Anna Spiro Better Homes And Gardens

Inside Anna Spiro's colourful Brisbane home

Where her passion for vibrant colour and mix-and-match collections is on show.

Jan 09, 2019 12:52am

Renowned interior and textile designer Anna Spiro is known for her inimitable style and knack for layering pattern upon pattern and colour upon colour – all while managing to make vintage and antique furniture from different time periods work together seamlessly.

After completing the redesign of Byron Bay boutique hotel Halcyon House, her work shot was thrust onto a global stage.

In her own home, an 1880s era open-plan timber Queenslander just a 30 minute drive from her store Black and Spiro, her signature style is proudly on display.

When it comes to colour there is a trick to getting the mix just right.

"I like beautiful jewel colours, and I like to include a little of every colour — pink, orange, yellow, blue, green — and a bit of brown to ground the colour."

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A wide verandah and a large garden surround the 1880s era Queenslander home. The front garden is planted with poppies, astors, calendulas and cosmos among the hedges, with dahlias planned for the end of spring.

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Every room in Anna's home is brimming with interest. Custom lampshades in bespoke fabrics and walls of artworks mean there is always something to look at and be inspired by.

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"The imagination and cleverness come when you have a room of furniture that doesn't match," Anna declares. "Sometimes people use too many pieces from the same collection — how uninteresting and boring!"

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Anna's home near Brisbane's Wellington Point is a 30 minute drive from Black & Spiro, her interiors shop and decorating business.

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Anna's childhood was spent in old Queenslanders with big gardens and this is where she developed her colour palette. "Mum's garden was bright and beautiful, and that's how I see colour."

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Vignettes of collected objects, such as stacks of books, are balanced against scatterings of cushions (always an odd number and always on the square).

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"I like to choose sofas with a small arm that doesn't date — and they don't take up a lot of room, either," says Anna. "I don't like a sofa with a big, fat arm on it. Also, make sure it's as comfortable as possible."

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Ned, the golden retriever, relaxes on the verandah.

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Kitchen shelves display woven baskets, apothecary jars, platters and jugs.

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Anna's bedroom is a dark sanctuary in navy blue complemented by a white French quilt and white quilted bedhead under a collection of antique flower paintings.

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Two framed antique paintings in the navy blue bedroom.

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Anna's bedside table is an old chest of drawers. The small vase is a keepsake from her grandmother.

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A David Bromley artwork hangs above an inlaid chest decorated with books and snow globes.

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An old sideboard supports a French gilt mirror and a classical bust on the verandah.

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Plates and bowls from Italy beside an old French wine jug.