For reality TV star Krissy Marsh, having a welcoming home is everything. She and husband Johnny are big on family and believe in having the type of home where people can drop in anytime and even stay for dinner if it suits.
After 20 years of living nearby in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Krissy, one of the stars of The Real Housewives of Sydney, saw this house come up for sale and felt it would be perfect for her family. While not quite her style, she fell in love with the home’s welcoming feel. “It’s very important to me that a house has got a good feel,” she says. “As soon as I walked into this house, I knew it had always been a happy home.”
Who lives here?
Krissy Marsh, reality TV star, and her husband Johnny, a property funds manager; with their children, Billy, 20, Nicco, 18, and Milana, 16; plus their four dogs: Elvis, a five-year-old Ridgeback; two poodles, Bronte and Bondi; and a rescue dog, Frank.
Favourite spot to sit? Krissy: “I love that lounge room because everyone loves to sit in there and watch the TV, which comes down from the ceiling.”
What’s your top tip? “I don’t want to be precious about my soft furnishings so I choose outdoor fabrics even for indoor purposes. This means the fabrics are more resilient to dirt and even mould.”
After living in a more modern house, Krissy says she had to adjust her thinking because of the age of the home, which was built around 1920. “I’m not a perfectionist by any means, but I like things to work, and I like things to be fixed,” she says. “I’ve had to relax a little bit on that because with an old home, nothing’s ever perfect.
Entry
The family had spent a few years living overseas in Shanghai and Singapore before returning home to Sydney in 2017. Krissy says she was happy in her old house, but when this came on the market, she couldn’t resist the opportunity.
Like many renovators, she didn’t plan to do much to the home before moving in. “I said to my husband, ‘we’ll just give it a lick of paint and fix up the bathrooms a little,’” says Krissy. “Anyway, a lick of paint turned into him rewiring the entire house, putting in every audio-visual fandangled thing you can imagine, including a screen in the living room that drops from the ceiling, and a big sports TV. Every bathroom was redone, so we ended up doing a lot more.”
In the entrance, black and white tiles (Nero Marquina marble and Carrara marble from Teranova Tiles) were added by Krissy when they moved in, with the advice of Nellie Tilley, who also sourced the round table from Lydie du Bray Antiques as the hero piece.
The stairs are carpeted in Tuscan Celestine sisal from International Floorcoverings Australia, which is able to stand up to the demands of a busy household. “Georgia had picked all this amazing and fabulous leopard-skin carpet and I’m just like, ‘Guys, I’ve got four dogs. It’s not going to work’. So I said, what’s going to really work and be really hard-wearing? And she said sisal. Done.” Visit International Floorcoverings Australia.
We love… hardy interiors
Living room
Krissy renovated the house with the help of her friends, interior designer Nellie Tilley, who did the selection and design of bathrooms, tiling, feature lighting and curtains, and Georgia Boyd from The Classic Outfitter, who helped source furniture and soft furnishings.
The sofas in the living room are practical, despite being in white fabric as it’s outdoor fabric that can be changed.
Kitchen
Krissy loves cooking (she even released a cookbook in 2023, with proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House), so a well-appointed kitchen was a must. They didn’t make many changes to the space, except for replacing the stove and giving the cupboards a fresh coat of Dulux Natural White. A small table provides casual eating and the dining chairs have washable covers.
“We love entertaining, and we love people coming into the house and feeling relaxed.”
Krissy
Main bedroom
The generously sized main bedroom includes two walk-in robes and overlooks the front garden. Most of the furniture was sourced by The Classic Outfitter, including the bedhead, in Warwick ‘Haven’ linen in Navy, Theodore Alexander ‘Eli’ oval bedside tables and ‘Monte Carlo’ mirror from Xavier Furniture.
“We love the combination of classic architecture with modern art and furniture, making it both lived-in and beautiful.”
Krissy
Main ensuite
The adjoining ensuite features a custom vanity with a Carrara natural stone top and subway tiles from Teranova.
Powder room
“Believe it or not, the powder room is my favourite room in the house,” says Krissy, adding that she loves the wallpaper they chose. “Because it was such an awkward shape and it had bits coming down in the roof, we wallpapered everything. So you just think it’s a part of the character now.”
Anna French ‘Willow Tree’ wallpaper in Navy combines with a custom Carrara marble bowl from Candana, an antique mirror from Maison et Jardin and a sconce by Visual Comfort.
Outdoor area
The home opens out to a garden full of traditional plantings, including topiary and entertaining areas. “It’s just really lush up in that garden area.” The pool was already there, but Krissy and Johnny added a small little sauna that looks out into the garden.
So, now the home is complete, Krissy says that it’s important the home welcomes everyone, especially her kids and their friends. “No matter what time the kids get home at night, and no matter how many friends they bring, they always know that there will be a meal in the fridge,” says Krissy. And that’s what I love about our home. A home is the people that live in it, who are the heart and the essence of it.”
Interior design: Nellie Tilley Interiors, 0404 030 222, nellietilleyinteriors.com.
Furniture and soft furnishings sourcing: The Classic Outfitter, (02) 9958 4500, theclassicoutfitter.com.‘The Real Krissy Marsh Cookbook’ is available from therealkrissymarsh.com.au.
SOURCE BOOK
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
