A large vintage sideboard sourced from France runs along the side of the dining area and kitchen.
An interiors-led renovation introduces a French provincial sensibility to a Sydney family’s 1980s beachside home.
Located in Sydney’s Lower North Shore, this Balmoral home has been reimagined to reflect the relaxed cadence of a beachside family lifestyle. For Sydney interior designer Phoebe Nicol, her brief centred on strengthening the home’s connection to its coastal locale, creating a space that feels both inviting and attuned to the homeowners’ daily rhythm.
Originally built in the 1980s, Phoebe Nicol says the home was formerly “dark, dated, and quite disconnected from its surroundings.” The interior designer’s response was to strip the structure back to its bones and rework the layout to prioritise light, movement and liveability. “It was about bringing in light, enhancing flow, and giving the house a real sense of ease,” she says.
“One of the biggest structural changes was flipping the entire floor plan,” Nicol says. Originally tucked away on the ground floor, the kitchen, alongside the main living spaces, the dining area and the primary suite, were relocated to the first floor so they could take full advantage of the ocean view. The ground floor was reconfigured to house the children’s bedrooms, bathrooms, a laundry and a rumpus room that opens directly to the garden and pool; borrowing from the landscape, while maintaining a level of privacy.
Featured in the kitchen is Perrin & Rowe tapware, an Edgworth double bowl handcrafted fireclay sink by Shaws, Carrara stone benchtops and splashback, an ILVE Nostalgie freestanding oven and cooker, a vintage set of three rush-caned stools from The Vault and a ceramic tray from 506070.
Featured in the living room is a vintage 18th-century blond walnut Spanish console table from The Vault, a vintage Arnold Madsen Clam chair from Composition, a vintage floor lamp, a vintage armchair from Studio Gardner, artwork from 506070 and an Armadillo Sequoia-Natural rug.
The living room features a 1940s-style hammered iron lamp and a vintage 1970s slung oak recliner, both from The Vault.
‘Postcard 6 (3 Holes)’ (2023) by Dean Cross and Alvaro Barrington hangs above the sofa in the living area.
In the light-filled stairway, the floor and stairs are clad with Crema Marfil stone. Pictured behind is ‘Inter-giftedness’ (2020) by Jahnne Pasco-White.
Sunlight dances off the walls and ceilings, bathing each room in a subtle pink glow. Nicol’s choice of traditional French wash walls in the rumpus room accentuates the filtered natural light. “It creates an almost sun-washed quality that complements the coastal light,” she says. This warmth is reinforced through a careful selection of natural materials—linen, timber, leather and seagrass—that lend texture and depth while softening over time. In the kitchen, Carrara stone benchtops and splashback bring a pearly, shell-like quality, while bathroom tiles echo the coast’s sandy textures. These surfaces, paired with the brass and nickel accents, further emphasise the French provincial fabric of the home.
The bridge between the old and new is amplified through a collection of vintage treasures and antiques, such as the large vintage sideboard sourced from France in the kitchen. “That ability to bring in unique antiques and one-of-a-kind finds really shapes the character of a home. There’s a soul to vintage pieces that you simply can’t replicate,” Nicol says.
Crafting a base for family life, much of the project’s strength lies in its relationship with the location, culminating in a home that feels at once worldly, grounded, and married to the rhythm of the ocean. “Every space has a sense of purpose but still feels completely effortless. It’s a house that just suits the way they live.”
In the home office, a Franz Xaver Sproll vintage Swiss sideboard in pale walnut and parchment, a vintage 1960s brutalist iron mirror and a 1950s Dudouyt-style armchair with cane seat from The Vault, and a vintage sculpture and a Louis Sognot bamboo and wicker desk lamp from Composition.
The bedroom features an Armadillo Mojave-Natural rug.
In the powder room, a Paris basin by The Water Monopoly with Perrin & Rowe tapware.
Pictured in the rumpus room is a second 1950s vintage Dudouyt-style cane seat armchair from The Vault, a vintage timber stool from 506070, and a small artwork from Studio Gardner on the wall.
Pictured in the primary ensuite is Perrin & Rowe tapware and shower set with V Board panelling, complemented by Carrara benchtops and cladding on the bath.
Pictured alongside the traditional French wash walls in the rumpus room is a vintage Italian mirror in patinated green and grey from The Vault.
