yellowtrace01a.jpgName: Dana Hughes
Location: Sydney, Australia
Size: 100 square meters [1075 square feet]
Years lived in: 8 months

After discovering Dana's beautiful blog Yellowtrace a few months back, we have been addicted to the impressive interviews, features and photography. Through her interior design work, it was clear Dana had an amazing eye — it's thrilling to see how her style is reflected in her own Sydney apartment that she shares with her husband.

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All the original features including ornate ceilings, the huge bay window and dark timber floors act as a great base but its the contents that truly make this home and reflect Dana's love for all things beautiful, practical and well made.

An interesting note about of Dana's apartment: Australian super stylist Megan Morton lived in the apartment previously and the home features on the front cover of her new book, Home Love. While the furniture on the cover is different, Dana is now fortunate to enjoy this picture perfect space everyday.

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Apartment Therapy Survey:
My style: Livable, comfortable, inviting and unpretentious. We love to mix pieces from different eras – vintage to modern, designer to junk, achieving an overall sense of unique character and carefully considered balance.

Inspiration: Our home is work in progress and it very much responds to the way we live, who we are as individuals and as a couple. White walls, well designed furniture and pure, clean forms allow us to layer in bold patterns and collected objects which add an element of fun and personality, and evoke memories of travel and the everyday.

Favorite Element: High ornate ceilings, timber floors and beautiful bay windows make my heart skip a beat every morning I wake up. And I love the giant pin-board in our kitchen – it’s hours of fun.

Biggest Challenge: We moved into this place 8 months ago having spent nearly 4 years in a tiny apartment which was literally half the size. It may sound strange, but at first we found it difficult to get our head around all the space we had at our disposal. {And I realize how lucky we are for this to be our biggest challenge!}

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What Friends Say: Our friends love the character of our home – both in the heritage bones of the apartment itself, and also the overlay of our ever growing collection of belongings. People always comment on our many whimsical objects around the place, like the giant timber roosters sitting on the bookshelf, the mini bicycle on the windowsill, giant pirates ship kite etc.

Biggest Embarrassment: A few too many IKEA pieces for my liking, but we are working on it. And we have a lot of stuff – that’s another thing that our friends say about our place!

Proudest DIY: There were no curtains in our bedroom when we first moved in and we had to think of something very quickly due to privacy reasons. Considering that we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on custom fitted window coverings {curtains for very tall bay windows are neither cheap nor easy to find!} we headed to IKEA and Bunnings {hardware store}, and managed to combine a bunch of affordable rails, brackets and rods with a simple linen curtain for a great result.

Biggest Indulgence: Our new bed, luxury mattress and grown up bed sheets. And they are worth every cent.

Best advice: Invest in a few key quality pieces and don’t be afraid to experiment. Make sure to express who you are and just go for it. There is nothing worse than a home that looks like a furniture catalogue – generic and devoid of owner’s personality.

Dream sources: Doug up on Bourke, Great Dane Furniture, Koskela, Industria, Niche Modern, De La Spada, strangetrader, Castle, Tim Olsen Gallery, Bunnings, Spence and Lyda

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Resources

Appliances
Ariston Washer/ Dryer combo – because our “laundry” is in a cupboard.
Fisher & Paykel stainless steel fridge.
Breville toaster + blender {they are awesome}

Furniture
Dining chairs – Eames plastic on mable base
Dining table, coffee table & bookshelves/ storage all Ikea
Lounge chairs – Eames Aluminium Group
Sofa bought from a store that no longer exists {and I can’t remember it’s name}
Moroccan ottoman
Vitra cork stool/ side table
Mini Zaishu stool
Study chair – Myto by Konstantin Grcic
Vintage timber easel from a junk shop on Broadway, Sydney.
Red stool in study from a vintage furniture shop on King St, Newtown.

Accessories
Missoni wool throw
Vitra Algues screen hung on study wall
Sofa cushions - Custom made with Paul Smith stripe fabric from maharam and Textile theory cushions
Other objects, accessories, ceramics and textiles throughout our home were purchased in vintage stores or on our travels through Europe and Asia.

Lighting
Floor lamp in living room – AJ by Arne Jacobsen
Ceramic table lamp in study – “Cut Series” by Szilvia Gyorgy
Original chandeliers and ceiling light fittings throughout the apartment.

Flooring
Original timber flooring throughout.

Rugs and Carpets
Living room rug
Kurdish rug at entry purchased at a Persian rug store.
Bedroom mat is an off-cut sample from a carpet used on a recent project.

Curtains
Rails, brackets and rods
Bedroom curtain

Beds
Nook bed
Sealy mattress
Bed sheets and pillow covers from Ralph Lauren & Castle.

Artwork
Black & White photographs by Max Dupain of Sydney Opera House during construction
On study desk - Framed typography tea towels purchased at a market in Melbourne
Selection of photographs taken by my husband during our travels in Japan {I had them printed and framed for his 30th birthday}

Other:
That’s all I can think of!

(Thanks Dana!)

Photos by Dana Hughes

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