The Design Files: A bohemian family home surrounded by nature

Who: Sunni Hart (doula), partner Pete Baxter (founder Hope St radio) and kids Fox (6), Dizzy (8 months)

Where: Eltham

What: Alistair Knox bohemian rental

Listen to Bob’s story about building a treehouse on Somewhere Else:

This sprawling Eltham property is home to Sunni Hart, her partner Pete Baxter and their two adorable kids Fox and Dizzy.

However, moving into this bright, expansive home wasn’t completely straight forward.

After Hart initially spied the property for sale online, she had to admit it was beyond her price range and move on, a little heartbroken.

Months later, still daydreaming about the Alistair Knox-designed home, the opportunity to rent it popped up – and Hart and her family jumped at the chance.

“It was truly meant to be, and made me believe in manifestation just that little bit more,” she cheerfully explains.

Hart reflects on the day they moved in, with baby Dizzy just eight weeks old.

“I sat on the lounge room floor among all the boxes to feed him and sobbed with happiness that all I could see were trees around me.”

The Eltham retreat is vast (friends live in an additional house in the garden), but Hart says it still possesses enormous “hygge and warmth, with so much beautiful natural light”.

The interiors blend the history of the house (including a pool table built in 1890 from fiddleback wood, and bluestone flooring) with Sunni and Pete’s own “happy hodge-podge” of treasured possessions.

Hart describes a mutual love of natural materials and bright colours, that create an understated eclectic vibe here.

The home is scattered with artworks from friends (including a painting by Gabriel Curtin and a collection of Nell Pearson works), “lucky find” items of furniture, and a “gazillion” plants.

Sunni and Pete’s life in Eltham is spent sharing the balcony with bold king parrots, and meandering through the bushy surrounds. Living the dream.

Embrace the 1970s

It’s true, brown is back. After peaking in the 1970s, then being shunned for the better part of the past decade, brown is making a comeback.

• Move over mission brown, the new brown palette is warm and energising. Look for reddish browns, ochre, burgundy, and nutmeg hues.
• If you’re lucky enough to live in a home built in the 1950s, ’60s or ’70s, chances are you’re already well on your way. Enhance an existing brown palette by embracing terracotta tiles underfoot, original brickwork, and timber panelling.
• Complement browns with warm whites where possible – avoid bright, clinical whites with blue undertones, they’ll clash with warm tones.
• Consider 1970s-inspired styling to support a rich brown-based palette. Choose timber furniture, handcrafted clay and ceramic objects, Japanese-style paper lighting and lush indoor plant life.