Completing a brilliant architectural design with brilliant interior furnishings is a pleasure, especially when an artful muse is there to set the tone. Decorating a home like this is witnessing an evolution; you rediscover its structural beauty as its practical elements take shape.
Architect Jane Riddell designed and built her family home and required my help in furnishing the formal sitting room, family room, dining room and master bedroom.
Jane had just purchased a magnificent and arresting piece of art – the muse – and I replicated its vivid and energetic colour palette across the sitting room interior. I drew a measured floor plan, including all furniture needed, and I decided the space mandated custom-made sofas, armchairs and scatter-cushions. We also sourced decorative chairs locally and recovered them to fit in with the room’s scheme.
Because the dining room flows freely from the open sitting room I decided it was necessary to maintain a consistent colour scheme across the two spaces. I sourced a custom-made dining table and custom-made chairs covered in imported Italian damask. Jane visited the furniture manufacturer directly to approve the product, ensuring matchless comfort and peace of mind. I sourced an iron chandelier to match the iron and marble sideboard, as well as a pair of decorative cabinets colour-matched to the dining chairs. For an eye-catching feature, Jane purchased a 3-metre tall iron sculpture placed directly outside the dining room window. I chose to hang custom-made bronze sheer curtains; designed to blend in with the dark tones of the walls, they serve a secondary purpose of giving the sculpture a striking frame.
The master bedroom now features a custom-made chest of drawers, a pair of bedroom chairs, and bronze sheer curtains designed to soften the room and offer some privacy from the street.
Location: Hawthorn, Melbourne
Photographer: Brad Hill
