When Leona Edmiston set out to renovate her Southern Highlands home, she had one request: every inch of the 10-hectare property had to be beautiful. “I can’t be in an ugly room,” she says. Edmiston shares her home with her husband, Jeremy Ducker, 13-year-old daughters, Dusty and Dylan, and their sausage dogs, Daisy and Teddy.
Edmiston, you see, is in the business of beautiful things. For more than 25 years she has designed dresses under her eponymous label, known for striking prints and feminine silhouettes. So when it came time to update her home, she applied the same meticulous attention to detail to the decorations.
“Interior decorating has always been my passion,” she says. “I choose everything based on a personal aesthetic. That’s how I work: always thinking on my feet and finding quick solutions. You need an adaptable mind.” Edmiston first purchased the house 17 years ago as a weekender, with their main home in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.
As the headquarters for Edmiston’s fashion house are based out of Alexandria, the designer was tied to Sydney’s busy urban life. Then Covid happened and the workplace became increasingly flexible. Edmiston figured it was the right time to make the permanent move to her beloved Highlands property. The renovations on the house took two years, with the work being mostly structural, and there was a desire to keep the updates in sync with the original home.
When it came to the decoration, Edmiston took the same approach as she does with the women she dresses: tailoring each to their own personality and needs. “I choose a room [and a colour], and then I’m very strict about sticking to that palette,” she explains. “I layer on top with different textile prints and textures within that strict framework. I think if you’re layering on top of each other, it’s good to tell one story. I like every room to have its own personality, so that each room you walk into is a new experience.”
When layering a home, there’s a fine balance between curated and cluttered, especially when working with antiques. For Edmiston, the process of decorating her home has been an important lesson in the art of restraint. “The trick is knowing when to stop, because I could just keep going,” she says. “We have so many special pieces that Jeremy and I have bought on our travels together. Others are from our local markets or local auction houses. We’re blessed with amazing stores down here [in Bowral], like The Bronte Tram and Dirty Janes.”
While Edmiston makes each room look effortlessly put together, the search for specific pieces took more than a year. “I will often look through thousands of wallpapers to find just the right one,” she says. In fact, sourcing all of the plates for the feature wall above her staircase became a community affair. “The colour palette we wanted for those plates wasn’t the easiest to find. We even had friends searching and hunting for us. We ended up finding 80 plates from over 20 different countries.”
Another talking point of the home is Edmiston’s beloved leopard carpet, which runs through the corridors. An homage to French designer Madeleine Castaing, the print is one of her signature looks. “I always said to myself, I want to put in a leopard carpet. For me, leopard print is neutral,” she adds. Despite swapping city living for the sleepy country, Edmiston insists her days are anything but slow. “We’re still running around like crazy, but mentally being in nature is more calming and brings a lot of joy and happiness,” she says.
While Edmiston commutes to Sydney every week, she reserves her weekends for entertaining and spending time with family. For this reason, connection between the house and its surrounding grounds was a key focus of the renovation. The orchard was relocated to accommodate a pool, and the barbecue area redesigned to elevate the entertaining experience. And while the renovation itself may now be complete, Edmiston admits her creative energy hasn’t gone anywhere. “I’ve never had so much fun in my life,” she says of the project. “It was just pure joy and I enjoyed every minute. I’d love to relive it and do it again!”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
