Technicolour Dreaming

Alesha Glennon is not afraid of colour. In fact, her home fizzes with happy, vibrant shades. Aboriginal art adorns many of the walls and with true colour confidence, she’s teamed it with bold contemporary designs, such as Marimekko cushions and graphic Missoni textiles. And just to be sure there’s enough colour, each of the slot windows in the stairwell is painted a different primary colour, a task for which Glennon and the architect, Rolf Ockert, huddled over a box of colouring pencils, negotiating which shades to choose.

“We both saw this was an opportunity to do something really different,” Glennon says.

Her ultra-contemporary addition to this single-fronted cottage is all the more miraculous considering it was passed by one of the inner west’s most conservative councils. But the audacious result is full of joy and proves the adage, “surround yourself with the things you love and your home will speak of you”.

“I just love art so much,” says Glennon, who runs The Artery Aboriginal art gallery in Darlinghurst.

“I had a deal with the architect that there would be one wall, running from the front door to the very back of the house, that would be for my art, so there was to be no architectural trickiness or details on ‘my’ wall!”

Of the original two-bedroom semi, the front two rooms remain – one as Glennon and husband Tim’s study, the other as baby daughter Tali’s bedroom, where, once again, a riot of glorious colour reigns.

The open-plan dining room and kitchen area is flooded with light. Here, Glennon has bolstered the colour on the walls with a dramatic pillar-box-red splashback in Alpolic, an aluminium composite traditionally used in exterior cladding (bought from SGI Architectural supplies) and which is a clever, cheap-as-chips alternative to glass.

A floating staircase, with its metal support painted bright yellow, takes you up past the slot windows to the parents’ retreat. The bedroom has a collection of vividly decorated quilts to play off the art on the walls. And even in the serene bathrooms, Missoni towels keep the spirit of the house alive.

“Colour can have a really positive effect on your state of mind,” Glennon says. “No matter what kind of day I’ve had, when I walk through the door the artwork just lifts my soul.”

1 Art of place

The dining chairs are upholstered in Mokum’s Arabesque in the colourway Lobster. They stand their ground next to the artworks Body Paint (right) by Minnie Pwerle and Caterpillar Dreaming by Lorna Fencer Napurrula.

2 Room to dream

Daughter Tali’s bedroom is alive with girlish colours. On the Priscilla bed from Freedom ($349) is a vibrant Heidi quilt and pillow cover set from Bed, Bath & Table. The artworks are by Kate Elliott and Judy Watson Napangardi.

3 Play of prints

Against the colourful backdrop of her art collection, Glennon has thrown in some vibrant, modern textiles. The Missoni ottoman ($2995) is from Spence & Lyda and the Marimekko cushions were bought online from Finn Style ($US34 ($35) each). She instructed the architect, Rolf Ockert, to keep one wall free of other embellishment so she could display her lavish collection of Aboriginal artworks, such as Uwalki — My Father’s Country by Mitjili Napurrula (pictured), Atham Areny Story by Lena Pwerle and My Mother’s Country by Kani Patricia Tunkin.

4 Stairway to paradise

Reminiscent of birds of paradise, two light fittings by Melbourne designer Marc Pascal team with punchy slot windows for added zing.

5 Studiously matched

In the study, energy levels stay high. The framed fabric above the sofa is by Josef Frank from Liberty of London, while a collection of side tables and stools picked up on the owners’ travels adds another exotic flavour to the mix. Other artworks include Yam Dreaming by Evelyn Pultara.