POISED SIMPLICITY

Shareen Joel’s Melbourne home is an excellent example of understated interiors done masterfully

- CARLI PHILIPS

Over the last decade, Shareen Joel has amassed dozens of vintage French doors and window frames, locking them away safely in storage. ‘I was patiently waiting for the right place to put them,’ says the Melbourne-based architectural, industrial and interior designer of her collection. ‘I just knew this house was it. I built the renovation around these doors.’ Coupled with classic Italian furniture, clean lines, Australian artwork and a cool, neutral palette, the effect is a modern European look that’s equal parts charm and sophistication.

When Shareen and her husband Dean purchased the Victorian-Italianate villa on a leafy street in Melbourne, the gloomy interiors were dated and dim with an excess of ‘grandma carpets’. The compact house was disproportionate to the rambling garden and while Dean was hesitant, Shareen’s designer’s instinct kicked in. ‘I was convinced of its potential from the moment I saw it,’ she enthuses. ‘I could visualise it finished so sketched up a plan that night. The first time Dean saw it was after the auction.’