An interior decorating project that uses key artworks as cornerstones of the design

The interior is all about colour and texture. Owner John is an avid art collector and several select pieces were used as the reference point for the interior palette. A decorative piece featured in the living space is a bold red and white painting by contemporary Aboriginal artist Mitjili Napurrula. This inspired the red that resonates through the entire house, used in the study, living area and, unusually, the boys' bedroom.

The kids' bedroom features twin single beds with trundles underneath. Extra mattresses can be pulled out to sleep four people, which is great for putting up family and friends who come to visit. Heidi advised against a bunk-bed ensemble so the room would be one the boys could grow into. The room features plush doona covers, a fabric painting and groovy lamp all in gender-neutral red.

"We wanted to keep that room not too young," Caroline says, "so if other people stayed there they wouldn't feel like they were staying in a kids' room."

The lounge and dining areas introduce a range of browns and beiges drawn from the artworks. Using neutral colours in furnishings and trimmings may sound a little drab, but Heidi has created interest by experimenting with texture and fabric. 

"Of the sofa, the armchairs and the lounge-room chairs - nothing is matching. They're all monotone but in different strengths and textures," says Heidi. "We've managed to achieve an interesting look on a very simplistic palette."

With Japanese-style low windows running along the floors of several rooms, there is a sense of the garden coming indoors. The garden fits a lot into its small space, so Heidi decided to keep her touch simple, adding the funky moon chairs and minimalist stainless steel drum as the outdoor furniture. In keeping with the style of the home, this area is low maintenance with a modern aesthetic.

Heidi Barreau

Plume

What was the brief?

The house was a completely clean slate. We just needed to go in and create a warm, welcoming family environment, keeping all the furnishings really simple but comfortable. The family wanted something easy to maintain. 

What inspired the particular use of colour?

We worked with the art pieces and the only true colours in those were either the neutral or red. We knew that Caroline really liked simple and neutral colours, but at the same time, really lovely textures. The red was an end accent just to lift the place a bit.

Did you do much to the outdoor area?

Everything inside the house seems to have an aspect of the garden to it, like the glass windows down the bottom of the dining room and in the bathroom. All they need outside is those moon chairs and the stainless steel drum. Simple and stylish.

Were there any challenges?

Because the floors are so dark, we didn't want to put too many dark tones on top of that. But at the same time you can't just put white furniture on a black floor. That was the only challenge and it wasn't too difficult to overcome. Caroline loved everything, so that made the process easy.

What's your favourite aspect of the project?

I love the kids' bedroom. I like doing something different for a children's room rather than your basic blue for boys. It's different and they love it; especially that lamp. But I really enjoyed the whole thing.

Caroline

What was the brief?

Basically it was just to keep it very clean and simple, using some neutral tones with a splash of red. We've got young children so we didn't want it to be too hard to keep clean.

What inspired the use of colour?

It was mainly from the artworks that we have, especially the painting of the two girls in the dining area. We wanted to pull the browns out of that one. The red came from a modern Aboriginal work that we put in the lounge. John and I are big on paintings and artworks.

In what other ways does the colour correspond with the home?

The wood flooring is Jarrah and was painted in a Japanese black soft oil finish. Through time it has started wearing and you can see the reddish tones coming through that, which is quite nice. That's what it's meant to do. The dark floor looks good against the white walls in the kitchen.

How has Heidi changed the look of the house?

The previous owners were incredibly smart with their design. They'd really done everything, so we just put furnishings in it. They had decorated it in quite an oriental way, but we decided just to do it quite modern and really simple.

Did you find it easy working with your designer?

Heidi seemed to click onto exactly what I like and got to know my taste really well. So the whole process was very easy. I'm pretty focused on what I like and she just actually makes it happen, which is great.