The Chifley home that broke the internet (and deserved every click)
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A reinvigorated red brick house in Chifley has gone viral thanks to its unique combination of architecture, texture, colour and liveability for the family that calls it home.
Jemma Mrdak might run a boutique marketing agency specialising in social media content creation, but she never expected her own home to go viral on Instagram.
In fact, she only decided to start posting videos and images of the renovated four-bedroom, three-bathroom house for two simple reasons.
The first was that, after a very stressful year navigating first-time parenting with her husband Alex, running her own business and building a home together, she wanted to celebrate their journey of blood, sweat and literal tears.
The second was that she had never lived in a space that she felt inspired to create. Until now.
Buying the original three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in 2022 with the intention of renovating it, Jemma and Alex have transformed it into an architecturally designed home that not only looks like it belongs in the pages of The Local Project, but balances liveability with material richness and craftsmanship.
Warm colours and natural materials define the space – from the raked timber ceiling to the dramatic interplay of deep reds, soft browns and earthy charcoal in the Italian marble kitchen bench, each aspect of the home has been hand chosen by the couple.
The result is something uniquely theirs.
“I’m not a black and white monochromatic person. I needed colour and personality and a bit of fun,” says Jemma.
“I work in a creative business and I am a creative…I wanted to take inspiration from what I’ve created here into my everyday.”
Falling in love with the 634m² block due to its size – and therefore potential – it wasn’t until 2023 that they engaged award-winning MyMyMy Architecture Director Mark Brook to take the original house and turn it into something new.
Adding an extension to the left side, the entire floor plan was completely re-worked by Symmetry Building Services. Housing the living, dining, kitchen and laundry areas, the extension proves that the devil is in the details. From the burnished concrete floors to the large family-friendly laundry, every aspect has been carefully considered.
Take the powder room. With a basin made from rare Breccia Pernice marble and enough room to comfortably host a small gathering, it’s the inclusion of a bronze mirror that takes it from lovely to one-of-a-kind.
“A lot of this was driven by Mark, just for something different,” Jemma explains.
“You wouldn’t use this room to get ready and therefore didn’t need a traditional mirror, so bronze was a really nice contrast with the marble.”
Drawn to natural timber and stone, sustainability was also a key element in the design. As well as reusing leftover slabs of marble from the kitchen in the laundry to create a breathtaking bench, their unique front door is made of the same timber as their raked ceiling.
Canberra red bricks are also heroed throughout. Paying homage to the heritage of the original house – something that caught the couple’s attention in the first place – Mark made the decision to add a curved red brick feature wall in the backyard, and Jemma and Alex have built a red brick garden bed.
When it came to the interior design, tapping Clay Interiors to help with styling choices was an easy decision for Jemma and Alex.
A longtime friend of Yanna, the design choices result in interiors that ooze Mid-Century Modern influence, layered touches that keep it feeling fresh rather than nostalgic.
“Yanna is brilliant, and we’d already purchased our main things like our lounge and bed, but she very much helped us curate the other elements. Her attention to detail and eye for things is phenomenal,” says Jemma.
“I’ve always wanted to live in a home where it erred on that Mid-Century Modern aesthetic but also had a very contemporary feel…it’s been brought into the present and it’s made it liveable for the future.”
But just because the house is beautiful, it doesn’t mean it isn’t practical.
Designed knowing that they would have children in the near future, for 16-month-old Mia, the family home is a veritable playground where she can roam the open living space, help Jemma rearrange the feature bookshelf and seek sanctuary in the playroom.
The bookshelf was one of Jemma’s non-negotiables.
“I have so many coffee table books that were just sitting in a cupboard because I didn’t have anywhere to put them. I said to him [Mark], that I wanted somewhere in the house – I don’t care where – that could be a real moment where you can see it beautifully curated and styled,” she says.
“It’s something you can see when you open the door. You just look straight down, and you can see the beautiful books there.”
And as it started to appear on the For You Pages of anyone who has an admiration for design, Jemma isn’t done with creating house content just yet.
With more rooms still to be styled and curated, she will still be constantly pottering around and re-arranging the house. And with the virality of the Chifley house seeing brands reach out to help her finish off the final spaces, expect plenty more glimpses of her home.
It’s been a little less than a year since the family moved in, and Jemma says that it took time for the house to feel like “theirs”.
But it finally feels like home. Their home. And there’s nothing else like it.
“It’s nice to still have rooms that I’m curating. The office is the next thing to tackle, which is really fun,” says Jemma.
“I’ve always wanted a space that I could just come to, and it truly feels like a home. I would happily stay home all day and not go anywhere.”
Images supplied.
