This stylish residence tells an intimate story.

When Collette Dinnigan shut down her fashion business three years ago, she wanted to change her whole life, not just her work one. She sold her historic sandstone cottage in Sydney’s Paddington, her neighbourhood of more than 20 years, and swapped an urban lifestyle for the seaside calm of Watsons Bay. Collette and her husband, Bradley Cocks, wanted plenty of space for 11-year-old daughter Estella and energetic three-year-old son Hunter.

“If you look at this house, it reflects how I want to live,” says Collette of the family’s new home, a 1920s-era former Masonic Lodge with views of the Harbour Bridge and out to the Pacific Ocean. “I have made such dramatic changes in my work, so I needed to make a personal change, too.”

While their former home was quite rustic, this one has more of a European sensibility with its soaring ceilings and classic architectural details. “It has a sort of 1930s elegance and the scale is amazing,” says Collette. The previous owner had done a stylish revamp, but Collette found it a bit too hard-edged. “I wanted something more feminine – with more layers and more textures.”