Mosman House 4

Step inside Mosman House 4, where owner Dimity teamed up with No Chintz to create a considered, layered scheme that feels entirely her own. Tina caught up with Dimity and No Chintz Interiors Consultant Louise to find out how it came together.

The House

Tina: Dimity, can you tell me a little about the house?

Dimity: It's an 1810 Federation property — a bungalow in its time. In 2018 it underwent an extensive renovation where the front was restored and enhanced, and the back was made more modern and contemporary. It's on a pretty street —known for its arch of plane trees, which is gorgeous.
 

The Relationship with No Chintz

Tina: Dimity, how did you come to work with No Chintz?

Dimity: We'd worked with No Chintz previously and I really respect and admire Chrissie’s sense of colour and style— a few pieces from that era of our previous home carried over into this new space. It was a continuing relationship, which made everything easy. I

Tina: Louise, how would you describe this kind of ongoing client relationship?

Louise: Dimity was a wonderful client because she was open to colour and had a sense of style. Dimity just naturally gravitated toward quality fabrics and good design. Everything was considered — she wasn't going for the quick option. And she had an unusual, innate sense of colour. She didn't follow fashion; she was also open to suggestions from our team.
 

The Master Bedroom

Tina: Let's start with the master bedroom. Dimity, can you walk me through the project?

Dimity: Chrissie came to meet us in the space, which I felt was important — she could see some of the existing pieces and understand the context. The master bedroom is the darkest room in the house, so we needed to be aware of lighting and thoughtful about colour choices.

Tina: And the colours — did you have a vision of what you wanted?

Dimity: Colour is very much my signature. Blues and serene tones just don't do anything for me — they don't move me at all. The colours in this project are warm, rich, and beautiful. That was important to me.

Tina: Louise, can you tell us about the palette and the fabrics?

Louise: The curtains were Chrissie's idea— rich velvet in warm, beautiful colours. At the time the walls were just off-white, so we recommended that to continue this rich, fabulous feeling, the walls needed to be painted.
 

Tina: I can see the detail of the white stitching on the bedspread, and it picks up on the hand details of white stitching through the drapes— it's a lovely connection. Can you both tell me about it?
 

Dimity: The bedspread was a long time in the making. The fabric took a while to come through. It's a very lovely, quilted piece and it's reversible, which is beautiful. Chrissie made it work with the existing bed head, which she didn't design but engaged with thoughtfully.

Louise: The bedspread was genuinely the icing on the cake. It's reversible — on the underside is a Walter G fabric, and on the top a more luxurious fabric. We did little hand stitches in between to hold the interlayers together. It was a real process, but worth it.

Tina: The bed head — is that something special to you, Dimity?
 

Dimity: Yes. We've worked with other interior designers before on our previous property — the bed head came from that era and carried over beautifully with all the No Chintz interventions. 

Louise: You could say that it’s a No Chintz characteristic that our clients tend to love; we aren’t shy to mix in previous iterations when forward planning. It is almost never a case of out with the old and in with the new. We love and respect a client’s family heirlooms and will work to weave into your new spaces your treasures from another life. 

 

Imogen's Bedroom: Rethinking the Floor Plan

Tina: And then your daughter's room — Dimity, how did that project evolve?

Dimity: Chrissie came over to see the space. Originally, I had led her upstairs — there are some bedrooms upstairs — and she did all the measuring and got a feel for the space. But as we were walking out, she spied the room downstairs and said, "Why aren't you using this room for Imogen?" Because as she pointed out, our little girl would probably feel more comfortable being on the same floor as her parents, and the bedrooms upstairs could be the guest rooms.

Tina: Chrissie really encouraged you to rethink the floor plan?

Dimity: Exactly! She encouraged me to think about how we don't just inherit someone else's floor plan — which is what we were in danger of doing. The previous occupants had used that downstairs room as a spare bedroom, and we were just going to replicate that. Chrissie made me think: "You're going to be quite a long way away from your daughter — don't you just want to be next door to her?" Of course we did. Together with Chrissie and Louise, we flipped it on its head and it's now the nicest room in the house. We ditched all those original measurements and moved the project into Imogen's room downstairs.

Louise: And I have to say — she will have the nicest bedroom of anyone her age. [Laughs] Unusual, beautiful colours, everything considered. When you have a client who's open to that kind of vision, the results are extraordinary.
 

Colour, Confidence, and Calamine Pink

Tina: Tell me about the style and feel of the room.

Dimity: It has a more old-world feel to it — very pretty. The colours are gorgeous; Imogen can really grow into them as she gets older. They're not baby colours. The pink — calamine pink — has been used by Chrissie before, and we were all blown away at how different it looked to what you might expect. There's a real warmth to it. We wanted something that was not too princessy or overly girly but still felt appropriate for a little girl who could grow into the space.

Tina: Louise, I understand there was a moment of doubt midway through?

Louise: There always is with colour in an empty room! Christy suggested the colour, but it was a touch darker than the client expected, and understandably, she wondered about it when the walls were half-painted and the room was bare. I went over with all the fabric samples — the cabinetry swatches, the soft furnishings, to reassure her and show her how it would come together. That's really important to say: when you have doubts about a colour in an empty room, it can be worked through. Colour needs balance. Without the cabinetry, the artwork, the soft furnishings around it, a newly painted room can feel confronting. But once everything is in place, the calamine pink simply melts into the whole scheme.

Dimity: It really does spark joy. I respond very deeply to colour and when I see those warm tones it just lifts me, as it does Imogen.

