When renovation is down to a fine art

Art lover and educator Jeffrey Morabito has named rooms after the artworks that hang in his four-bedroom 1930s bungalow.

Charles and Jeffrey at home with their dogs Murray and Rosie.

Art lover and educator Jeffrey Morabito has named rooms after the artworks that hang in his four-bedroom 1930s bungalow on a corner block in the Sydney suburb of Botany.

A striking photograph by Leila Jeffreys, in which the subject is a close-up of a cranky looking budgerigar, is called the Budgie Room.

“It makes me smile every time I walk by it,” says Mr Morabito, who purchased the house pre-auction with his husband, Dr Charles Harvey, in 2010.

The house has beautifully preserved art deco ceilings in all the front rooms, while the back of the house is a contemporary glass pavilion that has a mostly black kitchen opening to a deck and garden.

“The house was bit of an ugly duckling on the outside – with aluminium-framed windows and a questionable double-storey extension to the rear – all painted in federation colours,” he says.

“We saw past this as it did have good bones, so we took to removing all the aluminium framed windows and replaced them with wood ones, and took to painting out every hint of federation green.”

A much bigger renovation was done in 2015 where they added a two-car garage, the

kitchen/living room pavilion and reworked the ad hoc upstairs extension so it was better integrated.

Jeffrey Morabito relaxes as one of the couple’s dogs steal the limelight. Picture: David Li

But it’s the garden the couple are most passionate about. There’s plenty of room for their two Airedale terriers, Murray and Rosie.

“It was planned, landscaped and planted with our own hands not too long after we bought the property and we decided to buck the trend of planting two magnolia trees out front flanked by gardenias because the soil in this area is predominantly sand,” Mr Morabito says.

“Instead we opted for two dwarf orange flowering gums, large gymea lilies, beds of large

kangaroo paw, a large grass tree – all surrounded by native grasses.

“On two separate occasions the garden has been awarded by Bayside Council; one for best native garden and a few years later for best front garden. Not bad for two amateur gardeners.”

Avid art collectors over the past 20 years, their favourite pieces include a large self-portrait etching by Mike Parr and another special piece by Christian Thompson – The Devil’s Darning Needle – which hangs in the dining room.

Mr Morabito recently purchased a Yang Yongliang photograph called Child, which takes pride of place in the living room.

“We also like to collect ceramics on our travels around the world and these can be found

dotted throughout virtuality every space of the house,” he says.

As for his favourite room, it’s the kitchen and dining room.

“That’s a bit like asking which is your favourite child; the kitchen is dramatically black, and the simple subway black matt tiles for the splashback work so well,” he says.

The modern interior. Picture: David Li

“I also love the organic basket-woven lighting over the island that contrasts so well with the more structured elements of this kitchen.

“I know it’s a cliche but the kitchen really is the heart of our home.”

The dining room has become a bit of gallery for their favourite contemporary art pieces.

Mr Morabito says he loves the space and light in the house, and the connection to the rear garden.

“We can fling all the doors open to the rear yard and have indoor/outdoor living and we are also very fortunate to travel regularly – so having the airport so close is certainly an advantage,” he says.

Mr Morabito was inspired by his art teacher at Forster High School, Denise Hardinge, and attended The Collage of Fine Arts in Paddington where he studied an undergraduate course in fine arts and teaching, and found his creative voice as a drawer and printmaker.

As head of visual arts at an independent girls school in the eastern suburbs, he is also co-ordinator of international trips and organises six to eight trips annually. This year they will take in Oxford University in England, NASA in the US and Ladakh in India.

“I love taking our students on international trips. Seeing them experience the world and art through their eyes give me much joy and pleasure,” he says.