statement stone – The Interiors Addict

Designer creates showstopping duplex with New York hotel vibes

Today’s stunning home, Mirror Image, showcases young interior designer Shona McElroy’s natural inclination towards modern design with an old-world European edge. It’s seen in her Venetian plaster walls, generous use of marble and herringbone floors.

Acclaimed architect Madeleine Blanchfield, a judge for this year’s Australian Interior Design Awards, for which Mirror Image made the shortlist in the residential category, described the house as “beautiful, thoughtful and artistic.”

The owner, a property developer, says, “In my job I see a lot of stunning houses, but this is the first time I’ve been satisfied with what I have. I come home and think, “There’s nowhere else I’d rather live.”

Don’t we all wish we could say the same?!

The owners’ brief was “European, New York-style hotel,” and they left Shona, of Smac Studio, to do her thing, having worked with her before, loved her style and how easy she was to work with. The end result is so refined and layered, it is hard to believe it’s a new build.

The elegant Elba marble curved staircase at the entrance sets the scene, with the flooring in this space a solid slab of Verde Antigua marble. The owners very much wanted a defined entry to the home, rather than stepping straight into an open plan area.

It’s one of many striking features in this unique four-bed duplex in Sydney’s Dover Heights, which features a moody powder room under the stairs with a curved ceiling.

In the kitchen, four can sit comfortably facing each other at the cantilevered island bench in Esmeralda quartzite, and the family love that they don’t have to all sit in a line. Custom timber cabinetry with glass doors allows the owners to showcase art and photos, while complementing the herringbone floor.

Several structural changes had to be made to create this vision. To accommodate the curved staircase the upstairs area was reconfigured and a void between the stair and skylight was added. Space was also borrowed from the entrance and the powder room due to the home’s tight total width of less than five metres.

The kitchen was flipped to the shared-wall side of the duplex so a floor-to-ceiling, three-metre-wide window could be installed for natural light and a garden aspect.

A playful thin brass pendant light by Gervasoni over the dining table ripples in the breeze and the solid burnished brass rangehood and television cabinet bring the glossy natural stone back down to earth.

In the living room, the metallic tones continue with a 3D artwork commissioned from Anna Pesce.

The entrance and open plan kitchen and living areas downstairs were separated with mirrored white shaker cabinetry that reflects light and functions as a mini butler’s pantry (ideal for mess management given the couple have three young kids and many appliances).

The powder room under the stairs ended up being challenging but ultimately, one of Shona’s favourite parts of the design. “We really didn’t want it to feel like it had been stuck underneath the staircase, but inevitably that’s where we had to put it. It’s like you’re encapsulated in this big dark green Venetian plaster cave.”

The entry was also a real triumph. “I think that to create an entrance in a house that narrow, to create such a formalised entrance, and separate public spaces from the private spaces, and to have it quite grand and just a sense of entrance, I think that was pretty incredible,” she says. “A lot of the semis we’d worked on before had a staircase that cut through the kitchen or another part of the house and was almost like an afterthought. I like the idea that this breaks up and divides the space. I find it quite luxurious that you walk from your entertaining spaces, that big kitchen, living dining, external area through this marble forecourt.”

28 year old interior designer Shona McElroy of Smac Studio

Shona, who graduated with an architecture degree from UTS in 2017, started her own studio when she realised she was more drawn to interiors. But she thinks her architecture training gives her a very useful holistic approach. She was thrilled to be shortlisted in the Australian Interior Design Awards amongst people she has looked up to for years.

For more on Smac Studio

Photography: Anson Smart | Photo styling: Claire Delmar | Construction: Airth Building | Architecture: Van Rooijen Meyers Architects | Landscape architecture: Dangar Basin Smith

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Marble interiors: David Hicks dishes on statement stone

While marble has been trending for what feels like years now, it’s mostly been limited to subtle grey and white iterations. But it’s a look that seems to be evolving as lately I’ve noticed a more daring aesthetic has taken flight that, while not new, certainly feels fresh on Australian shores.

“The marble trend has been around for a long time, and we have seen it used en-masse in major high-end fashion retail stores, as backdrops for fashion campaigns and even faux plastic covers for mobile phones. The saturation of what I call ‘marble pattern’ has extended far and wide,” says interior designer David Hicks who is a major proponent of what I would call a much bolder marble approach.

“My approach to using marble in interiors now is more about seeking out unique marble that is distinctive in its veining and colouring. European trends have long seen marble used as a decorative element. The sophisticated mixing of numerous, disparate and colour-clashing marbles has long been an art form throughout Europe and is now making its way into Australian interiors,” says David who nonetheless views it as an interior design staple.

David Hicks' Domain St project — David’s Domain St project

“The thing is, marble is such a unique material as it is natural and no two blocks or slabs are identical and this characteristic will ensure that marble remains a mainstay in design. At the end of the day, it just depends on how brave the clients are as to the end result,” says David. From large-veined statement designs to more subtle patterning, and even different colours, there is so much more choice in the marble sphere than people often realise.

David's Domain St project — Domain St project

“Natural marble is like art, whether you like certain patterns and colours is subjective. Part of the challenge is grappling with the intricacies of organic stone as each piece is individual. Sometimes when I come across an incredible batch of marble, I tend to let it speak for itself and use it in large panels. Not only does this retain its natural beauty and intrinsic subtleties, I find that every time you look at the stone, you find something new about it,” says David.

David’s South Yarra project features calacatta viola marble

But David acknowledges that statement marble isn’t a look that appeals to all. “I’d argue that it’s more for the adventurous at heart. Many people are scared off by the heavily veined and coloured marbles as they see them as not being timeless in their aesthetic, but this is not the case,” says David who points to Europe where the look has been seen for literally hundreds of years. “I often describe to clients, and even show images from beautiful villas in Italy or chateaus in France so they can visualise how a statement marble may look. It’s very impactful this way. When approaching dramatic stones, they must be carefully considered in every aspect as it can really make or break a space,” says David.

The Domain St project features the rare nero marquina marble too

“I have used a host of different stones across my projects, some daring and some more sedate. It’s often the daring ones that really make a space sing and give it character, it ensures true individuality for a project,” says David who favours heavily veined calacatta oro (though acknowledges it has become mainstream), calacatta viola and paonazza marble. “I also love a heavily veined nero marquina marble from Italian quarries, which is very hard to find. I believe the more unique a marble is, the better!”

If marble is outside your budget, check out Caesarstone’s marble-inspired designs

An iconic St Kilda apartment by David Hicks