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Alice in Wonderland in Australia

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Alice in Wonderland in Australia

November 1, 2012

Decaying glamor with a heady mix of industrial and vintage is the look that Debra Cronin achieves in her Woollahra home, or as she describes it, “Alice in Wonderland meets The Addams Family.”

When Cronin returned to her native Australia after several years in London, the onetime hair and make-up artist turned her talents to interior design, renovating a ramshackle 1885 Victorian terraced house in Sydney’s leafy suburbs of Woollahra. The dilapidated building was falling apart, but Cronin has painstakingly restored the interiors, peeling back the layers, brushing the walls, and, in some cases, applying Bond Crete as a finish. The result is a mix of the unexpected (clearly embraced by Cronin), with furniture from different periods and collections of flea market finds put together to create an eclectic mix. The home serves a myriad of uses, doubling as a location venue for shoots and also as a supper club. For more details on her work, go to Debra Cronin Design.

Photography via Debra Cronin (except where noted).

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Above: Another of Cronin’s unexpected vignettes: against the backdrop of a multi-layered wall, a mantlepiece with a collection of silver candle holders with blue candles.

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Above: Cronin is an inveterate collector of objects and loves to make groupings out of her finds, in this case tea pots. Reflected in the mirror, her “decantelier,” a light fixture made from a collection of decanters.

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Above: A chandelier created from glass vases hangs above the dining table. Mismatched chairs are painted black. Wine is stored in a vintage armoire.

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Above: The kitchen features a collection of industrial finds. Cronin paired up with chef David Speck to create the Bite Club, a supper club with Cronin’s Woollahra house as a venue.

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Above: A vintage sofa-cum-daybed overlooks the garden flanked by two metal pots to create a modern take on a Victorian tableau.

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Above: A collection of food covers displayed on the wall in the sun room.

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Above: Cronin mixes a hide rug with hand-printed wallpaper by Deborah Bowness.

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Above: A bedroom with shutters as decor on the wall.

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Above: A collection of gray-painted medicine cabinets above the sink.

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Above: A Victorian black fringe lampshade (L) and rustic hallway (R).

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on May 31, 2012.

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