Nestled in a lovely sunny street in Paddington Sydney, this Victorian terrace home required a classic yet stylish interior. Designer Jean-Christophe, bringing together each of his passions, designed the interior in the classic, French and Hamptons styles. The overall effect being sumptuous, homely and elegant.

This project was also a wonderful opportunity for Jean-Christophe to design and make large custom furniture pieces such as sideboards and buffets that became focal points within the home. Then creating stunning grey and white custom paint finishes was a joy which aimed to highlight the forms of each design perfectly.

In the dining room, an exquisite tapestry and gilded mirror provided beautiful richness to the room. To balance this, we chose painted furniture to lighten and open the space. Christophe combined the Hamptons, Louis 15 and Louis 16 styles showing how well these styles go together. The squareness of the Louis 16 sideboard, for example, provided a beautiful counterpoint to the roundness of the oval back dining chairs.

This beautiful French side board was custom designed by Christophe in the Louis 16 style with slightly modernised Hamptons overtones and paint finish. This was built in our Sydney workshop with a sophisticated breakfront design, fluting and tapered feet. The contrasting trim highlights the cabinetry mouldings and detailing beautifully. The taupe/white paint finish became radiant when placed against the deep red feature wall. Atop we placed two gilded French provincial lamps with cream shades to draw the eye and interconnect the golds around the room.

Along the adjacent wall, a custom designed French side server with a low shelf was specially designed. This piece reflecting the Louis 16 features and cleverly finished in an alternate white/grey colour combination to the sideboard. It also features turned legs with fluting and decorative ornaments in grey from our French ornament collection.

For the dining the Bordeaux dining table was chosen with its warm parquetry top and the base finished in antique white to soften and lighten the room. The oval back Louis 15 dining chairs with fine floral carving detail were also finished in antique white and upholstered in a cream damask fabric.

Christophe loves incorporating sheers in his interiors as they soften the space while allowing for privacy and light. The rich golden drapes drawn back with lovely red and green tassels framed the window, reflected the golden tones throughout and continued the classical elegant atmosphere.

In the living room, the stunning Grand French buffet was designed and made by Christophe in the Louis 15 style. Finished in subtle Hamptons tones against the stylish pink stucco wall it became breathtaking and impressive. The timeless beauty of this custom buffet reminds us of the lasting power of fine craftsmanship.

The French linens chosen for the upholstery in the living room were all light in tone with subtle white bird toile and floral patterns to echo the grey/white finish on the furniture.  The fireplace panelling was also painted in these two tones to add decoration and highlight form. The mirror above the fireplace with a wide white frame actually disguises the television underneath, by opening up in the middle. This is always a great decorative solution. Upon the mantle we placed some classic French décor objects to add some spots of deeper tones.

In the hall way near the front door a large gilded mirror opened the interior underneath which we made a custom designed Louis 16 French hall table with rope carving and narrow depth to allow maximum space. Here the reflection of the dining room in the mirror creates a beautiful design feature in itself. The reflection of the red wall, tapestry and glowing lamps thus combines with golden frame and sumptuous pink stucco wall  warmly greeting guests as they enter the home.

Christophe truly enjoyed working on this beautiful interior design. It ‘s always a pleasure makes someones home beautiful.

Design tips from Jean-Christophe:

• Experiment with mixing styles such as French, modern and Hamptons.
• Remember the round forms of Louis 15 can go with the rectangular forms of Louis 16.
• Mix & match paint finishes on different pieces ie. white with grey trim then grey with white trim.
• Design paint finishes around the forms of furniture to highlight the lines, forms and shapes.
• Note the beauty of sheers for softening the room.
• Painting the base of a timber dining table white lightens the room allowing white chairs to be used.
• Disguise your tv behind a beautiful custom mirrored cabinet that matches décor.
• Remember the beauty of large mirrors bringing multiple viewpoints together.

For more inspiration see our interior design portfolio.