My Houzz: Creative Share House Living in Sydney

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Five 24-year-old housemates that work in various creative industries – (from left to right) Olivia Kwarda Tuivaga, Louise Thoeming, Michaela Upton, Emma Leckie and Alice Coleman
Where: Newtown, Sydney, NSW
Size: 5 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and an outhouse

With both Coleman and Leckie studying a Masters in Architecture, it was agreed that living close to campus was a necessity. Thoeming, Tuivaga and Upton were also keen to move out of their family homes and closer to their jobs in the city, so all five women decided to look for a place together. Newtown was appealing because of its young and exciting atmosphere, and abundance of cafes, restaurants and bars. After months of searching, they came across this large, two-storey, five-bedroom terrace and signed the lease in February, 2015.

All five women are in creative industries. Thoeming is an exhibition designer and aspiring curator; Tuivaga works in marketing and has her own styling and jewellery business; Upton is in advertising; and Coleman and Leckie are the students of the house.

The beauty of shared living is that everyone brings a bit of themselves into the decorating, with secondhand finds and hand-me-downs the decor of choice.

Upton and Thoeming live on the first floor, while Tuivaga, Coleman and Upton are upstairs. Each room showcases the housemate’s individual style.

Upton’s room, pictured here, is a place she can relax in after a long day at work. Having previously lived at college, she is well-versed in share house living, “I love everything about it! I used to live with 300 girls in college, so I really don’t know what it’s like not to live in a share house. I like to think that I have got pretty good at it,” she says.

Upton loves to get creative with upcycling, which is evident from her favourite feature in the room – her bed frame. Made from old fruit-transporting wooden pallets, Upton drove one hour west to pick them up. “They were $8 each and are great for storage!” she says.

Polished floorboards run throughout the first floor of the terrace, and are one of the girls’ favourite features.

One hurdle most renters will be able to sympathise with is the difficulty of adding hooks to walls. In a house full of creativity, artwork and beautiful objects need to be on display. To overcome this, the girls have adopted very clever solutions, including the use of washi tape in Thoerming’s room to hang up some Polaroids.

The two smallest bedrooms are located upstairs at the back of the house and belong to the students who work part-time jobs, Leckie and Coleman. The five housemates decided to put prices on each bedroom according to size, storage space and windows. They put down their names for each room according to their respective budgets and, as Leckie says, “It surprisingly worked out perfectly.”

For Leckie, a bedroom in a share house becomes your cherished sanctuary. “I didn’t spend a great deal of time in my bedroom at my family house – it was always pretty messy. But in a share house, your bedroom is more important, as it’s your own space to relax and unwind, so it’s much cleaner these days,” she says.

In keeping with a traditional terrace, the fireplace, pictured, was left in Leckie’s bedroom. It makes for an ideal shelf in which she can place all of her favourite photos, souvenirs and candles. The chair was rescued from her family’s recent move – it didn’t make the cut into her parent’s new house.

Creativity is very important in this house and, in Leckie’s case, it seems that it runs in the family. Her bedside table, bookshelf and and sideboard were custom made by her grandfather who was a skilled furniture maker.

Down the hallway is Coleman’s bedroom. Having previously lived in her mum’s garage, which didn’t have a window, she was very excited about creating a bright space that she could relax in. She defines her style as artistic, vintage and urban.

Coleman, who is studying a Master of Architecture, keeps a reminder of her passions in her bedroom. This includes the original architectural drawings of a pavilion from the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition. “It was a present from my mum, which she bought at Glebe Markets,” she says.

Coleman says she was rather obsessed about finding the perfect easel for her Ikea mirror – she ended up purchasing it from Art on King. The bookcase that doubles as a bedside table is close to Coleman’s heart, as she made it with timber that her grandfather gave her.

As a stylist for various types of events, Tuivaga has made sure her room is a reflection of her personal style. She describes it as eclectic, eastern-inspired and bohemian.

Plants are a feature throughout the house, but especially in Tuivaga’s room as she says they bring life, colour and shape into the rooms and living spaces.

Although she pays the highest rent in the house, Tuivaga says it’s all worth it because she can laze about in the sun on her balcony. It’s also a great place to entertain friends and people watch.

In the backyard is an outhouse and laundry. One bathroom between five people can be tough, so the outhouse provides an alternative if someone is running late to work or class. Tuivaga says that make-up and hair is always done in each individual’s bedroom, so it cuts back on bathroom time.

The outhouse also comes in handy when the housemates host big parties.