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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Elizabeth Bay House
HomesEditorial Team

Elizabeth Bay House

Australia

The location of our feature shoot for Habitus Issue 26 was Elizabeth Bay House. Amanda Talbot re-imagined it as Picasso’s summer house; here, we see it in its original glory.


 

With commanding views over Sydney Harbour, Elizabeth Bay House gleams like a Greek temple. Once surrounded by famous landscaped gardens, it is one of the most splendid private houses ever built in Australia and still arouses our delight and astonishment.

 
EBH14_0013-Nicholas-Watt-Sydney-Living-Museums-breakfast-room
EBH14_0005-Nicholas-Watt-Sydney-Living-Museums-Greek-revival-sofa-in-drawing-room
EBH13_0019-Nicholas-Watt-drawing-room
EBH13_0021-Nicholas-Watt-entrance-hall
EBH13_0009-Nicholas-Watt-staircase

 

Its elegant rooms and fine proportions, sweeping staircase and lavish furnishings reveal the tastes and aspirations of its original owner, Alexander Macleay, after the governor, the most important public official in colonial Sydney. But it was his magnificent gardens which most keenly expressed his tastes and passions, and in the economic downturn of the 1840s pushed him towards ruin.

 

EBH13_0224-Nicholas-Watt-Sydney-Living-Museums-breakfast-room
EBH13_0142-Nicholas-Watt-convex-mirror-in-dining-room
EBH14_0044-Nicholas-Watt-library
EBH14_0035-Nicholas-Watt-detail-library

 

Elizabeth Bay House is an iconic Sydney home, with an iconic Sydney back-story of obsession for property and position stretched beyond means and undone by changing financial times.

 
EBH13_0064-butler's-pantry
EBH13_0124-NIcholas-Watt-Sydney-Living-Museums-dressing-table-principal-bedroom
EBH13_0006-Nicholas-Watt-Sydney-Living-Museums-dome-in-the-saloon
EBH13_0072-Nicholas-Watt-view-from-the-balcony-of-the-morning-room
 

Photography © Nicholas Watt courtesy of Sydney Living Museums

 

Elizabeth Bay House

Address
7 Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011

Telephone
02 9356 3022

Open hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am – 4pm

Admission
General $8, Concession $4, Family $17

Sydney Living Museums
sydneylivingmuseums.com.au


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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