My Houzz: At Home With Nature Up in the Trees
This homeowner’s creative bungalow on the Australian coast has a bohemian air and a star-studded history
It may be hard to get to, but this beautiful 1960s home in the hills of Sydney’s Northern Beaches is well worth the journey to the top. When hairdresser and fashion designer Valda Morgan first spotted it advertised in the local paper, she didn’t know what to make of it. “The real estate agent described it as ‘an ideal space for artists and musicians’ and I thought, ‘What rubbish!’ ” she says. However, since moving in five years ago, she can attest to the fact that the location and style of the home inspire genuine soulfulness. “I’ve really experienced the one-on-one immersion in nature and I’ve realized they were right. There’s actually a deep and soulful thing that happens to you after spending time in this place.”
The home was designed in the 1960s, when modernist architect Harry Seidler was having a massive influence on Sydney. “Looking at this place, you can definitely see his influence in things like the lines of the windows and the skylights in the bathrooms,” Morgan says. Seidler pioneered the idea of houses that made the most of the Australian geography and environment, really inviting the outside in, and this house is very much an example of that.
“It’s something you find in Byron Bay houses too — a kind of magical bush-bohemian-meets-urban-living vibe, where everything is warm and comfortable but nothing’s too precious or fake,” Morgan says.
During the open house, Morgan knew the home was for her. “It was love at first sight for me,” she says. “There were crowds and crowds of people that day looking at it, but I was determined it was going to be mine. I went to every open house following that date and I began to get all possessive of the place, referring to it as ‘my house’ whenever I spoke to the real estate agent.” Eventually, she put in an offer before the auction date, and it was accepted. After that, the real work began.
Though the home had extraordinary bones, damage and neglect in recent years meant it was barely livable. The woodwork was rotted, the deck was unstable, and the house was overgrown with vines. “My son spent days with a crowbar, just prying it off all the walls and surfaces,” Morgan says. “The first 12 months in this house was literally spent taking rubbish out.”
Along with cleaning and reviewing the safety of all the trees on the property with the help of an arborist firm, Morgan renovated the two bathrooms, updating the faucets, toilets and vanities.
The bathrooms and the separate toilet room have a similar vibe, with white and aqua tiles, wooden counters and minimalist extras, as well as skylights to let in ample natural light.
When it came to renovating, Morgan followed a strict budget — except for one place. “The kitchen was my most expensive purchase,” she says. “It’s something you do it once in your life, and you just want to get it right. We went with a DeGabriele design that features the push-touch kitchen doors and the most extraordinary white surface.”
The large open-plan living space just off the kitchen lets natural light stream in, and the high ceilings make things feel more spacious.
While the architecture of the home is firmly set in the 1960s, Morgan has used her eye for boho-chic to decorate in a more contemporary style. “The house is decorated just absolutely with what I like,” Morgan says. This includes secondhand rescues, such as this Queen Anne-style armchair, accessorized with a black and white cushion from Ingrid & Sooshi in nearby Manly.
While the architecture of the home is firmly set in the 1960s, Morgan has used her eye for boho-chic to decorate in a more contemporary style. “The house is decorated just absolutely with what I like,” Morgan says. This includes secondhand rescues, such as this Queen Anne-style armchair, accessorized with a black and white cushion from Ingrid & Sooshi in nearby Manly.
When she bought the property, Morgan inherited the brown interiors common to the ’60s. To add some lightness, she used a white and aqua color palette.
“I had to really think about what works for this house and stay true to the original style it was built in,” she says. “I mean, I love Moroccan colors and textures — but that doesn’t suit what this place is about.”
“I had to really think about what works for this house and stay true to the original style it was built in,” she says. “I mean, I love Moroccan colors and textures — but that doesn’t suit what this place is about.”
Morgan, a regular visitor to Bali, uses window sills, corners and steps as a canvas for objects she’s picked up on her travels.
Upstairs, the master bedroom offers beautiful views of the surrounding greenery, and maintains its distinct ’60s style with exposed brown brick and wood-paneled ceilings. As in the rest of the home, Morgan modernized the look using blue and white.
Convinced there was something special about her new home, Morgan asked her neighbors about its history. They confirmed that it used to be owned by Australian TV producer Bill Hughes and his wife, actress Susanne Haworth. “They told me there was a constant stream of celebrities going up and down the stairs — people like Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown,” she says.
Following in the footsteps of the creative previous residents, Morgan runs her fashion label, AquaMarine Beach Chic, from the house, along with a small hair salon she operates in the basement.
Morgan had always been interested in rooms she could convert to an office and a salon. To her delight, she discovered that the library in her home was the perfect space for her design work, and a room downstairs had been used as a salon by the previous owner.
Morgan had always been interested in rooms she could convert to an office and a salon. To her delight, she discovered that the library in her home was the perfect space for her design work, and a room downstairs had been used as a salon by the previous owner.
To modernize the salon space, Morgan added some fun, colorful furniture pieces and a sink.
Above all, Morgan appreciates the serenity the home offers. With wildlife and stunning views all around, it’s just far enough from the hustle and bustle of Sydney. “We have turkeys on the roof all day and magpies and possums, who are just as at home here as I am,” she says.
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Who lives here: Valda Morgan, designer of fashion label AquaMarine Beach Chic
Where: Avalon Beach area of Sydney, Australia
Size: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office and a hair salon
There was something about the photos of the home in the real estate brochure — the lush garden, the lofty wooden ceilings, the gleaming blue vision from the deck — that spoke to Valda Morgan, so she decided to go to the open house … and couldn’t find it. “The place is actually located at the top of an extremely steep, extremely twisty private road,” she says, “and I distinctly remember getting halfway up and thinking, ‘That’s it, I give up!’ ”
Her children, however, were determined that she find it, and they wouldn’t rest until Mum had had a look — rain, hail or shine. “That afternoon it was pouring. You know, that torrential Sydney rain that hits you from all angles at once,” Morgan recalls. “Not only was the private road steep, it was also slimy and slippery too, which made things even harder. I remember standing at the bottom of the [property], gazing up a million stairs to the building and thinking, ‘It looks like a treehouse!’ ”