Home of the week

"The back of the house is where all the action happens" … Sian MacPherson

When it came to relocating her family from harbourside Mosman in Sydney to leafy Camberwell in Melbourne, Sian MacPherson had a definite wish-list. "If we couldn't live with a beach at the end of our street, then I wanted lots of light and open spaces," she says. "It wasn't really negotiable."

Home for MacPherson, editor of online interiors magazine Est, her husband James, a banker, and their three boys, Will, 11, Finn, 10, and Jock, 8, is now a four-bedroom, triple-fronted Edwardian weatherboard with a stunning modern rear extension. "We call it 'the mullet'," laughs MacPherson, "as it's all business at the front and party out the back."

The home is indeed perfect for indoor and outdoor living and entertaining, with three-metre floor-to-ceiling sliding windows connecting the interior to the outdoor dining room and large rear lawn. "The yard gets a good workout from the boys, and luckily we have super-friendly neighbours who promptly return the cricket balls over the fence."

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Home of the week

Miriam Hayes's renovated Victorian home.

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MacPherson's decorating style is classic, favouring natural materials and muted tones. "I use lots of linen, timber, metal and stone," she says. "In my work I see new products every day, and sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation of new things. But I have found that it's best to buy quality original pieces - particularly when you have three rowdy boys!"

With her sons now making good use of local parks, MacPherson believes they're truly home. "It took us a while to find the right place, but now I think we've fully adapted to the Melbourne lifestyle."


From Sunday Life