Behind this home’s white picket fence is an interior that sends your senses into overdrive

A classical double-fronted period timber house in Fitzroy North looks, at first glance, just like its late-Victorian neighbours. Its ornate fretwork and a picket fence are part of its Victorian charm.

But step inside and the home reveals a highly bespoke interior, designed by Sydney-based practice YSG Studio. Forget about white walls and beige carpets: the inside sends your senses into overdrive.

The kitchen island bench, a combination of timber and turquoise quartzite, forms the heart of the new wing.Credit: Anson Smart

“Our clients, like me, come with a half Egyptian, half Australian ancestry. If you combine this with the husband coming from Denmark, it made the brief just that bit more complicated,” says interior designer Yasmine Ghoniem, director of the practice.

The house had been added to in the early 1990s but with little thought given to the orientation (with a northern backyard). “The living and dining areas were quite enclosed and fairly dark, while the bathrooms were located in the lightest parts of that extension,” says Ghoniem, who completely removed the ’90s addition and replaced it with one that had a Middle Eastern feel.

Working from the inside out rather than from outside in, YSG Studio designed the new wing with a generous bay window that contains the built-in breakfast nook for the family, a couple with two children.

And to complement the original timber home, the walls are finished in a putty-coloured hempcrete (a combination of lime and woodchips). “The walls have quite a sandy, textured feel,” says Ghoniem, who partially took her inspiration from the late and eminent Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, who was known for his homes constructed in mud.

There are other design cues taken from the Middle East, including the use of coloured leadlight windows as seen in many of the mosques, and Persian carpets.

YSG Studio used tiling for the floors, extending to the walls. The many detailed frieze-like wall tiles add to the depth of each space. Bespoke graphic rugs by Nani Marquina and linen curtains designed in-house create a richness to the interiors.

“We certainly don’t attract clients looking for a ‘white box’ to live in. People come to us for that more layered aesthetic, something that’s more unexpected,” says Ghoniem, who sees the importance of creating a place that responds to one’s culture as much as the landscape.

Unique fixtures and fittings.Credit: Anson Smart

A Danish touch is also included, with Arne Jacobsen dining chairs, a Louis Poulsen light (a fitting from the owner’s previous home) and a couple of Eero Saarinen armchairs in the living areas.

The kitchen island bench, a combination of timber and turquoise quartzite, forms the heart of the new wing. Complete with a quartzite built-in tray at one end, there’s a section provided for each fruit – akin to a fruit bowl, but fixed.

And, as with the other rooms, the space is flooded with light and colour through the leadlight and via the intricate tiled floors.

“In the Victorian period, there was an endless amount of leadlight, including adjacent to many front doors. We’ve extended this idea throughout the house,” says Ghoniem, who also used the contemporary leadlight detailing in both the children’s bathrooms and for the ensuite to the main bedroom – the latter now benefiting from northern light and views of the back garden.

The children’s bathroom, with its tiled walls and floors, also features the same turquoise quartzite for the deep bath, loosely reminiscent of a Hamman-style bath house. As well as two bathrooms, the house now has three bedrooms, a separate study and two living areas, one referred to as the winter living room, the other for all seasons.

YSG Studio used tiling for the floors, extending to the walls. The many detailed frieze-like wall tiles add to the depth of each space. Bespoke graphic rugs by Nani Marquina and linen curtains designed in-house create a richness to the interiors.Credit: Anson Smart

Throughout the Fitzroy North house are myriad fixtures and fittings, with 15 different lights alone, from wall sconces to pendants.

And rather than just stopping short of expressing an idea, the use of tiles goes beyond the glass sliding doors and are expressed on the edge of the outdoor terrace. “We saw this project as bringing together not just materials and finishes but ideas that told a story about our clients and their heritage as much as how they want to use the spaces,” adds Ghoniem.

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