Hugh-Jones Mackintosh take on a harbourside home with Brazilian subtropical and Modernist undertones to deliver a cohesive interior scheme with worldly charm.
Mosman-based design practice Hugh-Jones Mackintosh was co-founded by Justine Hugh-Jones and Katrina Mackintosh as a boutique studio that understands and enjoys the privilege of tailoring a home to its client. The team were posed with this challenge in their Taylors Bay House – a harbourside home with Brazilian, Modernist style. Taking full advantage of the setting, they’ve paved the way for unique interiors that offset the home’s Brutalist atmosphere.
Overlooking the harbour of northern Sydney and backing onto the National Park, this three-storey home has the welcoming nature of a family home with the tropical style of an island retreat.
The living room features the Tom Dixon Beat Floor Lamp, Baxter Nepal Armchair by Paola Navone and Minotti Andersen Sofa by Rodolfo Dordoni.
The kitchen features Gaggenau appliances
For Hugh-Jones Mackintosh co-director Justine Hugh-Jones, the design studio embarked on a non-conventional approach to the interiors. “There’s nothing predictable here, with the exterior giving little away of what lies inside, yet, paradoxically perhaps, the interiors and location are in perfect harmony,” Justine says. Hugh-Jones Mackintosh sourced design inspiration from different corners of the globe for the three-level home, from the Brazilian subtropical layout, the Moroccan-inspired material palette to Fortuny fabric inspired by the islands of Venice. The interior spaces are filled with jewel-box like colours, offsetting the Brutalist concrete and matt black details.
Hugh-Jones Mackintosh, alongside stylist Steve Cordony, developed a bold and unexpected material approach. The contemplated placement of rugs, lights and furniture delineates zones and creates an opportunity for both quiet and conversational occasions.
The Apparatus Cloud Chandelier above the dining area exudes elegance beyond the marble kitchen island, bar and butler’s pantry. The living area is central to the home’s eclectic style, featuring unique pieces that focus on colour and tactility – as seen in the Baxter Nepal Armchair. At the same time, a stained timber ceiling brings a natural layer to the home. The Taylors Bay House also features a wine room, a master bedroom with a grand walk-in-robe, and a Morrocan-style wet room clad in zellige tiles. The main bathroom is described as ‘the perfect celebration of design and nature’; the generous black bath raised on a limestone foundation to enjoy the exterior garden scene through a wall of glass.
“This house presents a non-conventional approach to decorating, while also offering a fresh approach to Sydney harbourside living. There’s nothing predictable here, with the exterior giving little away of what lies inside, yet, paradoxically perhaps, the interiors and location are in perfect harmony.”
– Justine Hugh-Jones
The Apparatus Cloud 37 Chandelier in the dining room.
The Baxter Colette Chair in the dining space
A Tim Summerton Painting in the bedroom.
The design team tapped into the luxury of bathing with a view in the master bathroom, featuring the Rogerseller Pinch Floor Mount Bath Outlet overlooking the scenery beyond.
Hugh-Jones Mackintosh have taken full advantage of the generous outdoor living area. The home opens up to an outdoor courtyard and pool to enjoy the harbourside location, with an upper-level concrete balcony to further soak up the tropical and native garden setting.
Taylors Bay House is a family-oriented home that blurs the line between rustic and modern, creating a sense of the unexpected around every corner through Hugh-Jones Mackintosh’s globally influenced approach.
The courtyard features the DEDON Rilly Sofa.
The Cuero Outdoor Butterfly Outdoor Chair on the balcony.
Wow, what’s not to love in a South African designed, Modernist, Bwootalist, Brazilian, Morocan, Venician, (Orientail) Sydney harbourside family home, backing onto a nature reserve, with Nepalese chairs, …. hahaa, fhew, sweating now!.