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Home Beautiful
Home Beautiful
Lisa Easey

Step inside RHOS star Krissy Marsh’s elegantly updated 1920s home

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.

A classic white two-storey home with topiary plants out the front.
Krissy and her husband Johnny have a home where people are encouraged to drop in and gather. “From the outside, it feels grand, but as soon as you come in, it feels very relaxed. I think it’s the way we’ve furnished it and the fact that you’ve got four dogs running around your feet. That’s the most important thing for me,” says Krissy. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.”

Krissy Marsh standing in her checked-floor entry foyer.
At the threshold, two Asian-inspired pots from Orient House frame the front door as a nod to Krissy’s passion for Asian design and architecture. “I love all those blue and white pots because having lived in Asia, I have all sorts of pieces of furniture from that time.” Above these pots are a pair of ‘Darlana’ large bracket lanterns that were sourced from The Classic Outfitter. The impressive exterior has been painted in Dulux White. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.”

An abstract painted vase sitting on a timber dining table.
A Mark Tuckey table in the dining room is paired with chairs from The Classic Outfitter. Vase from Secondi. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

Krissy Marsh walking down the stairs into the classic checked-floor foyer.
The original owner wanted to take the chandelier with them, but Krissy talked her out of it. “I said, ‘It’s a part of the original house and gives the house that wow factor when you walk in. She ended up leaving it for us, which was lovely.” (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.”

An entry foyer with a black and white staircase, chandelier and checked floor.
Murano vase from Secondi and greenery from September Studio. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

A classic white living room with a chandelier and L-shaped sofa.
Vase from Kelly Brown Ceramics and florals from Grandiflora. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

The sofas in the living room are practical, despite being in white fabric as it’s outdoor fabric that can be changed.

Krissy Marsh and her dog sitting on a sofa in the all-white living room.
With dogs, it’s important to have hardy furniture. Krissy has used outdoor fabric on the living room sofas and had extra covers made so they can be changed. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)
A vintage leather chair beside fishing rods and a classic white fireplace.
Vintage fishing rods in one of the bedrooms stand beside a chair from The Classic Outfitter. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

An all-white kitchen with shaker-style cabinets and a checked floor.
Vase on island by Kelly Brown Ceramics and florals from Grandiflora. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

“We love entertaining, and we love people coming into the house and feeling relaxed.”

Krissy
A round timber table topped with a vase of white flowers.
Bamboo stools and vase on table from Secondi. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

A classic white main bedroom and ensuite with French-style doors.
Table lamp from Bloomingdales Lighting, bed valance and lumbar pillow from In The Sac, vase from The DEA Store. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

“We love the combination of classic architecture with modern art and furniture, making it both lived-in and beautiful.”

Krissy
A main bedroom with a black bedhead and side table and white valance.
Florals from Grandiflora. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)
A gold arched mirror and black side table in the main bedroom.
The table lamp in the main bedroom comes from Bloomindales Lighting. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

Main ensuite

The adjoining ensuite features a custom vanity with a Carrara natural stone top and subway tiles from Teranova.

A classic white Carrara marble-topped double vanity.
In the main ensuite, a custom vanity with a Carrara natural stone top pairs with Brodware ‘Neu England’ tapware. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)
A classic white ensuite with a freestanding bath.
Krissy loves the bath in the main ensuite. Towel from Oliver Thom. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.”

A powder room with blue and green botanical wallpaper and a marble vanity.
Tapware is Brodware ‘Neu England’ and the vase is from The DEA Store. Mouthwash from Santa Maria Novella, perfume from Libertine, towel from Oliver Thom and florals from Grandiflora. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

An outdoor seating area with blue chairs and a parasol.
All furniture is from Restoration Hardware. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.”

A laundry room with blue shaker-style cabinets and white subway tiles.
The laundry has a Caesarstone benchtop with Shaker-style cabinets. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Corina Koch)

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.

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