Cool and Collected

Layered elements including vintage pieces from several different eras complement an array of notable artworks in this contemporary Sydney home.

- By Judy Pascoe

It was an interesting exercise when architect Daniel Boddam was called on to redesign a house purchased by a young family on Sydney's Lower North Shore, as the property had originally been his family home. "Having lived there I was well versed as to the ins and outs of the building and its surrounds," he says.

Working closely with the owners who were keen on a Mediterranean-inspired home, Daniel settled on a modern interpretation, with a combination of brutalist and classical influences. Natural light floods the dwelling thanks to a series of solids, voids and cantilevers that lend a dynamic feel.

"Architecturally it features strong, white cubist forms with accents of cast in-situ concrete," says Daniel. Smooth, white rendered planes are contrasted with roughly textured concrete walls, and that juxtaposition is repeated in the interior design by Cameron Kimber who set an array of vintage pieces and soft furnishings against the brutalist backdrop.

On a steep slope the house appears at street level to be a single storey, but it drops down to three levels. The layout provides an intimate setting for a family of four but it can easily don a party hat and host cocktails for 100. As well it offers spectacular views across Sydney Harbour from a peaceful and convenient location.

"You can see that view from the moment you open the front door," says Cameron, who has decorated all the owners' homes both here and overseas. "You look out through palm trees across the beach to the water. You could be anywhere in the world that's what I love about it."