Cool, Calm & Curated

A Striking Renovation Pays Dividends for a Family Who Seamlessly Combine Their Love of Coastal and Alpine Regions on the Mornington Peninsula

- Julia Green

WELCOME HOME Art forms the very soul of the family home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula Kelli and David share with their sons Jack and Sam. An untitled oil painting (opposite) by Tasmanian artist Sue Lovegrove is the focus in the downstairs lounge and forms a unique backdrop for the couple’s decorative pieces: a console from US retailer Restoration Hardware, a hurricane lantern and lamp from Pottery Barn (top shelf), and a curio picked up in New Zealand. A stand-out feature in the revived and refreshed 1970s original is the stunning floor-to-ceiling custom leather cladding (above) at the entrance, sparely decorated with a bench and throw bought in Montana and a Country Road cushion, leading eyes to the beautiful tactile wall. An Ion ‘Spider’ light fitting from Porcelain Bear enhances the high vaulted ceiling.

From the other side of the world in sunny California, expats Kelli and David sat down with a map of Australia and drew a circle around Melbourne. Keen to make the move back to their native country, but never having lived too far from the bustle of the southern capital, the couple made the adventurous choice to short list potential homes in suburbs they only knew via word of mouth. “We were living about an hour out of San Francisco where David was working, so we thought we could live about an hour out of Melbourne,” says Kelli, her relaxed tone belying the monumental logistical challenge of relocating a family of four across the Pacific Ocean. “We felt it was time to come home, we just didn’t know where home was.”