A Light Touch

A Sprinkling of Sunshine and Colour Brings Life and Love to a Traditional Cottage in Melbourne

- Ruth Welsby

 Step inside the home Nicole shares with her husband, Simon, and their children, Ruby, 13, Milly, 11, and eight-year-old Archie, and it’s easy to guess what Nicole might do for a living. Filled with carefully curated pieces, a soul-lifting mix of colour, and with a healthy respect for heritage, the home is a picture of style – not so surprising considering Nicole is the founder and creative director of interiors studio Little Liberty.

When the couple first spotted this grand old Edwardian cottage – filled with original features – more than a decade ago, the style savvy decorator couldn’t wait to get her hands on it. “All the structural work on the house had been done by the previous owners, but its interiors were dated,” recalls Nicole. “There were brown bench tops in the kitchen and cream walls – it needed freshening up.”

With a design vision she describes as “a little bit Scandi, timeless and happy”, Nicole initially set to work re-imagining the children’s rooms. “I became obsessed with decorating the kids’ bedrooms, which is how Little Liberty began,” says the designer, who embraced a palette of grey and white in each space and accessorised with colour and wallpaper. “I think they’ve been through about three different styles each over the year!” she adds. “Archie is already asking for his next look.” The process also has its professional benefits: “I get to trial things out in my kids’ rooms, see what works and what doesn’t, and then apply that to my interior decorating work.”