Meet the owners of Sheppard Wilson House

Could you tell us a little about your family and your background?

My husband Neil and I have two children, Zachary and Josephine. Neil is from the United Kingdom and I’m from Australia and we have lived in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong – we’ve actually never lived in Australia in the ten years that we’ve been together! My husband works in finance and it’s his job that has taken us abroad. I’m a Pilates instructor, so I can do that anywhere.

We’ve always planned to return to Australia – particularly Neil, who has a dream of going surfing every weekend.

Why did you decide to engage an architect?

On one of our trips from Tokyo to Sydney, we found a block in Bronte with an old cottage on it, which we were lucky to buy at auction. It was built in 1910 and not in great condition; we always intended to do some work to it. We rented it out for a couple of years and then, about five years ago, although we had no concrete plans to come back to Sydney, we felt we should get moving with the development application. There were some neighbours who weren’t happy with the new houses being built in the area and they were pushing to have more heritage overlays implemented.

From the outset we knew we needed an architect to design the house. As we went along in this process, we realized we needed the architect to manage the project for us too.

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The owners’ brief included making the most of the stunning fig tree in the garden.

Image: Brett Boardman

How did you discover Sam Crawford Architects?

We looked at different architects’ websites and we liked the look of Sam’s. The work appeared to be very authentic and celebrated simple living. It was also incredibly beautiful, with high-quality finishes.

When we first met with Sam, it felt right for us immediately. Neil is very laidback and he found it easy to have a comfortable conversation with Sam. Sam wanted to hear about us and what we wanted. Although there were ups and downs along the way, as I think there are with most renovations, we felt at ease with him and there was always mutual respect. At the end of the day, we could have a laugh with him. Also – we liked that Sam wanted our first meeting to be at the house. All the other architects we met with in the initial stages wanted to meet in their offices to show us portfolios. That didn’t feel real to us.

What was your brief?

We wanted to create a home that would last us a long time – to figure out how we thought we might live in ten years’ time, rather than how we live now. We needed to be honest about how we live – you know, there is no point pretending you don’t watch television when you do! We essentially wanted to create a house for our family to grow in.

Expecting friends and family regularly visiting from overseas, we were originally aiming for five or six bedrooms. In the end we decided on four bedrooms and a study that could be used as a guestroom. We could have had extra bedrooms if we’d put in an extra floor, but, as suggested by Sam, we opted for the double-height space in the living room instead of the extra level. Letting in light and the quality of space were more important.

Our brief also included making the most of the stunning fig tree in the garden. Views of the tree branches can be seen from many parts of the house and the garden has been designed to make the most the tree.

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“It’s a house for life that we can use in different ways, and not because of its size but because it’s so cleverly designed,” owner Emma Wilson says.

Image: Brett Boardman

You were living overseas during the building process. Who kept an eye on the progress on site?

Aaron Leeman-Smith, a member of Sam’s team, managed the process for us on site, then another architect, Ben Chan, took over. The transition was seamless, which is a testament to the efficiency of Sam’s practice.

There are so many decisions to make when building your own home. I was overwhelmed at first, but what I really liked was the way the architects would give me a few options and I would choose between them. We agreed on the look and feel at the beginning and at no point did we diverge from this. I loved the support in the decision-making. Everything that was chosen was within our set budget. This meant I didn’t have to worry – or look at the cost – and if something was more expensive, the architects told us and we were able to make a decision accordingly.

We visit Sydney twice a year, and on each trip I would always meet with the architect. From these meetings, they roughly knew what I wanted, and then they went and made their selections.

Is the result achieved by working with an architect what you expected?

I couldn’t picture our house at the beginning. When we worked through the design with Sam’s team, they had some very creative solutions. Some of these we went with, some we didn’t. It was this creativity that gave us a home that is unique. It’s incredibly peaceful when you walk inside and close the door. You feel connected to the surrounding environment, especially the fig tree in the garden. It meant that the starting budget was more than we first anticipated, but we could see that we were getting something special that was perfectly suited to us. It’s a house for life that we can use in different ways, and not because of its size – it’s not a big house – but because it’s so cleverly designed.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking of using an architect? And would you engage an architect again?

It’s important to meet with a few different architects – find someone that you would go for a drink with. Make it very clear as to who maintains control over selections – I think that it could be tricky if you weren’t clear. Don’t be put off by the budget, just be sure you understand exactly what you’re getting. Make sure you allow your architect creative freedom in the design process because they will offer solutions that are far better than you can imagine. Without an architect, we would have made a functional house, but instead we have a home that is unlike any other. I’m actually missing the process, and I want to do it again!

Read the review of Sheppard Wilson House here.