Fun And Games

With its joyful palette and brave use of forest green, this home is ground zero for good times.

- Carli Philips

Nonstop colour and a “place where 15 people can come and eat pizza” is what Nicola Caras and Nadav Baker wanted for their Melbourne home – a place where friends could come and “chill” and their kids could have pillow fights in the sunken living room.

While the playful brief reflected their love of colour, high-end materials and attention to detail were just as important. Nicola, a puzzle maker who commissions imagery from artists featuring illustrations of Prince Harry and Jay-Z, told architects and interior designers Bayley Ward to push the boundaries.

“We said, ‘Grey isn’t a colour’, and went from there,” says Nicola. “We told Bayley Ward not to be scared. The two-pack in the kitchen is peacock green, the powder room has dusty pink marble and the kids’ bathroom has red tapware and a navy Corian vanity. We kept telling them to keep going. Whenever we found a cool product, we just tried to use it somewhere.”