St Anthony Residence by Parker Studio
Sydney-based interior designer Caitlin Parker-Brown has designed her own home – restoring an inner-city cottage into a bright and functional family space.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Jacqui Turk
The light-filled new kitchen space opens out to the courtyard. Photo: Jacqui Turk
‘This kitchen gets flooded with light, which is lovely – my husband and I both love to cook so this area was an important space to get right,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
‘I love design and aesthetics are important to me, however having durable and natural long-lasting finishes was also a driving factor in the design,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
Designed by Caitlin Parker-Brown of Parker Studio, the restoration of St Anthony Residence combines a celebration of the existing history of a cottage in Sydney’s inner-west into a contemporary series of spaces, which are bathed in natural sunlight.
Home to Caitlin and her husband Tim and children Archer (3) and August (10 months), the focus on the renovation was to keep as much of the original features as they could. They chose to restore the front part of the house, and to knock down the ‘shabby back part’ and build a space-maximising contemporary extension and new first floor.
‘We really wanted to achieve a greater sense of space by opening up the interior to the exterior, we were limited by the smaller footprint of the house so having the kitchen and dining area fully open up across the back with wall to wall glazing has been the best asset to our home,’ says Caitlin.
While the renovation was extensive, the project took just seven months to be completed in March 2020, with help from the architects at Potter & Wilson and builders Build By Design.
A standout feature within the home is the exposed brickwork, which was repurposed from the original house, ‘The bricks are very old and had layers of paint, each with different colours from the various rooms – originally we thought we would acid-wash the bricks for a uniform subtle backdrop, however once the wall started going up we loved them in their current state, brining so much character to the ‘new’ space which is such a striking feature.’
The repurposed brickwork was also inspiration for the colour palette in the kitchen and other areas in the house, picking up on the subtle greens, blues and pinks.
As with many family homes, the heart of the home is the kitchen, a space that Caitlin was focused to make as functional as possible.
‘We all love the kitchen and dining area most, with the large glass doors which open up to the exterior – this area gets flooded with light, which is lovely,’ says Caitlin, ‘My husband and I both love to cook so the kitchen was an important space to get right, I designed wall to wall built-in cabinetry that houses all our small appliances, as well as a laundry with sink and tub at the end of the room.’
As a designer, what are the major benefits of designing your own home? ‘Being a creative professional I was able to visualise how the spaces would come together before it was built, so I feel that’s a pretty big advantage when renovating – the challenge is having so many creative ideas and not being able to see them all come to life!’
The subtle blue in the kitchen space was inspired by the different coloured repurposed brickwork. Photo: Jacqui Turk
‘In terms of materials, the coloured kitchen cabinetry, exposed brick wall and granite benchtops are my favourites – I particularly love the granite for its durability,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
“We all love the kitchen and dining area most, with the large glass doors which open up to the exterior – this area gets flooded with light, which is lovely.”
The exposed brickwork extends from outside to inside the inner-city cottage. Photo: Jacqui Turk
‘All of the exposed brickwork is repurposed from the original house, we saved the bricks from the areas at the back that were knocked down and used the bricks to rebuild the new wall inside,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
The front and back ends of the cottage are drenched with natural light. Photo: Jacqui Turk
‘One of my favourite features is the staircase design, the fine white steel and oak floating treads gives the space both softness and lightness,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
“Being a creative professional, I was able to visualise how the spaces would come together before it was built – I feel that was a big advantage when renovating.”
‘Originally we thought we would acid-wash the bricks for a uniform subtle backdrop, however once the wall started going up we loved them in their current state,’ says Caitlin Parker-Brown. Photo: Jacqui Turk
Accent colours in the bedroom space echo colours found in the salvaged brickwork. Photo: Jacqui Turk