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‘I turned a three-car garage into a workspace’: An artist’s Blue Mountains home
By Susan Redman
Set against the backdrop of the Blue Mountains, this artist’s home features contemporary sculpture and personal art projects inside and out.
Sanné Mestrom and son Danté drawing in the wide entry hall. “I use every part of my home, inside and out, to make or display art,” Mestrom says.Credit: Jennifer Soo
The home
Referred to as Boulder Art Haus, this mid-’90s, two-storey home in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney looks onto bushland and offers space to display the large sculptures the owner has been making and collecting for the past 15 years.
Who lives here
Artist Sanné Mestrom and her six-year-old son, Danté. “I also open up my studio for visits and workshops,” says Mestrom.
What I did
“The property’s native bushland had become wildly overgrown with noxious weeds,” says Mestrom. “Clearing it revealed pathways, ponds and gorgeous little cubby houses I didn’t know existed.”
Favourite room
“My studio. I turned a three-car garage into a versatile workspace. As a single mum, having a flexible workspace that seamlessly integrates into our home is essential.”
The ‘hood
“There are hundreds of kilometres of walking and running tracks, plus rivers and waterfalls, at our back door, ” says Mestrom.
Future plans
“In addition to replanting endemic native species, I plan to develop the bush into a small sculpture park with site-specific outdoor works.”
Best advice
“A home isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about creating a dynamic living experience,” says Mestrom. “I love the experience of living inside an ever-evolving art installation.”
In the sitting room, two Coco Republic leather chairs create a cosy reading nook. Behind them is Mestrom’s 2019 sculpture Weeping Woman.Credit: Jennifer Soo
A library of art-related books lines the back of the living room. The couch and lamp are vintage and the patinated bronze platter on the table is by Mestrom.Credit: Jennifer Soo
Christmas decor at Mestrom’s house in the mountains includes an Advent calendar handmade by the artist from wood and papier mâché. Credit: Jennifer Soo
A platform bed designed by Mestrom occupies the main bedroom. Her bronze sculpture from 2021, Kneeling Before the Dawn, doubles as a bedside table. Credit: Jennifer Soo
While Mestrom set up her main sculpture studio in a large adjacent garage, she also transformed a large room off the kitchen into a craft room for her son Danté.Credit: Jennifer Soo
Mestrom designed her office to not only include functional built-in storage but to provide a peaceful retreat. The chair from James Lane is covered with a woollen rug woven by Mestrom.Credit: Jennifer Soo
On the kitchen benchtop sit handmade noodle and fruit bowls crafted by Mestrom. Ceramic test pieces along the shelf are used as sake cups. On the wall is a George Nelson “Eye” clock.Credit: Jennifer Soo
Framed artworks line one wall of the living room. Some are by Mestrom, others by friends, including an oil painting of a white dove by artist and friend Yvette Coppersmith. Credit: Jennifer Soo
In the dining area, small bronze maquettes sit on the table, while clerestory windows flood the space with light and offer views of the surrounding bushland.Credit: Jennifer Soo
Sanné Mestrom is represented by Sullivan + Strumpf gallery in Sydney and Melbourne. Her next solo exhibition, Solar City, will be at the Melbourne gallery in August, 2024.