ON THE WATERFRONT

A move from Sydney to its suburbs allowed style director Kerrie-Ann Jones to realise her dream home - and a dreamy way of life by the beach

- Emma Love

It's that age-old story: a young family needs more space so decides to swap city life for something bigger and more relaxed and Kerrie-Ann Jones and her family have never looked back. We were living in a terraced house in Darlinghurst (an area in Sydney), but going up and down stairs all day became tiresome with little children and it was no longer practical,' recalls Australian style director Kerrie-Ann Jones. Having grown up in Sutherland Shire, a coastal suburb outside the city, and with relatives close by, it was the obvious choice for a change of scene.

Kerrie-Ann and her husband Andrew initially looked at an empty waterfront plot and planned to build their own property, but were put off by the fact that it was at the foot of a steep slope. 'I remember looking up to the top of the hill and seeing a dilapidated mid-century house with spectacular views of the water and I knew that was going to be our home,' says Kerrie-Ann. She tasked local firm Couvaras Architects with rejigging the floorplan, which involved knocking down a wall between two existing bedrooms to create the main bedroom suite, and adding an extension for the two children's en-suite bedrooms, as well as a garage and pool at the back. The house had all its original features, including pine floors - which we sanded back as well as silver wallpaper in what is now the kitchen and cobalt-blue bathroom tiles. I think the owners were very stylish,' she says.