Kylie Hinds of Not Heidi Jewellery
On a quiet seaside street in Sydney’s eastern suburbs lined with impressive homes, one is a particular standout. From the exquisite antique Indian doors and sandstone foundations at street level to the elegant, understated white façade above, there’s something about Kylie Hinds’ home that makes you desperate to step inside for a good old-fashioned sticky beak.
But the home of the radiant and creative Kylie – co-founder of jewellery label not heidi – hasn’t always looked liked this. Rewind 11 years to when Kylie and her husband Paul purchased the property and moved in with their three children (now 13, 11 and 8) and the home was a small red-brick cottage, impressive in location but certainly not making the most of its ocean front vantage point.
Taking their time to conceptualise the right house for a busy young family and the limitations of a steep, narrow block, Kylie and Paul spent 3 years sketching, revising and refining the plans for their dream home before appointing an architect to finesse the final design.
“While the floor plan is exactly as we’d designed, our architect’s knack for maximizing natural light throughout the house is something we’ll always be grateful for,” says Kylie.
The main living area, located on the second floor to make the most of the spectacular ocean views, accommodates three distinctive zones that can be closed off by sliding doors that recess to be ‘invisible’ when not in use.
“We wanted to be able to create smaller rooms without sacrificing the open plan layout and the sliding doors are just perfect – you wouldn’t even know they’re there when not closed,”explains Kylie.
The kitchen takes centre stage in this large space with two oversized black macramé pendants a striking contrast against the white joinery and stone benchtops. The homes’ impressive light fittings don’t stop here – a hand-made mud-bead pendant above the custom made 12-seater dining table is another standout feature.
“My great friend Vanessa Kidwell owns my favourite store, Lived In Coogee and sourced the light fittings for me,” says Kylie. “Vanessa has an amazing knack for knowing exactly what my home needs before I even realise I need it!”
The kitchen and dining zone is flanked on either side by two living areas. At the rear of the house a low-slung sofa covered in black linen fabric is a practical yet attractive choice for the media room. The study zone is here, as is a subtle yet eye-catching display of not heidi designs – predominantly necklaces made from tribal coins, bells, vintage authentic tribal pieces and African prayer items. The jewellery pieces are remarkably in keeping with Kylie’s style and double as interior accents – wearable art and decorative art.
“Yes there’s definitely a theme at work when it comes to my creative outlets of jewellery design and interior design!” Kylie laughs. “I love tribal pieces and items with a hand-crafted, natural texture and quality to them.”. Such pieces are scattered throughout the house, impeccably curated yet not fussily so. “I want our friends and family to feel that they can pick up each piece, look at it, play with it,” explains Kylie, “I don’t want our home to feel like a showroom so I’m drawn towards pieces with a tactile quality – the kinds of things that people of all ages want to touch and feel.”
At the front, ocean-facing end of this large open-plan room the star of the show is the view, and the sitting room has been beautifully, subtly configured so as not to compete with the ocean vista. Pride of place here is an Indian cabinet from LivedIn Coogee which Kylie herself customised (with a chainsaw no less – what a woman!) to accommodate the room’s dimensions. The calming tones and textures in this space – natural linen, jute and rattan rugs, polished concrete and natural timber shelving, provide an understated backdrop for Kylie’s artfully displayed collections. Indian and Indonesian artefacts, antique timber candlesticks, antique bottles, shell collections, antique timber and bamileke stools are softened by sheepskin throws, antique Indonesian fabric cushion covers and gorgeously massive succulents.
Kylie’s talent for juxtaposition is beautifully evident throughout the home, where contemporary design – glass roofing, streamlined kitchen, minimalist gas fireplace – sits strikingly alongside vintage pieces – the well-worn cowboys boots Kylie picked up at a flea market, rustic African meat trays and carved footstools salvaged from Indian bazaars.
It’s no wonder Diego, the Hinds’ family’s sweet foxy cross chihuahua wandered off the street 7 years ago and decided never to leave. The little dog clearly had foresight – he adopted a family with a quirky red-brick cottage and is now the little king of a seriously impressive home. Clever canine.
Next week….we reveal more of Kylie’s gorgeous home!
Photography Steven Foster
For behind-the-scenes pics from our shoot with Kylie click here
