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House tour: Minimalist Sydney retreat showcases artist’s work

By Amy Collins-Walker •

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By Tahnee Carroll

Home to talented artist Leanne Thomas, her GP husband Jo and their two teenage children, Bella, 19 and Will, 16, as well as two senior Daschunds, this Sydney renovation is a lesson in understatement. The minimalist home is also the perfect canvas for Leanne’s artwork.

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Owner Leanne Thomas with her artworks & beloved Daschunds

Built in 1983, the original home was typically boxy and lacking in natural light, so when Leanne and Jo purchased the property in 1997, it instantly became apparent what needed to be done. Initially, the pair did small renovations internally and completely gutted the backyard and installed a low maintenance landscaped garden complete with two-storey high hedging (Leighton Green Pine trees) as well as a vine covered arbor. Two children and 15 years later and the Thomases were ready for the major renovation their home so dearly needed.

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The lovely, green garden

“We wanted open spaces. The original design was quite boxy and not great for people to spread out. We found that groups of people would come for social gatherings and all congregate in the kitchen, which was a small space inside a much bigger space,” says Leanne.

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Living room

With the larger space not utilised, they decided to knock down the internal walls and completely gut the interior, creating an open plan living and dining space for the whole family. “We find that people tend to spread out now, but still have that ‘together’ feeling because we’re all still in the one space — it’s just a lot larger. We also have a lot more natural light reaching areas of the house that it didn’t before,” says Leanne.

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Powder room

Going through a renovation whilst still living in your home can be a chaotic time in any young family’s life. “It was the hardest thing in the world! We converted three bedrooms into a mini apartment that we could lock at night, as the house was open for quite a few months. It was dirty and impossible to keep the dust out!” The renovation went very smoothly from start to finish. “Our builder was brilliant and he kept the job going day after day. There was always someone here during that time so we felt confident that the job was moving along at a good pace — something you need to see when you can’t wait for it to end!”

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Kitchen

“People inspired our renovation. We always have loads of people in our house – there are usually an extra few at our dinner table and we love that. We wanted great, open and positive spaces for them to feel at home. People often remark at how relaxed they feel when they come in.” The subdued colour scheme creates an innate sense of tranquillity within the interior whilst also allowing the natural light to bounce around the rooms. The lighting has been strategically designed to suit the family’s preference for lamps and candles, which are dotted throughout the interior rather than focusing on intense overhead lighting solutions.

Every detail has been considered, especially with the kitchen design. “It has a hidden away pantry which is great for quick cleanups if people are coming over. Everything goes into the back room to keep the kitchen looking minimal. When I designed the kitchen, I thought about every item and made sure each had a place to be stored. I wanted everything quite minimal so the island bench is an altar-like shape, as simple as possible,” says Leanne. She has also incorporated a rose gold, mirrored splashback, which intentionally reflects the green of the garden into the space and gives the appearance of looking through into another garden.

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Walk-in pantry

One of the great surprises of the renovation is the addition of the walk-in pantry behind the kitchen. “You’d never know it was there! Within this room we also love our floor to ceiling pinboards, which are a great spot for family notes and loads of family pics,” says Leanne.

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Bathroom details & Leanne’s art

They wanted downstairs to be purely for entertaining and upstairs for the family. The bedrooms are all located upstairs along with an enclosed veranda which has been turned into a much loved gym and the family TV room. The only television downstairs is hidden within the timber pylon and faces the kitchen so Leanne can watch the news whilst cooking, whilst the laundry and downstairs bathroom are concealed behind a large pivot door off to the side of the living space. The layout really shows how in-depth Leanne and Jo thought about the new design. Even the precise location of power points was considered!

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Leanne’s studio

Leanne’s incredibly realistic paintings are spread throughout their home, adding subtle pops of colour to the soft tones of the interior. “My aesthetics and sensibilities stem from a love of classical art, nature and the sublime. This combined with an interest in the relationship between light and shadow, bright and dark, blur and detail, near and far is what defines my work. Ultimately, I am committed to creating art that exudes light, life and hope in a way that resonates with every viewer.”

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Before embarking on her career as a full-time artist, Leanne was an art director who worked in advertising and publishing for 10 years; a background that has played a subconscious but nonetheless integral role in creating the well designed home. When her children started school, Leanne enrolled herself in a three-year oil painting course at the Charlie Sheard Studio School in Redfern. “I set up in our garage and painted here for a couple of years before we did the major reno. We then divided the garage in half, opened up a wall to let in more light and added some good storage. It’s a small space but I love it. It has good ventilation and bi-fold doors that I can open up completely.”

