Deftly mosaicked, Emerald House layers hallmarks of Victorian heritage with artistic verve in a dynamic design befitting a gem.
An 1890s Victorian villa’s façade sits adorned with iron lacework and graphic black and white tiling. Inside, expressive spaces unfold, reconfigured for a growing Sydney-based family with a penchant for entertaining.
Confined by the building’s historical role as a maternity ward, small internal spaces lacked natural light. Alexander &CO. were tasked with balancing a heritage aesthetic with the clients’ creative flair, reframing volumes in the home that would define formal and informal living zones. The refurbished floorplan comprises five bedrooms, four bathrooms, powder room, formal living and dining. An extension accommodates open-plan kitchen and living with three ceiling-height, folding steel doors showcasing the leafy landscaping.
“To be graced with such Victorian vernacular was a privilege,” Alexander &CO. senior interior designer Aimy Dodge explains. “One of the area’s best surviving Victorian properties, and we diligently ensured we celebrated its period detailing,” she adds.
In the formal living room, an ornate ceiling rose juxtaposes modernist forms of a pendant light from the clients’ collection. Restored, rare wedding-cake cornices are offset by a solid, regal midnight-blue sofa. A red marble portal-like doorway, contrasting heritage architraves of the older aesthetic, delineates contemporary spaces in the extension. Yet, these bolder new features are fused with throughlines of Victorian detailing—deep skirting alongside stained timber flooring mimics the period hallway.
Calacatta Viola marble from BC Stone extends across the kitchen splashback and inset shelving to line a feature doorway into the living space. Dark-stained American cabinetry backdrops an organically shaped, custom-designed pink concrete island bench. A bespoke CDF Studio dining table is surrounded by De La Espada Vega B walnut chairs below a bronze Roll & Hill Castle Chandelier pendant light.
Artwork is ‘V35 Day In Day Out’ (2022) by Greg Wood from Otomys Gallery.
The moniker, Emerald House, hints at its sense of unveiling. Dodge describes behind its “quintessential Victorian façade,”Dodge says. “Stepping inside feels like you’ve uncovered a gemstone. Like cracking open a rock that has stood the test of time to reveal precious crystalline,” she adds. The palette and evolving volumes, fitted with bespoke furnishings, orchestrate tonal shifts. The uplifting extension’s pink island bench, warm-toned rugs and drapery contrast the dramatic compression of deep, oak cabinetry in the private walk-in robe.
In a playful study of the client’s favourite colour, that couples the interiors with its verdant surrounds, emerald carpeting cascades down the repainted staircase adjacent a near-fluorescent, gemstone-cut sideboard. Restored fireplaces and the powder room’s moss-green wallpaper continue the tonal statement.
With the clients’ art collection in mind, a curation of an emboldening colours and forms converge through furnishings. “Within the constraints of a heritage envelope, the furniture offered the most expressive opportunity,” Alexander &CO. senior interior designer, Alice Noguès says. “It became the medium through which the owners’ personalities could be articulated.”
Leaving guests green with envy, Emerald House’s layered design variegates historical ornateness with vivid, modern strokes, materialising a home that bridges legacy with abundant creative spirit.
Ceiling-height steel doors unite the informal living space with the garden. The room features a Nina sofa by Jardan upholstered in Kelly Wearstler Serai fabric in Envy, facing Easy armchairs by Phantom Hands and a De La Espada Twenty-Five coffee table. Playful details include The Feelter Octopus stool and a BZippy Double Tier Cloud side table from 1stDibs.
A hero of the formal living space, a French-oak Mindy sofa by Pierre Yovanovitchis reupholstered in Dedar Déja Vu Jamais Midnight jacquard fabric. It sits on custom olive and ochre flooring by Designer Rugs, with a bespoke CDF Studio coffee table. Artwork is ‘Self-Portrait with Ruffled sleeves’ (2024) by Yvette Coppersmith from Sullivan+Strumpf.
In the hallway, a custom Tappeti Rugs stair runner sits alongside the Tigmi Rilievo 05 rug, with a Artemide Tizio table lamp completing the space.
The formal dining room features the Knoll Platner chairs and DCW Editions Biny floor lamp.
Enclosing the room in a restful palette, the client’s existing bedhead is reupholstered in Italian aniline Antico leather in Havana, complemented by Society Limonta bedlinen and bespoke hexagonal walnut bedside tables by CDF Studio.
Beside a 1969 Jetson Classic armchair and vintage E63 desk lamp by Umberto Riva for Bieffeplast, a custom leather-fronted drawer console crafted by Ample Interiors incorporates Noble Elements brass pulls and Artedomus Calacatta Viola marble. Artwork includes ‘Self-Portrait (Yellow Ochre)’ by Yvette Coppersmith (2022) from Sullivan+Strumpf.
American oak dramatically cloaks the walk-in robe punctuated by Barbera Fermat brass handles, below a clustered amber Murano-glass Tronchi chandelier. The island, also featuring Calacatta Viola marble, recalls the kitchen and bathroom’s marble-tiled materiality.
