Photography: Pablo Veiga, Styling: Jack Milenkovic
The years had not been kind to this 1913 Federation home in Sydney’s Inner West when Lauren Mahoney and Steven Zahra inspected the property for sale. Upon stepping into the dark hallway in 2018, the home showed every one of its 105 years; the original charm had been stripped out and, adding insult to injury, a jaunty 1980s extension had been plonked on the back.
“It was so run-down, but it had really good bones,” says Lauren of its key redeeming feature.
Who lives here?
Lauren Mahoney, interior designer and Studio Trio creative director, her husband Steven Zahra, operations manager, their daughter Aerin, six, and King Charles Cavaliers, Chester and Alice.
Which spaces do you use the most?
“Our lounge room and kitchen. We sit at the banquette a lot; our daughter does her homework there and we have our meals there nightly and chill in the lounge.”
What’s your design style? “My true interior design style is a bit neoclassical.”
What inspired this palette? “Quite often, American designers make rooms beautiful and cohesive, but they’re all different. They colour block a lot and the whole home tells the story, not individual rooms.”
Unsurprisingly for the couple, who spend their days designing homes for their clients at Studio Trio, phase one of a three-stage renovation launched soon after they collected the keys. “We boarded off the original front part of the house and moved into the back extension while we fully renovated the front,” explains Lauren. The dark “rabbit warren” floor plan was the first thing to go, replaced with a new four-bedroom, north-facing layout that embraces streams of natural light.
Next came a feast of finishes, both new and old, which was equal parts renovation and restoration. While reviving the home’s heritage features, the couple uncovered the locations of the original fireplaces – “you could see the hearths on the floor,” recalls Lauren – so they scoured Chippendale Restorations to replace them with marble mantlepieces and cast-iron inserts salvaged from Federation homes in the area. Ceiling roses, wainscoting and wall mouldings were reinstated; new windows were sourced to match the remaining originals.
“At that time, I was heavily influenced by American designers who were using pastels – Caitlin Wilson, The Fox Group and Alice Lane Interior Design,” shares Lauren. A floral Thibaut fabric, ‘Chatelain’ from the Heritage collection, helped solidify her colour scheme.
“That was a big inspiration,” she says. “It has French grey, pretty pinks, beiges and soft greens. I love all these colours – they’re not bright, they’re still grey reduced– and I decided to weave them through the rest of the house. I didn’t want it all to be the same, so the kitchen has more of the French grey and black; our daughter’s room has more pink.” Aged brass accents feature throughout, while Black Japan floors and swathes of Resene White act as gentle palate cleansers.
“While we were renovating the front, we put in a DA to get permission from the Inner West Council to demolish the back ’80s extension that we were living in and replace it with a classic addition built on the same slab,” says Lauren. This marked phase two of the project, which council approved in 2019 after a gruelling application process. With the front part of the home newly reconstructed, the family moved in while they knocked down and rebuilt the entire rear extension. “It was a big project. It was massive,” admits Lauren.
This was all set to the tumultuous backdrop of the pandemic, when the only certainty was uncertainty and each month brought a fresh surge in material and labour costs.
“Steven and I used to say to each other, ‘My eyes are burning from exhaustion!’” says Lauren. “But we’re both so passionate about construction, architecture and detail, and this is our house, so we just got on with it.”
At last, the internal renovation wrapped up in 2022 and, in between pauses to relish the result, Lauren and Steven swapped plasterboard for plantings and revived the gardens and exterior in the third and final stage. They perked up the front pathway and porch with new tessellated tiles, refreshed the gables and fretwork on the facade, and replaced the Art Deco front fence, which was not original, with a faithful Federation design to match an old photograph of the home that a local historian dredged up from the archives.
Despite the challenges, they’d happily do it all over again. “It was a huge project, but I loved every moment of it,” says Lauren. “I think we’ve got the bug!”
Kitchen
Despite its opulent feel, the kitchen palette is restrained, letting the details do the talking. Lauren teamed Shaker cabinetry in Taubmans Dapple Grey with vividly veined but neutrally toned Arabescato Corchia marble benchtops from Architectural Stone Works.
