First impressions can be deceiving. This is true of when interior designer Nellie Tilley walked into this stately federation arts and crafts home with her long-term clients. “It went from that initial meeting when we were just planning to open up a couple of doors, change the carpet and paint the walls to gutting and rebuilding the whole house,” recalls Tilley, who has reimagined four homes for the same family with three grown-up children.
Set on 2100 square metres down a long driveway in owner and entrepreneur Hugh McIntosh, Belhaven was once and still is one of the area’s grand estates. With panoramic harbour views, the spacious three-level home had a pool, tennis court and gatehouse dotted around its sprawling grounds.
