I’ve been a huge fan of Home Beautiful (and freelance) interior stylist Lucy Gough since we met at an event last year and love following her on Instagram. When she recently shared this gorgeous upcycle in her own home, I knew you’d love it too so I asked her all about it!
Lucy’s always had a soft spot for secondhand shopping; the thrill of never knowing what treasure you might uncover. “There’s something magical about discovering a hidden gem among a pile of forgotten things and giving it a new lease on life,” she says.
Her love for Facebook Marketplace however, really took off after her and her family lost most of their belongings in the 2022 floods. “In the midst of that heartbreak, I felt an urgent need to rebuild our home—not just physically, but emotionally. As a stylist, I deeply understand how important it is to be surrounded by pieces that make you feel calm and uplifted. Creating that sense of comfort was essential for my family’s healing.”
But when she started looking at big furniture retailers, she was shocked to find wait times of up to 26 weeks for a sofa or armchair. “I knew we couldn’t wait that long so I got to work! Within a week, I had completely refurnished our home, sourcing everything from within a 7km radius.”
A year later, Lucy, her wife Kristina and sons Arthur and Hamish, left their rental and bought an apartment on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The downsize to their new small but beautiful home meant she had to get smart with storage solutions.
“I came across a large set of two cabinets listed for free on Marketplace, but they were far too big and heavy for me to transport on my own. So I hired a couple of guys with a van on Airtasker (it cost about $150) to pick them up and drop them off at the patio outside our rental.”
Knowing she wouldn’t have much space for messy DIY projects at the new place, a week before they moved into the apartment, Lucy decided to do all the sanding and undercoating while she still had access to a large outdoor area. “That way, once the cabinets were in place in our new home, I’d only need to apply the top coat, with minimal dust or disruption. The plan worked out perfectly.”
First, Lucy and Kristina removed the top doors (they put them on the side of the road for someone to re-home and they were taken within half an hour!). Sanding took a couple of hours, then the undercoat took about half a day. They used a Dulux primer and undercoat in one.
The final coat was Annie Sloan Cotswolds Green: “The perfect shade of pale sage!” They reattached the lower doors and added new simple, aged-brass handles from Bunnings.
The open shelving was perfect for Lucy’s styling needs. “I wanted to showcase all my favourite things and it also allows us to have our Samsung Frame TV (also from Marketplace) on the main shelf and it looks like a large painting. I really didn’t want a big black rectangle in the centre of our small sitting room. Then behind the bottom doors we have all the boys’ board games, play-doh, books etc. Easy access but hidden away!”
Lucy says downsizing, rather than being limiting, has been life changing. “We really love our ‘tiny house living’ lifestyle. It’s simplified our lives and encouraged us to live with less, which I actually prefer. We have a smaller mortgage than if we were in a big house, and best of all, a beautiful private garden that feels like an extension of our living space.”
With Arthur (8) and Hamish (6) at school, and Lucy working in the city, they mostly use the apartment for eating and sleeping. “We’re also lucky to live close to the beach, so we spend a lot of time outdoors. I won’t lie—every now and then, I daydream about a bigger place. But when I weigh up the pros and cons, I honestly feel like we’re exactly where we’re meant to be. We’re really happy here.”
Lucy and Kristina love being surrounded by the beautiful things they’ve collected over their 16 years together. Thankfully, most of their art and ceramics survived the flood.
“I like our home to feel comfortable, lived-in, properly homely,” Lucy adds. “I’m not drawn to stark, minimalist spaces—that’s just not me. I want people to pop in for a cuppa and end up staying all afternoon because they feel completely at ease. Comfy sofa, squashy cushions, lots of colour (but muted colour, not too bright) and plenty of little things to look at—it’s like a visual hug.
“It’s hard to define my aesthetic precisely. I spend my days creating spaces for clients and styling magazine shoots, so I think over time I’ve absorbed a little bit of every trend and mashed it all together. But with a stylist’s eye—and plenty of editing and curating—it all just works.”
Find out more about Lucy and her online courses at the Interior Styling School or follow her on Instagram.
Lucy’s book, The Home Style Handbook
