Gemma O’Neill didn’t find her home, she manifested it. “I wanted somewhere by the water that would help me nourish myself in the next chapter of my life,” she says.
Today, she helps other women do the same, wearing multiple hats as one half of Her Best Life, the business and podcast she co-founded with Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, and as CEO of Three Birds Renovations, where she empowers women to realise their dream homes.
But in 2020, her own life was awash with change. Newly divorced and navigating a pandemic, O’Neill channelled her grief towards the ocean, particularly Bronte and Clovelly where she grew up, in search of a spiritual and physical homecoming.
It took shape in a two-storey fixer-upper perched above Gordons Bay, the prized pocket between Coogee and Clovelly beaches, where she now lives with her partner and two boys.
So, what was step one? “I wanted this to feel like my sanctuary, where I could melt into it and let my shoulders down,” says O’Neill. The home hugs the coastline, so maximising its views dictated her designs. “Because it’s a small property, I had to make the most of every millimetre,” she explains of designing her vision. Think purpose-built storage for school bags, modular cabinetry with a foldaway desk, and wraparound joinery in the main bedroom to optimise space.
“I did so many different versions of floorplans to make sure the one I landed on was going to be the right one for our family.” She credits the Three Birds Renovations School – serendipitously completed eight years before becoming CEO – for her renovation chops. “That’s what taught me the confidence in renovating and being able to manage it myself,” she says, noting she flipped multiple properties before finding “the one”.
Après-swim, one enters the property via a gate off the coastal path. The floorplan is unusual by design: after rinsing off in the outdoor shower and meandering around the pool, the lower level comprises a study and three bedrooms, while the living and dining spaces are upstairs. The main bedroom, and its pièce de résistance freestanding tub, overlooks the ocean, while the living area spills onto a large terrace boasting painterly views.
The ocean sets the tone for decor. “Before anything went in and it was still in its building phase, I would stand there, surrounded by this dark blue,” recalls O’Neill of the inspiration for the colour palette.
“I thought: OK, how can I work with that?” The home is a showplace for the sea, with different nooks reflecting the bay’s changing hues. For example? A cool-toned petrol blue velvet banquette anchors the open-plan entertaining level, enlivening a white kitchen and balancing the warmth of a tasselled light fixture overhead, as well as splashes of terracotta and sandy beige that extend into the living room.
“I didn’t want to be afraid to make bold choices and bring some colour into the home,” says O’Neill. “I want it to feel warm, cosy, to have textures and layers and make me feel relaxed.”
An Emma Martin painting and Ellison Studios sofa facilitate this dialogue between the furniture and the environment, bringing the outside in. Downstairs, the boys’ bedrooms take cues from their favourite colours: cupboards in muted blue and sage green echo the incandescent waters of Gordons Bay.
Matching scalloped handles make the rooms feel cohesive, while mimicking ocean ripples. In O’Neill’s bedroom, the nods are more subtle and organic with curved joinery and a built-in headboard – their fluid shapes mirroring the ocean swells below. The home is stylish yet playful. (“I gave two boys a pink bathroom!”).
It has the hallmarks of a holiday house with the personality of a property savant. “It lends itself towards being a great place to entertain but always in a very relaxed nature,” says O’Neill. That’s what also makes it a fabulous Airbnb. O’Neill designed the property to host guests, recouping some renovation costs and funding a holiday kitty. “I thought, if we love it as a family, then other families might love it as well,” she says. The guest-proofing process takes 10 minutes.
Her walk-in wardrobe doubles as a lockable cupboard, while storage trays make popping paraphernalia out of drawers a cinch. Is it strange hosting strangers? On the contrary, says O’Neill. “It almost feels like we’re the custodians [of the house] and we love that other people stay and send us messages saying how much they’ve loved it.” The effect is contagious. “I feel like this home has healed me,” she admits. It has provided a blueprint for her next renovation: a compact weatherboard cottage in the Southern Highlands – further proof that less space can be more.
It’s also helped her adapt to change. O’Neill is undertaking a PhD in business leadership, while growing accustomed to hosting the HBL podcast alone, thanks to Jackie’s nudging, with exciting events rolling out later this year. “Jackie has helped me step into doing things that I would normally shy away from,” she says, coincidentally offering renovators similar advice.
“Sometimes when you see it in reality, it’s different to what you imagine on paper,” she says of building your dream house, though her takeaway is universal. “Don’t be afraid to pivot when that happens.”
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