When a lifetime friend asked her to renew her new style house Art Decolocated in a lush and coveted area of Sydney, Tamsin Johnson did not hide his enthusiasm. For the young couple and her newborn son, the Australian interior designer redesigned this 1920 Casa de Campo built in Spanish neo -colonial style. «They wanted a true family home. His home forever,» he explains. The house, surrounded by nature, was «very pretty originally, but too dark.» So the first thing Tamsin Johnson did was create new arched openings to the patio. As a result, the house is more luminous and much more spacious. In addition, to create an internal-exterior effect, the patio rose to the level of the living room, was paved with terracotta and crème marble and reimagined with a landscape, «because here good time 9 months a year ago,» he says excitedly. In the center of Sydney, the house is a total invitation to relaxation.
Luxury, calm and pleasure
Inside, the architect has worked to create a timeless, serene and relaxed atmosphere, at the same time home in their comfort and cozy to receive guests (an important element in the couple's life). Thus, he opted for white materials on the walls, «not too intimidating», and clearly parquet, the original, sanding and polished soil to contribute the necessary freshness. «I wanted to give the impression of an ancient space softened by a modern and natural spirit. A comfortable family house, away from fashion, timeless and rather classical. Neither too elegant, nor too relaxed.» Hence the choice of custom furniture, as the contemporary stainless steel auxiliary tables designed by Tamsin Johnson's study, as of second -hand furniture. In an attempt to achieve a balance between Vintage And the modern, the architect has brought out his «Eurofilia» selecting French, Spanish and Italian antiques and mixing Australian contemporary art with older European pieces. «I go south of France every quarter, where I look for pieces: in Montpellier and Béziers, in particular,» he explains.
A room like vital space
On the ground floor, Tamsin Johnson has designed a large diaphanous living room. The room, the dining room, the bar-library and the kitchen communicate perfectly. The architect also played with subtle arched openings to provide a visual connection, while maintaining the function of each space. «We wanted relaxed, comfortable and suitable furniture for family life, but at the same time gave the impression of being a fairly formal adult room,» he explains. The big sofas invite you to watch a family movie or read with the Travertino chimneys. The decoration mixes a relaxed design with European references, such as the Venetian spider lamps of the room and the Spanish tables, a deliberate reminder of the time when the style house Art Deco.
«This is my favorite room,» says Tamsin Johnson, revealing a beautiful library bar. «Originally, it was a strange and dark room, with the walls covered with book shelves. We transform it into a versatile space.» This cozy and luminous space, designed as a refuge for relaxation and entertainment, opens directly to the patio. We add mirrors to the wall to reflect the space and expand it, and add an arc in the bar zone to be integrated with the rest of the room. » In this way, the bar seems to melt subtly with the dining room and the room, in line with the warm and open sensation of the house. «It is a quiet room to have tea and read, but also to receive friends and take cocktails. Let's admit it, it is also our favorite room. Elegant and balanced, it has delicate furniture made to measure (seats and glass tables), as a contemporary dressing table, enhanced by elegant old pieces.
The kitchen, which was also too dark at first, enlightened considerably with the addition of windows, replicas of the existing ones of the 30s, which especially attracted Tamsin Johnson when he arrived. «The kitchen was not huge, so I wanted to give it a natural air that would combine well with the rest of the house,» he explains. Broken blank furniture, period of twisted wood reproduced by local artisans, soft marble with simple curves: here we find the friendly and relaxed spirit again, the more important for this family that loves to cook and receive guests. Open to the room, the room borders with a particularly Europhile breakfast corner, with old pieces from France and Italy.
With the same spirit as the bar, the dining room expands visually thanks to the mirrors that cover the wall. It opens to the patio, in a refined style that is an ode to the Italy of the 40s, 50s and 60s through its furniture and decoration, including a magnificent Murano vase of the 40s placed on a round (Spanish) table of oak of the 18th century.