Cheat sheet - Cedar & Suede
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INSIDE | HOME
round
cheat sheet
Who lives here Michael and Carlene Duffy,
home renovators, interior designers and TV
hosts; their son Paddy, 11, daughter Stella,
nine; and four-year-old labrador Harry.
Style of home A rundown 1970s brick
building that was once part of a health spa,
now transformed into a stylish family home.
After buying the property in
December 2009, the couple spent
the next 12 months making the building
liveable enough to move in. They added
another wing in 2017, and later gutted and
refitted the interior of the original structure.
the
WARDROBE STYLING: AUBREE SMITH. CLOTHING, WOLFGANG SCOUT
block
KITCHEN (both pages) Carlene loves
this ‘grown-up’ space. The Green Slate
cabinetry is by Freedom Kitchens,
teamed with Moroccan zellige tiles and
Quantum 6 stone (on benchtops) in
Pietra Grey and Bianco Classico from
WK-Quantum Quartz. Wall light and
pendant, Beacon. Table, GlobeWest.
Custom booth by Carlene and Michael,
It took vision, hard work and 10 years for two TV renovators built by Dog Thumbs. Vintage chair in
Duck Stripe fabric, The Textile & Design
to create their own piece of paradise in southern Queensland Studio. Accessories, Habitat Byron Bay.
WORDS JOANNE HAWKINS STYLING SARAH ELLISON PHOTOGRAPHY MINDI COOKE INSIDE OUT | 47
INSIDE | HOME
W
hen Michael Duffy first suggested to
his wife Carlene that they check out
an unusual property he’d spotted online,
she wasn’t overly enthusiastic. For
starters, the couple were finishing off
the renovation of their home at the
northern end of the Gold Coast and the potential new house
was 30 kilometres away, in the hinterland of Tallebudgera.
They’d also just become parents to their first child, Paddy,
who’s now 11. “Moving was the last thing on my mind if I’m
honest,” says Carlene, laughing. However, she agreed to take
a look and was immediately captivated by the property’s lush
semi-rural location. “As soon as we drove into the street, I felt
like I was home. It was very alluring.” Unfortunately, the same
couldn’t be said for the property. While it did have a large pool,
the house, which had once been the clubhouse for a health
retreat, was by then an abandoned, burnt-out wreck.
The Duffys, however, could see the long-term potential,
both as an investment and as an amazing place to raise their
family (daughter Stella was born in 2011). They threw in a
“ridiculous” offer and, before they could say, ‘What have we
ARTWORKS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) BY SHERIDAN AUSTRALIA, THE ARTWORK STYLIST (PINK DESERT),
done?’, had sold their renovated home and bought a third of
a hectare containing a large concrete slab wrapped around a
swimming pool. And an uninhabitable house.
It took Michael, an experienced carpenter, a year of working
evenings and weekends while they lived with Carlene’s sister to
make the house fit to live in. “It was very, very basic,” says
LIONEL LINDSEY, PADDY DUFFY, KIMMY HOGAN, PENNY FARTHING DESIGN HOUSE
Carlene. “We didn’t have any flooring, cabinet fronts or even
any benchtops in the kitchen when we first moved in. But we
just chipped away at it over time. We had a very love-hate
relationship with the house because it did feel like we weren’t
getting anywhere with it sometimes. It did test my patience.”
It was the desire to win some money to enable them to finish
the home that was the driver for the couple taking part in 2014’s
The Block Glasshouse. Unfortunately, they walked away with only
$10,000, a far cry from the vast sums won by contestants in later
RUMPUS Carlene hates having a TV in the main
seasons. Stage two of the renovation had to wait until 2017,
living room. This one in the secondary sitting area
when they were finally able to build a bedroom and bathroom is camouflaged by the picture wall. Santa Monica
wing on the opposite side of the pool, plus a two-storey brick sofa, Plush. TV unit and side table, Ikea. Walls
tower with a rumpus and upstairs guest bedroom. “We always painted Resene Mantle. KITCHEN SINK (opposite
knew we could wrap the house around the pool,” says Carlene, top) Behind the Chambord Louis sink from Abey
are windows that Michael sourced from a 1950s
“but our problem was that if we used all of the concrete slab, the
Queenslander. LAUNDRY (opposite below)
house would have been bigger than we knew what to do with.” The bespoke walls are Istinto Levigata by Luxury
“However, at that point Michael’s cousin and her partner, Wall Finishes. Washer and dryer, both Electrolux.
who were final year architecture students, came up with the
48 | INSIDE OUT
INSIDE | HOME
“I love juxtaposing vintage furniture
and artworks with more contemporary
pieces and finishes”
CARLENE DUFFY, HOMEOWNER/DESIGNER
genius idea of carving up some of the slab to create a courtyard,
and then connecting the original house to the new part with an
internal breezeway.”
The next stage of the renovation started in 2019, almost
a decade after the couple first set eyes on their “big, beautiful
money pit”. The interior of the original side of the house was
gutted, and Carlene finally got the slate-green kitchen of her
dreams, along with a striking circular dining area that forms one
side of the island bench. “I wanted a round table to break up
the squareness of that space, and Michael came up with the idea
of incorporating banquette seating into the island,” she says.
“It’s worked much better than we could ever have imagined.”
