Onwards & UPWARDS

IMPECCABLE STYLE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL CHARACTERISE ONE SYDNEY FAMILY’S FOREVER HOME

- SUE WHEELER

With toddler twins running around a squeezy two-bedroom terrace, the time was right for interior designer Victoria and her husband Richard to build their dream family home, close to the beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs where Victoria grew up. In 2016, they came across a 1950s home with the right price tag and a prime location.

Victoria and Richard planned to knock down the old house, using the generous backyard to build a bigger single-level home and pool, however, one day they climbed on to the roof and saw the ocean views building up would capture… and the rest is two-storey history.

“This is our forever home so we made sure the house would grow with us,” says Victoria of the luxury beach house they finished in December 2020. Smart decisions included designing the seven-year-old twins’ bathroom with a double vanity and large shower to accommodate their needs as adults. The couple loves entertaining so a generous living area with optimum indoor/outdoor flow got a big tick and a fully selfcontained studio at the front of the house means friends and family are welcome to stay (as are guests on Airbnb). Victoria also wanted “lots of light and ‘green’ views from every room.”