She then brought in warmth with Perrin & Rowe tapware in Satin Brass from The English Tapware Company. The scheme is grounded by Piccolo Chevron flooring in Raba Eterno from Tongue & Groove and crisp Intrim VJ wall panelling painted in Resene White. All the light fittings are from Urban Electric, from the ‘Hull’ pendants and ‘Audley’ sconces to the flush-mounted downlights. Lauren added Nordic ‘Sake’ bar stools in Tobacco from Lincoln Brooks for extra island bench seating when loved ones visit.
The extra-wide Lacanche ‘Savigny Classic’ cooker is perfect for feeding big crowds. Lauren teamed it with Gaggenau’s 400 Series combi-steam oven, combi-microwave oven and a vacuuming drawer, all in Anthracite.
“I wanted a walk-in pantry and a big kitchen,” says Lauren of her well-appointed butler’s pantry.
Living
Lauren covered the Diane Bergeron ‘Peyton’ sofas from Arthur G with Thibaut ‘Avery’ fabric in Sterling Grey and added a round Cromwell ‘French Moderne’ side table. The matching ‘Aubrey’ coffee and side tables are by Eichholtz; the custom rug is Tappeti. “The Arteriors ottoman seat was from Boyd Blue, a piece from eight years ago that I still love to this day,” she says.
Joinery in Taubmans Dapple Grey flanks the fireplace, detailed with ‘Lambeth’ knobs from Restoration Hardware and Oxford Decorative Grilles in Satin Brass from The English Tapware Company.
Dining
“I didn’t want a formal dining room because we just wouldn’t use it. Some people do, but we’re not that traditional; we had to have a banquette,” says Lauren of the dining nook. She upholstered the banquette with ‘Colorado Chintz’ leather from Pelle Leathers and nestled a custom table among Cantina ‘Barcelona’ chairs from Lincoln Brooks.
Bedrooms
Brunschwig & Fils ‘Kanchou’ wallpaper in Verdigris fills the couple’s room (top left & opposite) against the ‘Janelle’ Made Goods canopy bed.
WE LOVE…playful colour palettes
Instead of one overriding colour scheme, Lauren played with different palettes, each with a dominant colour accented by hues plucked from contrasting colour families. “I decided to work with a pastel palette with French grey as the main anchoring point. From there, I layered in blush pinks, soft pretty greens and duck egg that all interweave back to each other. So, as you look at the house, all the colours are linked,” she says.
Thibaut ‘Katsura’ wallpaper in Cream and Lavender and a bench seat in ‘Alessandro’ fabric in Spa Blue are soothing in the guest room.
Brunschwig & Fils ‘Les Touches’ fabric in Grey graces the bedhead, curtains and lampshade.
“I am a bit of a ‘modern classic’ designer and I like personality. I think I have a very neoclassical style.”
Lauren
“Every morning, our dogs run and jump up on Aerin’s bench seat to look out the window and see us go to work,” says Lauren of the perch.
Bathrooms
The Water Monopoly’s slender ‘Paris’ double basin suits the ensuite.
Carrara marble fills the bathroom, with Daisy floor mosaics from Surface Gallery and bespoke skirting tiles. The Water Monopoly ‘Hanley’ bath pops below panelling in Taubmans Dapple Grey Half.
Below Carrara subway walls, Norwegian Rose subways border Daisy floor mosaics in their shower, all custom-made by Surface Gallery.
Wall panelling in Taubmans Heritage Rose Half is lit by Ralph Lauren Home ‘Barton’ sconces from Laura Kincade.
Study
Steven often works in the study, with walls papered in Colefax and Fowler ‘Wendle’ print in Leaf, and ‘Woodfern’ curtains in Forest Green. To offset the Intrim wainscoting in Resene White, the couple painted an old desk in Resene Green Spring.
Laundry
I don’t hang out in there, so it didn’t have to be a big laundry,” jokes Lauren of the slim space. The Belfast Sink and tiles, laid in a Cabochon pattern and bordered in black, are the stars. A Roman blind in Lee Jofa ‘Garden Roses’ fabric in Beige Aqua crowns the custom Dutch door by Windoor Joinery.
Interior design & builder Studio Trio, studiotrio.com.au.
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