After spending more than four decades in Hong Kong, an expat couple decided to reconnect with their roots by relocating to Australia to live closer to their daughter. Returning to their existing ’90s harbourside home in Mosman on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, they envisioned a new fabric to replace the dated interiors, one that would align with the new phase of their lives. They aspired for their home to be infused with the same bold, characterful and layered energy seen in Greg Natale’s previous projects, while also harnessing a sense of warmth and intimacy.

Positioned on a steeply sloping site, the residence adopts an inverted floor plan, with the programme distributed across four levels. Entering the home on the second floor, the entertainment spaces are optimised, with the living and dining rooms oriented to capture views of Balmoral Beach, while all four bedrooms are on the third floor. The two lower levels of the home host the bar, wine cellar, gym, and office, and connect to the outdoor pool.

Woven with influences from the client’s expat tenure in Hong Kong and blended with their coastal setting, the residence imbues an ‘East meets West’ sentiment throughout. A colour palette drawn from earthy tones is rendered in each space, ranging from dusty blue, soft sage, beige apricot, brick red, muted golden yellow, to toffee browns. An organic quality is echoed in the rounded forms that moderate the strong architectural lines of the archways, skylights, ceiling, joinery, and niches, bringing intimacy and softness to the home while also opening the spaces to make them feel larger. Every room within the home is defined by a unique aspect; for example, each bathroom takes on its own colour and patterns.

Treated as a canvas, every surface of the residence explores material expressions and techniques that dress the floors, walls, and ceilings, with each room charged with a sense of transition. An extensive mix of nearly 20 stones is showcased, including Natale’s custom-designed collections for Terranova: Barra, Punti, Tessere, and Prima, as well as Bisazza: Fragment Mosaic. These are paired with timbers such as oak, walnut, and burl, while other finishes in the textural vocabulary include French and lime wash, lacquer, microtopping, decorative glass, dark metals and de Gournay wallpaper.

At the heart of the residence, a grand four-storey staircase serves as an intricate spine, becoming one of the residence’s focal statements. Its soft, curved form is accentuated by the microtopping finish, which gently refracts light from the skylight above, funnelled through the stairwell’s levels. This effect is subtly underscored by the striation of the travertine stairs, which softly pigments the space, and is accented by the walnut handrail.

Threaded with the owners’ global experiences, the home is likened to a tapestry that transitions fluidly across thresholds, evoking both cultural influences. These have been articulated through a diverse language of materials and architectural forms throughout the home, illustrating the client’s global journey and connection to their native home.