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The elegant exterior of Jake and Lu Dowse's home captures the eye but it's the brilliant-orange doors that hold your attention, hinting at the explosion of colour within. Making a statement in the bohemian Sydney suburb of Paddington can be a challenge but this designing couple decided that channelling the rainbow was the best way to stand out in the inner-city crowd.
Inside the three-level building, greens, yellows and blues abound. However, key to the eye-catching palette puzzle is the giant mural by David Egan that dominates the spacious courtyard. "Jake and I knew we wanted a feature in the courtyard," says Lu, an interior designer. "David Egan's work was perfect to achieve a vibrant garden-like external feature. His work Beautiful Days was the inspiration for our mural It must work because even the slugs are attracted to it, climbing the wall at night looking for food."
Visible from all levels, the striking mural is a bold influence that has been faithfully integrated into all aspects of the property, which combines a separate office/studio on the ground level with a split-level apartment above. Even the watermeloncoloured and yellow canna lilies and the cut-out swirl design of the garden bed reflect the imposing mural, creating a unified space.
"I designed the place to make maximum use of the outdoor space," says Jake, an architect. "I wanted to take advantage of the parkland surrounding us, making it as indoor/outdoor as possible, so the courtyard was always going to be a feature."
Egan's colour choices for the mural reverberate on the exterior of the house, with the bold twin orange doors swinging from solid blue walls at the front. At the stunning entrance, a yellow Flensted mobile is suspended against an identical yellow wall. "Everyone is a bit scared of using colour," reveals Jake, "but it's great."
Upstairs, the emphasis on fun and practicality remains with several carefully chosen pieces, which echo the playful tone set by the mural. And it's here that one of the designing couple's golden rules comes into play. "We generally use colours on a white background," Lu explains. "It avoids colour overkill and isolates the desired effect."
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