The Design Files: Interior designer Melissa Marshall's home of style and function

Who:  Interior designer Melissa Marshall, and husband James, with their daughters Romy, 5, and Eva, 3, and a Hungarian Viszla called Winnie.

What: A refined and expansive renovation of a century old sandstone home.

Where: Bellevue Hill, NSW.

Interior designer Melissa Marshall and husband James purchased this sandstone home three years ago, but only moved in just over a year ago. Located in Bellevue Hill, just minutes from busy Bondi, the property is surprisingly private, and serves this (soon-to-be-growing) family perfectly.

The home underwent a massive overhaul before the family moved in, and Marshall’s interior design flair is evident in every corner of the home.

She says the renovations maintained the original sandstone and most of the exterior structure, but they “opened the whole house internally by removing walls and heightening and widening doorways”. Four new doors connect the back of the house to the garden, and link to an extended veranda and pool.

Inside, every surface is new, including the doors and joinery.

The renovations also converted a previously external element into an interior feature, through enclosing the stunning portico to create a large foyer entrance. Custom steel doorways welcome guests to the house, and bring a contemporary edge to the century-old sandstone structure.

Marshall works from home, and has used her interior design expertise to create a calm and peaceful house and workspace that is also robust enough for kids to play in.

“I love a home that looks interesting and unique, but that you can live in,” she says, “it has to be practical.”

The understated, refined aesthetic here has been achieved through the use of Mediterranean sandstone, and a soft, muted colour scheme.

This serene palette allows for treasured artworks and objects to really sing, including the stunning Lindfield Gardens painting by Brett Whiteley which Marshall highlights as a particular favourite.

Other special items include the Formations dining room table, that she admits to dreaming about “for years before I even had a spot for it”, and the Den Holm custom-designed table in the entrance, that “is so dramatic and sculptural it looks and feels like art”.

The whole home has an impressive sculptural element, as the converted portico frames the entrance to the house. Here, Marshall has created a robust and refined home that reflects her own aesthetic style, as well as accommodating the needs of their young family.