Feels like home

Photography by Ryan Hernandez
Styling by Amy Howker

Story by Donna Peters

Fed up with hotel rooms, John and Maggie Cooper created an elegant English-style abode on Sydney's harbourside, which would allow them to visit family and still have all the comforts of home.

Whenever John and Maggie visited Sydney from London it was an odd experience and they felt slightly removed from the city they'd once called home. "We moved back to England after raising our family in Australia," Maggie recalls, "and when we came to visit we'd stay in hotels, which felt strange as Sydney had been our home town for so long." The couple tired of this quickly and started looking for an alternative that would allow them to spend more time with their grandchildren and give them the option of entertaining long-held friends. As often is the case, the solution was right in front of them.

For more than 25 years John and Maggie had held an investment property in the city's eastern suburbs and, as luck would have it, the property became vacant, presenting them with a favourable accommodation option. "We decided to keep it for our personal use and renovate it," Maggie says. "My husband and I designed the layout of the rooms ourselves, as it was important to us to create a feeling of home rather than just a temporary living space." They set about incorporating features that would transform the apartment's atmosphere. Inclusions such as the fireplace mantel – which brings with it the ambience of a traditional drawing room – were skilfully incorporated, and the place began to change.

A colour palette of buttery yellow hues for the walls – reminiscent of those used in their London home – were settled on to complement the sunlight that gently streams into this north-facing unit. This light and cheery disposition is not the only constant. Throughout the home Maggie has masterfully crafted a traditional English theme to blend the spaces. Side lighting and luscious handmade curtains are utilised, and the look is completed with family antiques and pieces bought over from the UK. "The apartment contains accessories from stores like Chelsea Textiles and Williams and Jones," she discloses. "It's been decked out in the same style as our house in London, so it makes me feel at home whenever we're here."

While Maggie and John delight in entertaining friends and family, they also enjoy spending time alone in the apartment, and having done their stint in hotels, they happily seized the opportunity to create their own intimate haven. The master bedroom is the opposite of the generic hotel rooms they never grew accustomed to, and makes their extended stays in Sydney welcoming. "It's a very comfortable space to be in," Maggie says. "We've used French-inspired furniture combined with mahogany antiques, teamed with fresh blue and white finishes." Plush carpet underfoot ensures the room is always warm and inviting, and makes it somewhere the couple is simply happy to be.

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