Tina: The art above the fireplace seems to be made for this room — can you tell me about that, Dimity?
 

Dimity: It came to me like an anchor point for the colours we had chosen. We saw it at a Laura Jones exhibition. I thought, "Oh my goodness, this is perfect." It has real richness and depth and coincidentally speaks to the wall colour beautifully. 

Louise: Dimity loves art, and her choices were an inspiration throughout the whole project. We don't match art to furnishings of course — but the collaboration of her interesting taste and Chrissie’s knowledge of colour and textiles made everything sing together.
 

The Cabinetry, Joinery & Wardrobe

Tina: Can you tell me about the cabinetry and the joinery, Dimity?

Dimity: The first iteration had the joinery going up to the ceiling, but we pulled it back — I felt that might be too much, and I'm also a pragmatist. Imogen would never be able to reach the top, and neither would I. We kept it at a scale where it could be a place for books and all her little charms and objects that little girls love to collect.

Tina: And the wardrobe beside the fireplace?
 

Dimity: That was Chrissie’s idea. She had a very clear vision of putting some fresh fabric behind the glass panes — it's a way of lightening up the joinery. It also provides another pattern and another colour opportunity. And the doorknob is placed nice and low so Imogen can reach it herself.

Louise: The wardrobe’s glass doors lined in fabric is an English touch — and it suits this family. You get to know a client's personality and history, and all of that informs the choices. That low doorknob is such a small detail, but it's exactly the kind of thing that makes a room truly considered. Very sweet.
 

The Bedding, the Bonnie & Neil Moment & the Window Seat

Tina: The bed is beautiful — tell me about the bedding.

Dimity: Chrissie used a Bonnie and Neil tablecloth for the bed head, which was an inspired idea. The pinkish quilted bedspread I already had, and it goes beautifully with the cushions on the bed and the window seat cushions, all of which No Chintz sourced.

Louise: The Bonnie and Neil tablecloth turned into a bed head — that's a perfect example of how we think outside the square. It's not expensive and yet look at what it does for the room. Combined with all the trims, the cushions, the textiles — everything lifts to the next level.

Tina: And the window seat — tell me about that.
 

Dimity: Yes — there are baby dolls, games, all sorts that can store under the window seat- actually, I have an excess of storage at the moment! And the curtains hang on the outside of the window seat so it can become a little cubby when drawn close. It's a wonderful hiding spot, such a lovely space — somewhere to have a cup of tea together, play dolls, or for Imogen to set up her little classroom for imaginative play. She loves it.

Louise: That window seat was created specifically for this room because of that beautiful bay window — and because Imogen loves to read. Her parents were keen on encouraging that. Imogen also arranges all her soft toys along the seat, all at her level. It became a little world of its own under the window. Gorgeous.

Reading the Client — and the Client's Daughter

Tina: Louise, how do you approach a project like this one?

Louise: I suppose because of my maturity, I look at the psychology of people. I never approach my work as selling something. I look at it as helping a client achieve their desired types of spaces. I love fabrics and interiors and combining that with really listening — interpreting what a family has and what they want — that's the work. It's about respecting what they already own, like the artwork and a child’s special dolls or games and making everything come together.

With Imogen's room especially, you're reading not just the client but the client's daughter. Imogen is a ballet dancer, so she needed some space to move. She's theatrical — she used to come into the shop in fancy dress. Hence the scalloped cabinetry with those beautiful, slightly dramatic colours. The little pink tutu she sometimes wore to our client meetings was an inspiration. You take all of that in and let it inform everything.

Dimity: And that's exactly what they do so well. I'd always imagined children's bedrooms to be, you know, not very easy on the eye. But now I realise you can have something beautiful with a little bit of playfulness — and it's still perfectly functional and joyful. That's very special about No Chintz — thinking outside the box and bringing fresh, trained eyes to your space.
 

The Long View

Tina: Dimity, how long did the project take overall?

Dimity: I'd say six to nine months from first idea to execution. We didn't put a hard deadline on it because we were already living in the space — we just wanted it to be intentional, layered, and beautiful. We weren't in a rush; we wanted it to be done properly.

Tina: And what do you appreciate most about working with No Chintz?

Dimity: The fact that there's a real person behind the label who is genuinely passionate about interiors, making spaces functional and beautiful. No Chintz is not just about the project but about you as a human being. The consultants who work there really care about their clients. They also understand that not every client is ready to approach everything at once. You can start with just a curtain and build from there. We had other priorities going at the same time when we moved in that needed our attention- like the garden, so the interiors for us is going to be a layered project. Everyone wins —and the relationship grows over time. 

Louise: That's really what it comes down to. An overall make-over of a complete home, or a more focussed project of a bedroom or a powder room - they all deserve and get the full No Chintz enthusiasm and professional care. It's getting to know the client — really listening to them — and then taking what’s there and interpreting it. And respecting what they already love. When you get that right, it's deeply satisfying for everyone.

 

If you would like further information on any of the fabrics, colours or finishes used in this project please contact your nearest No Chintz store.

For home makeovers, or to transform your favourite room, look no further than our Interior Decorating Services. From wall colours to curtains and floor coverings, Chrissie and the team of No Chintz decorators are available for onsite consultations to make your home dreams a reality. 

For more inspiration check out our completed projects or hear what our happy clients have to say.

Tina Gomes Brand is a freelance writer who searches out all things creative from food and architecture to travel, fashion and interiors. Brand writes from a broad experience of interacting with various cultures and collaborating with creative people everywhere.