Best friends and interior designers Heather and Sarah, better known to their 80K+ Instagram following as Oak and Orange, have been designing, building and renovating homes together (along with their builder husbands) for more than a decade, and now they’re both selling their own respective homes, at the very same time. The timing was a total coincidence, “We both had very different reasons for selling.”
The pair are known for creating resort-inspired homes that make everyday life feel like a holiday. Heather’s home, on acreage in Mulgoa, is an homage to Palm Springs architecture and breezy, coastal style. Sarah’s home, located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains has a Balinese-inspired fish pond at the front entrance.
While both homes were newly built with forever in mind, Oak and Orange are no strangers to selling up and moving onto other new and exciting projects. “Building new and selling is something we have done time and again over the past 15 years,” says Heather. “We love the design and build process and after four years living here, we felt it was time to do it all again.”
Heather’s house
Heather and her husband Aaron designed their home with forever in mind, but they’ve now made the difficult decision to sell. “We are about to head off on a half lap of Australia with our kids for six months, so moving out now gives us six months to find the next project,” says Heather.
When building their home, the couple chose finishes that wouldn’t date quickly, opting for polished concrete floors throughout and a palette of warm whites, timber and stone.
The couple channelled Byron Bay and a recent trip to Bali when styling their home.
“I wanted it to feel relaxing and like an escape, so it feels like we’re on holiday in our own home,” says Heather.
The main bathroom, which doesn’t have any windows, is lit from above by a skylight.
A curved brick wall (designed to hide the front door from the street) makes a statement in the spacious room.
BUY THIS HOUSE: The Mulgoa home, listed by Ray White – Nepean Group is for sale with a price guide of $5-5.5 million.
Sarah’s house
Sarah and her husband Jayden are selling their u-shaped North Richmond home in order to realise their dream of living on acreage. The pair both grew up on large properties, and want their kids to have the same free-ranging childhood.
“Our goal has always been to purchase an acreage property for the kids to explore, ride buggies and motorbikes, have camps or bonfires outside with their friends,” says Sarah. “Our children are getting older so we feel like we need to make the move now so they can experience this before too many more years pass by.”
The newly-built resort-style home makes an impression right from the front door, with the pool visible through large windows. “We love waking up in the morning to see the sun rise across the pool and watching it set in the evening behind the mountains,” says Sarah.
NEWS FLASH Sarah and her husband Jayden have sold their resort-style north Richmond home for the expected $3million. The couple is on the hunt for a property with more space for their growing family.
Sarah and her husband Jayden designed the home to be both beautiful and family-friendly.
“There is loads of storage and easy-to-clean surfaces that make this home a dream to live in,” says Sarah. “The whole design of the home is quite unique and we feel proud and blessed to have been able to build such a special home.”
BUY THIS HOUSE: The North Richmond home, listed by Ray White – North Richmond, will go under the hammer on Saturday 1st April, 2023 at 3pm.
So what’s next for Oak and Orange? They’re not entirely sure yet, although both are certain it will involve more building and more renovating.
“For the first time ever we don’t know what’s next, which is scary but exciting,” says Heather.
More from Oak and Orange
Heather and Sarah have worked on more than 20 homes together over a period of 12 years. Here are some of their other amazing projects:
- Oak and Orange create a cosy country cottage from scratch
- A coastal-inspired new build with touches of farmhouse charm