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Bedroom

Guided by her desire to express beauty, Leanne’s paintings begin first by capturing images through a photographic medium. These images, along with loads of other inspiration pictures torn from her favourite magazines, are dotted along the walls of her studio, creating instant moodboards to inspire new works, “I redo this at the start of every year. Sometimes I would have been thinking about themes or colours over the Christmas break and then I set about pulling bits and pieces out of magazines to match the mood; Kinfolk and Cereal are my faves,” she says.

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Bedroom

Check out Leanne’s work here.

Photography (Lynden Foss), words and styling (Tahnee Carroll) of Citizens of Style

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May 30, 2016

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Love this one 😍 The brief was simple – to de Love this one 😍

The brief was simple – to deliver a functional, light filled, beautiful and contemporary family home that honoured the history of the old interwar home, whilst being financially efficient,” says @splinter_society_architecture’s Asha Nicholas.

On the homepage now via link in bio.

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💦 Summer's here and if you don't already have a 💦 Summer's here and if you don't already have a pool, you might be wishing you did, or planning one for next year!

Funnily enough, I've never wanted a pool but that may be because I grew up in England!🤣

The votes are in for Australia's best pools and we have them all on the blog today. Via link in bio.

From tiny backyard plunge pools to big family pools with slides, acreage pools, Hamptons pools, shipping container pools, pools with views, spas and glass windows, pools on sloping blocks and everything you could think of in between!

Do you have a pool? Do you use it a lot? Do you wish you had one?

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At the weekend, Seb asked if he could put a box of At the weekend, Seb asked if he could put a box of drawings out the front of the house to sell and raise money for the homeless at Christmas.

Of course I planned to sneak my own coins into the box when he wasn't looking, but then a lovely passer by left this note and $5 in an envelope "To the artist" and made his day 🥰

I want my kids to be kind and empathetic above all else ❤️ You bet I'm proud of him for coming up with this idea himself.

And as grownups, let's be the people who leave a note and encourage this sort of thing 🙏🏻
A or (swipe) B? This divine coloured concrete Jun A or (swipe) B?

This divine coloured concrete Juno bath from @nood_co (available in 21 colours) or this fluted number (available in 1500 or 1700mm length) from @highgrovebathrooms?

Baths are no longer the basic that you choose all your statement tiles and tapware around. Now the tub can BE the statement!

Just two of the new products featured in this week's bathroom roundup, on the blog now via link in bio.

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Summer 🌞💦🌸 #hydrangeas #hydrangea #aussi Summer 🌞💦🌸

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Victorians, are you still allowed to have gas in y Victorians, are you still allowed to have gas in your home? We share the ins and outs on what you need to know about the new rule in Victoria when it comes to your energy.

The good news is, for most people nothing will change, however if you are planning a new build/renovation that requires a planning permit – you will need to speak to your builder to get your permit lodged before 1 January 2024!

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Our ever popular top places to buy Australian bed Our ever popular top places to buy Australian bed linen online post has been updated for 2023! Head to the blog now via link in bio to get some bedroom inspiration!

Whether you liked classic stripes, fun florals, moody linen or cotton covers, we have something for you!

#bedroomstyle #bedlinens #bedroomrefresh #bedlinen #bedroomgoals😍 #bedroomstyling #bedsheet #bedsheetonline #bedsheetlovers #duvetcover #doona #freshsheets #freshsheet #newbedroom #bedroomstyle #interiorsblog #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome
The owner of Noosa homewares and furniture mecca @ The owner of Noosa homewares and furniture mecca @coastalvintage, Sally Oulton travels the globe looking for amazing interior finds. And now you can join her on one of her bespoke interior sourcing tours to Bali where you’ll be taken far from the crowds to discover the best homewares and furniture that the Indonesian paradise has to offer. Read all about it via link in bio.

#baliindonesia #balishopping #balishop #balisourcing #balihomewares #balihomedecor #balitrip #balistyle #baliinteriors #baliinterior #baliinteriordesign
Just capturing Mr 5 here before he stops going to Just capturing Mr 5 here before he stops going to daycare and preschool next month and becomes a school boy. All the feels 😭❤️🙏🏻
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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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarAishwarya says

    May 31, 2016 at 2:21 am

    Great collections of interior design. inspirational Images. Thanks for sharing

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