Located amongst similar terraces in Sydney and with its own existing charm, Darley House is a liberation of sorts from the shared home scenario, allowing its owner to create a series of spaces that solely reflect her. Whilst the practicalities of family life and the underlying robustness ensures the resulting places allow for the coming together of growing and evolving over time, accommodating each of their nuances was no easy task.

Closing out a chapter of sharedness, the owner wanted to create a home that allowed for a free expression of self and to bring an overarching sense of calm in the process. Arent & Pyke layers the previous home through design, interior furnishing and decoration to allow a natural connection to occur.

Darley House is intended as both a place of quiet retreat and as a place to bring the family together. Dotted throughout are gestures that inject humour and personality, adding an element of the unexpected in the process. Drawing from the existing framework of the terrace home, the additions work with the heritage features while adding a new freshness to the spaces, illuminating the interior and encouraging a free flow of movement between inside and outside.

The soft and muted palette is animated through pops of pastel and refined metal elements. The combination creates a balanced home that counters the rigour and sharpness of handmade pieces with a softer and more organic approach. The existing arches and other geometries are then emphasised to create a base foundation while the lively wallpaper used throughout rouses each bathroom scene it encases, where colours are extracted and used to craft the various approaches as destinations of their own. Combined textures of rattan, timber, textiles and stone further add depth throughout, completing the timeless narrative.