RAINBOW COLLECTION

Colour and pattern are inextricably interwoven in this Sydney home, which has pushed its owners’ boundaries in a beguiling way.

- Chris Pearson

The owners of this home in Sydney’s inner west, Aimee Williamson and Julian Cornelius, live in a kaleidoscope of colour. And perhaps it was meant to be. When interior designer Brett Mickan visited the couple in their previous home to discuss this project, he saw a prized artwork from Vietnam with all the hues “this house gave me” – terracottas, teals and lilacs – in their technicolour glory. Rainbow hues, radiating from every room, take their inspiration from both the original house and that artwork, which now hangs in the new home’s dining area. “I’ve popped those colours, and tones that relate to those colours, around the home, balanced by a lot of white,” he says.

Aimee adds that she and Julian would not have chosen those colours themselves: “We trusted Brett’s judgement and thank goodness we did.” When the couple bought the home in 2019, they were lured by its Federation roots and its large block of land.

“We loved the character, the bones were good and there was so much potential to transform it into a beautiful home for our family,” says Julian. Especially with its huge backyard as a playground for Joel, now 12, and Isobel, now nine. But the house was dragged down by bland, all-white interiors that belied its colourful past – both actual and metaphorical.