Describing her interiors style as eclectic, Carlene drew on the
mid-century vibe of the house and mixed it with more classical
elements, such as decorative skirtings and VJ wall panelling,
which are used throughout. “I gave myself a lot of freedom to
LIVING Two blue velvet Santa Monica sofas from borrow from any styles that I love. It’s definitely a mash-up,”
Plush formed the basis for this scheme, which says Carlene. A big fan of colour, she’s went for a palette of
makes great use of the original concrete floor. Teak greens, blues and a touch of salmon pink. “I love to live with
BIBI ANA + CO ARTWORK (LIVING), ABBEY ROAD
hand-shaped chair, Salvation Army. Cork side table,
colour but am not really drawn to brights or pastels. I actually
Collectika. Tussah linen on curtains, Unique Fabrics.
STAIRCASE (opposite left) This heads down to spent a lot of time sampling various shades to make sure I got
an as-yet-unfinished area below the main house. exactly what I wanted.”
Artworks by Vynka Hallam from Kira & Kira. After more than a decade, the Duffys’ vision for their forever
CHILDREN’S ROOMS (opposite right) Both are home has come to life and they can finally relax. “I can’t
clad in textured EasyVJ panelling from Easycraft,
imagine ever going anywhere else,” says Carlene. “This house
painted Resene Madison. “I didn’t want every room
to be a different colour as you walked down the was always about the lifestyle, and we’d be absolutely bonkers to
hallway,” says Carlene. There’s dusty pink linen from do a project for this long and then not get to enjoy it!”
Kip & Co in Stella’s, and a framed photograph of Carlene and Michael run a full-service interior design and styling studio
the family’s vintage caravan in Paddy’s. called Cedar + Suede. Check it out at cedarandsuede.com.au
INSIDE OUT | 51
INSIDE | HOME
GROUND FLOOR
18
5
17
16 13
4
15
14 3
12
19
2
19 1
FIRST FLOOR
11 10 7
6
9
8
1 Entry 12 Deck
2 Kitchen 13 Swimming pool
3 Dining area 14 Bathroom
4 Living area 15 Bedroom
5 Deck 16 Bedroom
6 Office 17 Ensuite
7 Laundry 18 Main bedroom
8 Powder room 19 Breezeway
9 Courtyard
10 Rumpus
11 Guest room
MAIN BEDROOM “Our room is at the far end of
the house so it’s always quiet and makes me feel
like I’m in a cocoon,” says Carlene. The EasyVJ
panelling on the walls is painted Resene Mantle.
Light, Emac & Lawton. Quilt cover, Sheets On The
Line. Black Mountain oak flooring, DecoRug. Artwork
by Kara Rosenlund. FAMILY BATHROOM (this page)
Carlene wanted the bathrooms to reflect the rest
of the house and not feel “cold and hard”. To that
end, she limited the White Cloud marble mosaics
from National Tiles to the shower and used more
EasyVJ panelling on the walls, which are painted
Resene Quarter Foggy Grey. ENSUITE (opposite)
The black aluminium shower screen was made by
a local welder. Vanity in Laminex Natural Walnut
topped with Quantum 6 Statuario from WK- lessons learnt
Quantum Quartz. Basin, Abey. Stool, Bisque Traders.
“I wish we’d carved a metre off
our main bedroom and given
it to the kids’ rooms instead”
CARLENE DUFFY, HOMEOWNER
“Paddy and Stella’s rooms aren’t small by any
means and both have queen-size beds, good
wardrobe space and built-in desks. But as they
tend to play in their rooms and use them
more during the day, the extra space that, in
hindsight, we just don’t need in our bedroom,
would have been better utilised in theirs.”
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INSIDE | HOME
POOL AREA (this page and opposite right) Across
the pool are black and tan bricks from PGH with
Weathertex EcoWall cladding. Awning, Peter Meyers
Blinds. Arc loungers, Worn. ENTRY (opposite left)
The rough-sawn black-timber exterior was inspired
by Rodd & Gunn men’s clothing store on Noosa’s
Hastings Street. “I always wanted a black house,” says
Carlene. “When you live in a lush setting, it blends
into the surroundings and is easier on the eye.”
Michael made the oversized blackbutt front door.
“We knew we were a bit bonkers to
buy this place but the location was so
captivating. I love being surrounded
by the ancient gum trees”
CARLENE
GREAT FINDS
ADDITIONAL PRODUCT SOURCING: NATALIE JOHNSON
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Soho velvet ottoman in Burnt Orange, $220, Darcy & Duke. Celine 3.5-seatervelvet sofa, $2490, Trit House. Luxury velvet
cushion in Khaki (50cm), $59.95, Aura Home. Palms Clay outdoor cushion (60cm), $290, Bonnie and Neil. Zylone Sheen waterborne interior paint in
Madison (left) and Mantle, $101.42 and $94.15 per 4L respectively, Resene. Handcrafted Rani viscose/cotton/wool rug (152cm x 244cm), $799, West Elm.
Vanoise wall bracket light in Grey Patina, $219, Schots Home Emporium. Linen single duvet cover in Khaki, $220, In Bed. Orange Blossom Water skin care,
$48 for 250ml, Libertine Parfumerie. Gladom metal tray table in Blue (45cm x 53cm), $19.99, Ikea. Vitra ‘Cork Family’ stool, $795, Living Edge.
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