A Family Home That Champions The Arts

Who lives here: Catherine and David Wilson

Location: Randwick, Sydney 

Decor style: Contemporary with a bit of quirk

Favourite room: The newly completed TV room, the contrast of colours with the caramel velvet and the pink Rick Carlino art is a match made in heaven!

Favourite pieces: This is too hard! It has to be art-related. I think the Brass Ben Storms wall sculpture in the dining room and the Wastberg Alma wall light in the TV room from Euroluce.

When the owners of this beautiful 1900s abode in the Sydney suburb of Randwick engaged interior designer Claudia Stephenson to help transform their home into relaxed gallery-inspired spaces, magic happened.

Having already undergone a contemporary renovation by the previous owners, Catherine and David Wilson fell in love with the bright open spaces and the simple, clean architectural design. Making it the perfect canvas for their evolving collection of bespoke furniture and art pieces.

Beautiful and functional, the home’s material restraint created a comfortable gallery-like environment, allowing Claudia to take a considered approach to the warmth, character and sophistication she brought into the space.

ART-INSPIRED

“The art helped to inform all the furniture and colour choices,” explains Claudia. “Catherine has a true passion for a strong visual aesthetic and falls in love hard with things. I’d often wake up to a text saying, ‘whoops, just bought more art!’. Lucky for me Catherine and I share the same tastes!”

Knowing that this is not necessarily their forever home, Claudia wanted to bring in as much personality with pieces that would be transferrable if they were to move someday. And with an already impressive collection to draw from, Claudia and Catherine had a lot of fun finding the right pieces for the different areas of the home.

“Once the major design decisions were made, there was a constant dialogue between myself and Catherine, flicking each other vases, bowls, sculptures and art. When we both had a strong reaction to pieces, we would add them to the inventory,” says Claudia.

THE STYLE

Catherine’s desire to take a fresh approach to the interiors paved the way for a modern style with quirks. Armed with this brief, Claudia set about creating layered spaces; rugs, fabrics, mixing metals and wood to create a distraction from the blank canvas. She boldly used colour in every room to create interesting, unique spaces that don’t overwhelm.

Yet, Claudia is the first to admit that the home is not run of the mill and won’t appeal to everyone, “this is what we were aiming for. Something different. Catherine is passionate about provenance and authenticity, so bringing original art, furniture, and lighting design to each space was a high priority.”

ART IN THE HOME

Starting with the formal living space in front of the kitchen, Catherine wanted the living room to be super pretty, a little impractical, but still very user friendly. The curved boucle sofa was a 'love at first sight' decision. Then we built from there, adding in the soft rose rug and large abstract Vicki Lee artwork. The Driade Roly Poly chairs are a bit of fun and add to the curvy appeal of this space.

“As a lawyer and a surgeon, Catherine and David both work extremely hard and long hours. They wanted to relish the time they had to enjoy at home, so it was time for them to invest in the decorative elements of their home that they could not warrant in the past,” explains Claudia.

The Ben Storms brass wall sculpture is the hero in the dining room, with pink chairs tying the space back to the main living room. The TV room is stunning with its contrast of colours – a caramel velvet couch sits against the pink Rick Carlino art above, while the Wastberg Alma wall light from Euroluce adds a little bit of quirk. Then there are the bedrooms, with the master featuring a caramel bedhead, Flos pendant lights and new bedside tables.

“I love that the home’s both gorgeous to look at but also completely practical. The kids get to wake up to some stunning contemporary artists and European lighting every day, and they love it! There are no out of bounds areas, just maybe a few places where food isn’t allowed,” says Claudia.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Famed for being Sydney's premier horseracing destination, Randwick is a neighbourhood that likes to mix things up. With a stunning stretch of coastline to one side and the sprawling expanses of Centennial Park to the other, this prestigious suburb has a whole lot to boast about. Including being home to some of Australia's top-notch medical and educational institutions. And if all that wasn't enough, Randwick has established its own dining and café scene that sits amidst architecture that speaks to its historical past.

SITCHU’S FAVOURITE RANDWICK HANGOUTS

For coffee: Pop into Kurtosh for your morning brew and pick up some baked goods while you’re there.

For brunch: A Man and his Monkey is the place to be for brunch.

For lunch: Soul Burger has mastered the art of vegan burgers, and locals can’t get enough of them.

For dinner: A modern bistro, Clove Lane is fine dining with a laid-back attitude.

For drinks: The Cookhouse is a gastro-pub that does a delicious modern-Australian feast, but it’s the drinks that will keep you here well into the night.

GET THE LOOK

Dinosaur Designs

Curatorial + Co. art gallery

Designstuff

Jardan

PROJECT CREDITS

Design & Styling: @claudiastephensoninteriors

Photography: @hannahblackmore

Words: @inky.content

Homeowner: @catherinegraceinc