An early-2000s rear extension connected this South Yarra weatherboard cottage to its vine-covered courtyard. From the outside, there seemed to be no need for a renovation.

But a closer look inside revealed lacklustre plain white joinery and cabinetry — a far cry from the romantic cottage style interior envisioned by homeowner and artist Chantel de Latour, her partner Nick and young daughter Cressida.

Determined to inject some colour into their home, the family enlisted Anouska Milstein, founder and director of Studio A.mi, to bring it to life.

‘The existing bedroom joinery, kitchen and bathroom/laundry left a lot to be desired; it was your classic cheap white-faced cabinetry with white composite stone benches, stainless steel handles… you know it, you’ve seen it hundreds of times,’ explains Anouska.

‘So all of that felt “fine” but also completely devoid of personality and charm.’

The homeowners’ colourful and eclectic brief centred on maintaining a cottage aesthetic while still giving the home a contemporary feel.

‘We wanted there to be a softness and fun to it all… but it was also important that the clients wouldn’t feel they’d outgrown it in a few years — the playfulness still had to feel mature,’ she says.

‘For cost-saving purposes, we knew we wanted to keep things where they were on the most part,’ explains Anouska.

The kitchen was transformed from a single-wall layout with an island bench into a U-shaped design, enveloped in butter yellow and textural natural stone — colours inspired by Chantal’s art practice.

‘I love the way the kitchen feels like a gorgeous vignette, like it could be a painting,’ Anouska says.

‘We knew we wanted to use a striking natural stone from the beginning, and the one we first selected became unavailable everywhere right when we needed it — a classic tale in a design process. But we found a stunning substitute, which worked so beautifully with the yellow and blues.’

Traditional cottage features are scattered through the kitchen; heritage-style tapware, shaker-style joinery, and an under-bench curtain all pay homage to the original weatherboard home.

To maximise space, the previously small laundry and bathroom were joined to create one luxurious bathroom-laundry with an added bathtub. The homeowners were set on lining the walls with dark green glazed tiles, which Anouska balanced with pale green hues.

‘Following completion, [the homeowners] kindly invited me, my former staff member, who’d worked on it with me, and the builder over for a very long lunch that went well into the night,’ Anouska says.

‘That was just brilliant because we got to experience it ourselves and see their enjoyment of it first-hand.’