Abbie Mellé
Refined, elegant, timeless, the Sydney home of interiors doyen Michael Love is the epitome of good taste and perfect composition, with a soupçon of intrigue thrown in for good measure.
‘Stirred, not shaken’ – a twist on the catchphrase – would be an apt description for the cocktail of eclectic yet harmonious pieces he has assembled in his urbane abode that features in Melissa Penfold’s book, Living Well by Design. It is a home with a sophisticated allure that beguiles, whether by the soft glow of lamplight or bathed in bright, early morning sun.
In the upstairs media room, a large 17th-century Flemish tapestry is positioned above a sofa.
Set in a harbourside enclave in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the home is one of two houses reconfigured from a block of four flats by architect Susan Rothwell in 1986. Blessed with a felicitous position embracing water, trees and parks, copious birdlife, bobbing boats, benign neighbours and proximity to the city, the house is simplicity personified.
A dramatic black front door announces the entrance, leading immediately to a 1.6 metre-wide stone staircase that provides both connection and a spine for the interior. A large sitting room on the first level spans the entire width of the home and is an object lesson in proportion, finesse and good editing. Windows placed with mathematical precision are large and shuttered, and nubbly sisal covers the floor. French doors offer glimpses and access to other parts of the home.
A cantilevered stone stair with a wrought-iron handrail still looks modern more than 30 years after the house was built. A 2nd- century AD Roman stone funerary urn and a 19th-century Spanish fountain sit on a black-painted surveyor’s table in the hall.
Plump, inviting sofas, an interesting caucus of chairs and shapely side tables are accessorised with notable art, antique artefacts, leatherbound books, gilt candlesticks and carriage clocks, spiced up with modern ceramics and lamps.
Melissa says the house “bedazzled” her when she first visited many years ago. “It delighted me and made my blood pressure go up,” she says. “It’s proof that the more understated and elegant your interior the longer it will last.”
In the dining room, a collection of antique books with vellum borders, including titles from the 17th century to the Napoleonic era, are housed in painted bookcases with mirrored backs.
Michael admits that little in the home has changed over the past 35 years. “I’m very content. I never think ‘I wished I’d done that’. I have the same paint in the hall and entry (Dulux ‘Eagle’) and it hasn’t been repainted since the 1980s. It has darkened over time and actually got better. You don’t have to knock down walls. You simply need to move things around to give a room a new look. It refreshes the whole space and is very satisfying.”
In the light-filled sitting room, an English screen with clear glass panels acts as a divider. Louis XV mahogany desk, English 1820s Regency chair, and contemporary lamps bought in St Tropez – “The lamps you have when you’re not having lamps as you can’t see the bases,” says Michael.
The sitting room with a view into the dining room. A Guy Maestri expressionist painting hangs above a commode along with drawings by John Olsen. Painted Louis XV chairs.
One of the few changes he has made over the years is to the master bedroom suite on the top floor, where the guest bedroom and bathroom, and a glamorous media room are also located.
The bedroom walls were originally upholstered with Christopher Hodsoll ‘Large Carolinian Stripe’ but he has recently switched to a luxe bottle-green cashmere to provide a more suitable backdrop for his collection of Old Master drawings.
The master bedroom walls are covered in dark-green cashmere and hung with Old Master drawings dating from the 16th to the 19th century.
A 19th-century bookcase holds a Chinese bust.
A favourite decorating trick of Michael’s is to use mirrors in unexpected places such as on the chimneypiece and behind bookcases to create the feeling that the room continues on and on.
He says, “A mirror needs to be a surprise and make you wonder, ‘is that a mirror?’. It can’t be gauche. You can’t think, ‘oh, they’ve whacked a mirror in there’. It’s the quickest way to enlarge a space and add intrigue.”
Composition is everything, with art, artefacts and antique furniture a classic combination. “I want things to sit calmly. I’m always trying to create harmony,” says Michael.
Similarly, Michael is a fan of shutters which he says make everything look fresh. “I replaced the curtains in the sitting room with shutters about 20 years ago. They add instant glamour and help almost any room look its best with filtered light while not letting you feel uncomfortably exposed.”
French doors are another recurring classic, linking the sitting room with the book-lined dining room (the galley kitchen is tucked in behind), and to an east-facing vine-clad courtyard.
Shutters in the sitting room diffuse the Sydney sunlight. “They add instant glamour and make everything look fresh,” says Michael.
More French doors at the northern end of the sitting room open to a large courtyard overlooking the park and Sydney Harbour. These courtyards are lush and private, planted with trees to manipulate perceptions of distance and depth, with plants “acting like curtains” to frame views.
Plinths and urns, stone heads and foxed metal-framed mirrors mix with topiary in terracotta pots and massed creepers. “The idea is for a home and garden to be united as one,” he says.
At one end of the kitchen is a French fruitwood table with painted Louis XV chairs overlooking a lush planting of palms in the garden outside.
In fact, the house is so intimately connected with its surroundings that it creates a heart-stopping experience for Michael every time he comes home, as well as for his visitors.
“It was simply a matter of making use of what was already on the doorstep,” he says. “The position was everything.”
Melissa adds, “Place is where it all begins. The aim is to create your own world, a sanctuary, a place that feels timeless and sits happily in its location. Michael has imbued his home with a coherence that unites all the elements – decorating, landscaping, materials and structure – so they work together as a whole.”
Dining chairs have woven linen upholstery. Sisal carpeting is “very forgiving and looks smart”, says Michael.
Says Michael, “The latest trend or fashion might be exciting for five minutes but timeless rooms work beautifully because they are aesthetically pleasing and functional. You want calm – I’m always trying to create harmony.”
This is an edited extract from Melissa Penfold’s new book, Living Well by Design, featuring principle photographer Abbie Mellé. Published by Vendome Press, RRP$70, the book can be purchased online at Booktopia for $45.
