At home with. . . Karla & David
From a 90’s terracotta time capsule to a creative sanctuary full of whimsical curiosities, David and Karla’s Middle Ridge home celebrates art, playfulness, and the beauty of collecting slowly.
Published 04 Jan 2025
Photography: @heliosagencyau
Featured Murals: Katie Whyte
Q. Tell us a little about yourself?
Well! David is a financial planner (he was born and grew up in Toowoomba), and I’m a social worker (originally from Brisbane). We have two daughters and two [very] energetic dogs, Sherlock and Domino. We met while studying at UQ in Brisbane, and since then, we’ve lived in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, and since 2008, back in Toowoomba.
Q. How would you describe your home?
We love this home! It’s a space where we can all spread out– which is such a luxury! – but also meant designing spaces that are conducive to us all coming back together has required thought and intention. We wanted our home to feel warm, welcoming, and interesting, and it really is full of stories, with plenty of personality and little touches that make it uniquely ours.
Q. Can you tell us a little about the renovation?
This place was definitely a real 90s vibe when we first saw it – terracotta pavers and roof tiles, different rooms carpeted in purple, green, and blue, apricot-coloured walls, some genuinely hectic pink and orange tiles. There were 1995-vintage intercoms in every room, and enough floral curtains to clothe an army of Von Trapps. Though not our taste, we can certainly respect that the original owners enjoyed colour too!
As soon as I saw the huge pool room, I dreamed of a beautiful, serene, wave-like mural filling the walls. Katie Whyte executed the vision to perfection. She noticed my obsession with clouds, and agreed to create the massive cloud mural upstairs as well.
Q. Do you have a favorite room?
We all really love the dark blue lounge room. It’s cosy and comfortable – the perfect little room for listening to records or having a gin and tonic, and when we want to intentionally connect with each other, we usually meet in “the blue room”, as we not very inventively call it. We play board games or card games around the pink coffee table. (It was a last-minute choice to paint it the deep blue colour instead of the same white as the rest of the house, and we’re so glad we did).
Next, we’re planning to either wallpaper the ceiling or “colour drench” by painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls. For us, it has been the perfect use of what was previously a formal dining space.
Q. Your house is full of art. Do you have any favorite pieces?
Where to begin! The large cloud painting by Min-Woo Bang is a standout, as are the two Peter Jarver cloud photos. Our Lego world map is another favorite—it started as a standard set, but I customized it with extra pieces to turn it into a rainbow. Then there’s the framed Frasier floor plan, which nods to a show our whole family loves, and the Bally poster, an original from the 1970s.
Another treasure is the framed puzzle featuring Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1927 design, Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers. Every piece holds a story.
David has loved all things basketball since childhood – he doesn’t play much anymore, but closely follows the NBA and NBL, and his basketball shoes are his most prized belongings. With the space now to display his collection, it brings David (and many like-minded visitors) joy every day. And I added the absurd collection of mirror balls on top, and the sparkles they throw around the whole house are pretty magic.
All four of us love Lego – we find building sets both relaxing and creative – similar sort of vibes to doing a puzzle. Over the last decade, Lego have released more and more cool new sets, and we can’t resist them. It’s really fun finding places to work Lego into the décor. Some of our collection are not official sets – like the Jordan shoe I gave David one birthday, or the Van Gogh “Sunflowers”.
Q. What are your plans from here?
We’re hoping to renovate the bathrooms and the kitchen in 2025 – and make our own possibly unhinged design choices, that future owners can shake their heads at. In our previous home, we tried to renovate in a way that was respectful of the heritage features – here, we have the freedom of a more neutral architectural canvas, and we intend to lean in to making it fun.
We have big plans for the gardens – we want to loosen up some of the more structured, formal landscaping – aiming to “re-wild” a lot of the acre block with natives and pollinator-friendly plants. I chose not to move my beloved native bee hive with us from our old house, but setting up some new hives here is a priority. We’re excited to get a veggie patch up and running, and hopefully some chickens (David said no to a mini cow).
There are many years’ worth of work ahead to get it closer to our vision! Sometimes we do feel impatient and want it all to be “done” now… but we also love the process itself of making a home. Both the big leaps forward of, for example, a kitchen reno, and also the little tweaks and changes of moving a lamp or hanging another piece of art. Our favourite spaces are the ones that have evolved slowly over time, and end up feeling layered, thoughtful, and unique. We’re grateful every day for the enormous privilege it is to make a home like this.
