A Historic Hideaway

Photography by Ryan Hernandez
Styling by Greg Sukendro

Story by Mimmette Roldan

This award-winning mansion is not only steeped in history, it's also a beautiful private family home.

The property was originally built in the 1890s, and featured a fountain, with the goddess Apheta, giver of life, as its centrepiece. She's also the namesake of the residence. Back then, Woollahra was characterised by grand mansions with English gardens, and this place was one of them. The land has changed ownership several times since and has also been subdivided, but today Apheta remains an exceptional example of the refined Victorian Italianate architecture of that era, and has a rich history.

One of the first things Wendy did to get inspiration for the feel and style of the decor, was buy a book from the Historic Houses Trust of NSW called The Demolished Houses of Sydney. "It featured homes from a similar era that had been knocked down and turned into apartments," she says. And with an English husband who liked the formality of the house, she decided to go for a traditional, formal theme. The couple had loved living in the UK, so a style that evoked memories of their time in England appealed to them. "We weren't that comfortable with the idea of going very modern," she explains. "You need to be very careful attempting that with a traditional house, and have to know exactly what you're doing."

Moving in with a sofa and not much else, she used a decorator for the formal room who gave a fabric selection for the sofas and curtains, and she also sought advice from a colour consultant. Wendy wanted colours that were easy to live with and sympathetic to the era of the house. It was important that the chosen shades would help tame its large proportions – too much white would just make the space too big. "With a house like this you can't be too reserved," she says. "Its immediate character is bold decor and it just swallows furniture." Although she sounds like a pro now, Wendy admits she never dabbled in decorating before, and learned as she went along. "The house has been my educator," she says. "I didn't realise how necessary it was to have a plan until it taught me I needed one. The idea is to plan before you start, otherwise you make a lot of mistakes."

The building has formal and casual living areas that mirror each other. The four bedrooms are upstairs and the casual living room opens out to a balcony overlooking the manicured formal garden, which was done by Bay Street Gardens in Double Bay. When they moved in, five fully grown camphor laurels were threatening the boundaries and had to be removed. "It was just a big mess so we had professional gardeners work on it," she confesses. It only took a couple of months to finish the green and white garden they wanted but today the family's needs have changed. "Having children now, I would've gone for something less formal," Wendy says, "with more corners of sun, as the yard's a bit sterile – but it's good for soccer."

There's a vast amount of space in the house, but the six working fireplaces make it a little more cosy. A lovely mirror, which they bought from a store in Clapham, England, hangs above the fireplace in the bedroom. And of course, a formal home wouldn't be complete without a few select pieces of antique furniture, two of which are giant mirrors that came from Paris. One sits above the hearth in the formal dining room, while the other hangs above the one in the living area. "We bought them from an antique dealer," she says. "They're matching and beautiful with some glasswork at the top and some gilding. We've had them restored and about an inch of the detailing was cut off the architraves, but they fit perfectly - as though they were made for the house." Another antique purchase with character, is a table in the casual dining room made out of oak floorboard parquetry. "It's a very formal house and was expensive to decorate, as everything had to be nice," she says, "but it's a lovely place to live in."

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