Sitting pretty … Robbie Wells, Kymm Henson and their daughter Riki at home in Bondi.
As collections go, chairs are a pretty useful kind of enthusiasm, and something that industrial designer Robbie Wells and his family enjoy in their colourful and clever home in Sydney’s Bondi. “I’m not really collecting chairs intentionally,” says Wells. “They’re all functional parts of the house.” His favourite is the “Wink” chair, designed by Toshiyuki Kita in 1980, in the corner of the TV room.
Furniture aside, the things that give this house its appeal are all affordable. Take the pegboard wall in the TV room, which displays a moveable collection of treasures. A fringe benefit, notes Wells’s partner, Kymm Henson, is the terrific soundproofing it provides.
The couple, originally from New Zealand, remodelled their home two years ago, reconfiguring its pokey layout and adding a vast second-storey bedroom with airy balcony. With Wells project managing, it was completed in just three months – no mean feat!
Click for more photos
Home of the week
Miriam Hayes's renovated Victorian home.
Visitors are greeted at the front door with a sign in Maori made from K’Nex borrowed from their eight-year-old daughter, Riki. Another unique idea is the church pew, picked up cheap online, along the wall of the kitchen – the perfect place to sit and chat to the chef.
And in a curious sleight of hand, it takes a while to realise that despite the vivid colours everywhere, all the floors are black and all the walls are white. “That was completely intentional,” says Wells. “We then added a layer of bright artworks and objects over the top which reflect our personalities and give the home a good vibe.
From Sunday Life
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Daily Life is a proudly female biased website with content tailored to women. We encourage lively debate and conversation around our stories and while all opinions are welcome – we also have some guidelines to make sure everyone is treated with the respect they deserve. We love comments that articulate a different point of view, a witty insight, some humour or a shared experience. Our moderators will reject comments that personally attack the author or other commenters. We also won’t publish comments that are aggressive, sexist, racist or in any other way discriminatory or derogatory.
We hope these guidelines make the process of commenting on stories and reading the comments left by other users as enjoyable as possible. More details about our comment policy here.
New user? Sign up
Make a comment
You are logged in as [Logout]
All information entered below may be published.
Thank you
Your comment has been submitted for approval.
Comments are moderated and are generally published if they are on-topic and not abusive.