Looking beyond the faded exterior and interior of Villa Verano, designed and built in the 1920s by architect F. Glynn Gilling, a devotee of the Spanish mission style, Olivia Babarczy saw a bright future in buying the house for her large family. Surrounded by established gardens and trees, the house sits in an elevated spot overlooking Sydney Harbour with views out to the Heads and Manly.
"When we came across the house six years ago, we had absolutely no plans to buy but it was all extremely fortuitous," says Olivia. "We happened to drive by and immediately were struck with the romanticism of the house, despite its decrepit state. The previous owner was in her 90s, the electrics were shot, there was water damage throughout and the gardens were a force to be reckoned with. But once inside we knew immediately that we had found 'our spot' in Sydney and recognised that a house of this architectural style with its inherent European influences was a rare find."
Inspiration for Olivia has always come from her childhood and her travels. She comes from a large family having two brothers and two sisters, brought up in Mount Macedon and South Yarra in Melbourne. Her mother became an interior designer later in life and her father was a property developer so change and renovating were a part of her life growing up.
"My interior design style has developed over time, having lived in London and travelled extensively, I found my own niche. Thirteen years ago my husband Julian bought a derelict flat in Elizabeth Bay, which we renovated from head to toe, that got the ball rolling."
Energetic and enthusiastic, Olivia has a passion to turn something old into something new. In addition to her interior design business, she has four children and has renovated five of her own houses.
The house has three floors, with two bedrooms on the lower ground floor that looks onto a lush green wall designed with Vertikal. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. When Olivia started to renovate, she tried to be as sympathetic as she could to maintain the original Mediterranean features. "Over two different renovations, we constantly worked on bringing integrity back to the house."
Every part of the residence was touched, and the floor plan opened up to make the most of the beautiful northern light and vistas. The swimming pool was designed in a location to overlook the treetops out to harbour views.
"There is a real sense of continuum, both horizontal and vertical in the house, so by creating the open-plan living, dining and kitchen, it gives the inner sanctum of the house a serene flow. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open from the living room and dining area onto a large terrace for outside entertaining and views."
Working with her builder, Peter Coppleson from Red Empire Constructions, made her vision come to life. "Peter and I worked well together. We extended above the front facing garage to house additional bedrooms and added arched windows along the entire front facade to tie in with the original European elements of the house.
Now, the front of the house and entrance could be a house sitting on the coast of the Mediterranean. You are welcomed into a parterre garden through a wrought-iron gate, enhanced with a row of pear trees on white travertine pavers. A high double-oak front door replaces the previous one, with two large pots either side planted with a border of red geraniums and centred with olive trees.
The vestibule entry features an Italian marble floor, grounding the space and adding to the authenticity of the house and its experience. A new staircase was designed on the same side as the original one with black wrought-iron banisters. The interior changes over the ground floor were immense and the whole house was touched to make the most of the northern light and vistas.
While Olivia loves the romanticism of old houses and all their voluminous attributes, the front entrance also needed a lot of work.
"The original entrance was complicated. It was important to me to create a wonderful journey from the moment you arrive at the front gate. The most important part of that journey is the connection to nature and the ocean beyond. The entry was redesigned so you could look into the sitting room and out beyond towards the terrace and the view."
The original kitchen and dining room were dark and poky and not at all sympathetic to today's living. Olivia decided to open up the living room wall and connect the newly enlarged kitchen to the living and dining area, incorporating light and the magnificent panoramas.
The nature of the space demanded a long dining table and an army of designer chairs for Olivia's large family. Upstairs additional bedrooms and bathrooms and a study were fitted.
The rear garden was totally overgrown and swamped by bamboo. "My vision was to create a Mediterranean garden with walks and archways surrounded with olive trees and crepe myrtles flanked by a green vertical garden," says Olivia. Unlike the parterre flat-levelled garden at the front of the house, the rear garden is an intimate walk through cool and lush greenery.
The interiors on the ground floor chime with a worldly, well-travelled air. Olivia has used her collection of artworks as a colour guide throughout.
"I feel colour is so important when putting pieces of art together," she says. "The important element of design for me is not only to create a sense of place, both architecturally and within nature, but also to be sympathetic to the way people live and, naturally, that includes my own family. The visceral element, the sense of happiness in a space, is really the key to success. I have been extremely grateful to witness that playing out for my own family. They are never happier than when they are at home."
Olivia is excited about her latest venture, Studio S.O., an integrated architecture and interior design practice she has founded with business partner and architect Sarah Foletta. Their ethos is to craft timeless and meaningful spaces that create an emotional response.
"Sarah and I have diverse skills, talents and experiences and our varied body of work, from modern brutalism and Spanish mission to Ibizan finca, reflects this," says Olivia. "We are working on a number of beautiful projects at the moment. We're excited for what the future holds."
studio-so.com.au
redempireconstructions.com.au