Owner, Peter Wannan, has taken huge risks in designing his inner city house and garden. The result is brilliantly successful.
East meets west design
The extraordinary house and garden is a mixture of elements including Greek and Roman statues, blackamoors, Balinese masks, boldly coloured modern furniture, Versailles pots, a topiary garden and dozens and dozens of other works of art. The various items in the house and garden reflect both the owner’s taste and also his travels: keepsakes from journeys to Europe, Asia and many other parts of the world.
Optical illusions abound such as two identical terracotta busts, one each side of a glass window making the window seem to be a mirror. The opposite of trompe l’oeil. Yet there are mirrors too. Being only about 5m (15′) wide, this inner city multi-level house is patched with colour, fantasies and plants. The basic house is a subtle grey-green colour which is elegant but not eye-catching. The black railings add to the overall Asian feel.
Further information
For more details about this garden see the article by Don Burke in the December 1998 issue of the Burke’s Backyard magazine.