says Bec. “The kitchen originally felt a little cold and uninviting, so we added new barstools and installed new pendant light with lots of texture to warm it up.”

The dining area sat off the hallway and had a storage cupboard doorway in the space as well. “Being a small area with sharp angles, we decided on introducing fabric banquette seating, mixed with dining chairs to create a layout that worked with the space as well as adding more texture and storage options.”

Bec’s favourite part of the makeover is simply the connection between all the spaces, using similar materials and colours. “Using the panelling feature in three separate areas of the home makes it feel intentional and resolved. I also love the mix of curves in many of the furniture pieces as they help soften all the sharp lines in the architecture of this home. The linen-look sheers bring a lot of drama and the way the natural light filters through them is quite the showstopper!”

There are many roads to interior design and midwifery is seldom one of them. Bec was feeling the weight of shiftwork combined with motherhood when she decided to pivot to her longstanding love of design. Bec acquired a Diploma of Interior Design & Decoration in 2017 before starting her own business Design Release in September 2019. Bec says listening is a crucial skill in both fields – possessing a sensitivity to another person’s environment, practical needs, and desires. From her first client, a friend-of-a-friend as it goes, Bec has gone on to work with a range of styles and clients.

Photography: Seasons by Bec Photography

Before photos