Prue Ruscoe
In 2001, then-restaurateur Julie Manfredi Hughes spent considerable time and effort hunting for a new family home. “My partner Larry has two sons and I have a daughter, Isabella, so we were looking for a house we could live in as a blended family,” she says.
The new home had big shoes to fill: Julie’s previous property was designed for her and her former husband, acclaimed chef Stefano Manfredi, by their good friend, renowned architect, Luigi Rosselli.
“All the homes in our search area were just too small,” says Julie. But she had a lightbulb moment while visiting a friend. “My friend lives in the area we like but on a major road and I was struck by how big and rambling the properties were,” she says. “Soon after, I happened to see a similar house listed for sale nearby so went to have a look.”
Homeowner and interior designer, Julie Manfredi Hughes in her hardworking and beautiful kitchen. Thonet counter stool, Anibou.
The house in question is a beauty: three storeys and nine metres wide, three-metre- high ceilings and rooms galore – and the asking price was considerably less than other homes she’d seen. “People weren’t even inspecting the house because it’s on a busy road,” says Julie. “But we fell in love with it straightaway.”
Aside from the spacious house being ideal for her family, Julie was delighted to discover its rich history. “It was built in 1873 by Thomas Moore, who was a coach builder. He lived here for some time and when he died it was tenanted,” she says. “In 1913, a local family bought the property and their daughter, Miss Mullins, set it up as a boarding house. She invested a lot of money in it, including adding the third floor,” says Julie. “It was quite controversial at the time.”
A Gervasoni ‘Ghost 12’ sofa by Paola Navone in teal is styled with a Blarney rug from Robyn Cosgrove. The walls are Porter’s Paints Almond White, and the trims are French Slate.
The poster hanging in the living room is antique and was purchased in Paris.
Julie and Larry did “bits and pieces” to the home in their first few years here, followed by a more extensive interior refresh in 2010 with the assistance of No Chintz’s Chrissie Jeffery, who did the fit-out of Julie’s then-business, award-winning restaurant, Bells at Killcare.
But in 2018, Julie decided it was time to embark on a major renovation. “I really wanted to rebuild the back of the house because, even though it was relatively modern, it was becoming dilapidated.”
The timing coincided with the launch of Julie’s own interior design business, Décor JMH. “I drew up the plans for this house at the same time as I began working on my first client project,” Julie says. Her focus here was to open up the kitchen, refresh the living area and maximise the use of the courtyard, renovate two bathrooms and then build a studio above the garage.
The main bed is dressed in Busatti bedlinen from Casa by Studio Kate, and a Missoni throw from Spencer & Lyda. The bedside tables were bought in India.
Matilda, their standard poodle, strikes a pose on the second-floor landing.
Working on the ageing main bathroom was an enjoyable job, says Julie. “It has lovely arched windows and three-metre-high ceilings,” she says. “I added two new walls to contain a beautiful double vanity and I put a new bath in.”
Julie added two new walls to the main bathroom to contain a beautiful custom vanity and mirror with integrated cabinets by Décor JMH.
The Claybrook ‘Evolve’ bath was also a new addition to the space.
Downstairs, in the kitchen, an external support wall was removed to open up the space and new full-height steel glazing was fitted, allowing light to stream in to the rear of the home.
The floor, however, presented more of a challenge than expected. “We were jackhammering for weeks because it had five different layers of flooring,” says Julie. “So we sorted all that out and we now have lovely terrazzo tiles with under-floor heating.”
The glass doors out to the courtyard are cleverly covered in a low-E window film to protect the furniture from sun damage.
A new four-metre island is the transition point between cooking and entertaining zones. “The kitchen is incredibly functional,” says Julie. “I chose Porter’s Provence Blue for the surrounding joinery – it makes me happy when I go downstairs in the morning. And there’s such easy flow through to the garden now.”
During the renovation, an external support wall was removed to open up the kitchen and new full-height steel glazing was fitted, allowing light to stream in.
This social space transitions easily from family home to entertaining hub.
Luigi Rosselli again lent his talents to the project, designing the studio Julie wanted above the garage. “It’s transformed the property,” she says. “It’s a really innovative design with a beautiful curved roof that sweeps all the way from the street frontage to the back garden.”
Outside, the old garden was completely ripped out. “It was overbearing as it was, so I worked with Secret Gardens to do the replanting,” says Julie. She had her heart set on an olive tree, finding just the right one at a mature-tree nursery at Peats Ridge on the NSW Central Coast. “It was a big splurge, but I love it and it’s doing really well – and now I can never leave!”
The mature olive tree was purchased from a nursery in Peats Ridge on the NSW Central Coast, and Julie doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to part with it.
Matilda, Julie and Larry’s standard poodle, has plenty of room to roam both indoors and out in the new courtyard.
Décor JMH; decorjmh.com
Luigi Rosselli Architects; luigirosselli.com
Secret Gardens; secretgardens.com.au
Technoform Constructions; (02) 9823 8100
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