Interior designer Liz Hall dived in head first when it came to transforming her now utterly amazing Aussie home
STYLING Simone Haag
LIVING ROOM
The architecture, including the ceiling oculus here and the new pavilion with pool in the garden (left), is the star of the show.
Home profile
Interior designer Liz Hall and her husband Gavin Wright, a thoracic surgeon, and their dog Monty.
A completely revamped three-bedroom Victorian home with all the main living areas downstairs, including the main bedroom with en-suite bathroom, study, open-plan dining, kitchen and living space.
Upstairs there are two further bedrooms, each with an en suite. There’s also a two-storey modern pavilion in the garden with a garage, a room for indoor cycling, a kitchenette, steam room, bathroom and an outdoor terrace with plunge pool.
Seeking their forever home, Liz Hall and Gavin Wright couldn’t believe their luck when they found a Victorian property in need of TLC in their dream area of Richmond, East Melbourne. Brimming with ideas and with help from Nicholas Murray Architects, the couple knew they could transform this tired home into a contemporary sanctuary. Aside from the 1800s facade, the house was beyond repair and required a whole new interior. ‘We wanted something we could make our own and this was perfect,’ says Liz Hall, director at Studio Apercu. ‘Before we moved here, we had an industrial warehouse in the next suburb over, called Fitzroy, which is a grungy, hipster area but we wanted a garden and a dog. Richmond is a sleepy place that’s full of trees and Victorian homes, while still being close to the city.
Liz wasn’t always an interior designer. In fact, her previous career was in law but she packed it in to retrain. As the house was derelict and was being completely reworked, Liz was thrown into the deep end, adopting a hands-on role that included attending site meetings, sourcing materials and selecting finishes and fixtures. ‘I told our architect Nicholas that we wanted something completely different,’ says Liz. ‘I was looking for a classic design with a modern twist, a blend of old and new. I love Parisian Haussmann-style apartments with their parquetry flooring and classic detailing. That was my inspiration – Iwanted a feeling of height and space.’
A rear courtyard separates the house from a new and totally amazing double-storey pavilion, a space dedicated to hanging out with friends and also for fitness (it has a plunge pool). The couple were reluctant to install a pool because of the maintenance, but Nicholas designed it with self-cleaning technology.
