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Styling a small space for a growing family
In a leafy pocket of Sydney's harbourside, just a ferry ride from the heart of the city, art director and stylist Anna Delprat has made a compact apartment feel anything but small. She lives here with her partner Nick and their one-year-old, Arthur, in a two-bedroom home shaped by a warm, neutral colour palette drawn from the Australian landscape.
As part of our video series Creative Spaces, we sit down with Anna to hear how she styles her apartment for a growing family.
Where art tells the family story
Walk into Anna's home and the walls speak first. Paintings, photographs and keepsakes layer every room, and they are the truest expression of who lives here.
"Art is everything for me, because my family comes from a long line of artists," she says. “I grew up in an eclectic house. It was a bit messy and dusty and full of wall-to-wall paintings. It gave me a real respect of art and history. I’d like to think I have an affinity with my family through their artworks.”
The connection even reaches King Living, where one of the fabrics is named after her great-great-grandfather, artist Julian Ashton. "It's a beautiful soft linen blend, which I think he would like."
For Anna, art belongs everywhere and carries feeling. That instinct shapes how she layers interiors. "Choose art that means something to you. It could be framing little postcards or mementos. I also love styling more contemporary designs with antique pieces.”
Her heritage gives Anna a fearless approach to design.
"Australian style is brave. We don't have the constraints of history placed on us like older parts of the world, so we can make bold decisions and push the boundary."
A tonal palette drawn from the earth
For Anna, colour and texture are where a small space finds its personality. She resists the safe default of pale neutrals, reaching instead for warmth and depth.
"I'm a big believer in tonal styling. I like picking a core colour palette in brown or cream, then really choosing unique tones within that," she says. "You can go bold, as long as it's pared back with more subtle accents."
Her own scheme leans into chocolate, mocha and caramel, grounded by an affinity for natural materials. "I love mismatching all of the things that have come from the earth," she adds, with a particular fondness for the warmth of brass, bronze and timber among her décor.
"There’s a special alchemy to mixing timbers too. Juxtaposing rich, deep species like walnut with a fresh ash or smoked oak. It brings depth, and layers the space."
The Boab Coffee Table belongs to that earthy world, its sculptural base echoing the organic form of the Australian Boab tree. Underfoot, the Muir Rug draws the colour scheme together, with a gently irregular texture and tones inspired by the landscape.
"I love the tactility of the table and rug," Anna reflects. "It's got these creamy brown tones that really tie the living room together.”
Editing down to what you value
While tone plays its part, Anna believes it's simplicity, paring back to what you have, that truly makes a space feel bigger. That philosophy shaped the move to her own apartment, turning a stylist's eye onto her own four walls.
"We happily sacrifice space in order to be close to the heart of the city," she says. "In a smaller home, you have to be really decisive about what stays and what goes. It’s an opportunity to really decide what you value.”
That discipline shapes every decision.
“We had to choose between a television or music, so we chose music in this space. It's the backdrop to Arthur's childhood."
Life with a one-year-old leaves its mark too. Where fragile artworks once leaned and candles burned, the apartment now has to be safe as well as beautiful.
Rather than crowd it with heavy cabinetry, Anna and Nick did the opposite. A built-in banquette in the open-plan dining area hides storage and keeps surfaces clear, a quiet way to tuck colourful toys out of sight at the end of the day. That thinking extends upward, too.
"In a small apartment, height matters as much as what sits on the floor. It's very tempting to keep things low," she says, "but building a visual landscape to follow can make a space feel bigger and more interesting."
Going bigger in a small spaces
Having edited down to what mattered most, Anna turned her attention to scale, choosing fewer, more generous designs to fill the room.
"The dollhouse effect is when you bring in too many small designs and everything starts to feel a little itsy bitsy. In a compact space, the key to making the room feel bigger is to go bigger.”
The Haven Sofa was where she began. "It's got this unique, special scale that's a bit unexpected, with its big enveloping arms. I love that it can look polished or casual depending on how you move and style them."
A statement sofa needs contrast for a space to feel complete. Anna says, "I love to pair something larger with something tiny and delicate." Beside Haven, the Myco Side Table is that smaller element, a slim marble-topped design light enough to lift and move as the room changes.
Haven is also built to evolve alongside her family. "We needed something we could expand on and add more segments to," Anna says, with new modules attaching over time rather than the sofa being replaced. It suits life with a toddler too, the covers simple to lift away when mess inevitably happens.
The hidden storage secret
In a home this size, the primary bedroom is where Anna and Nick made their boldest choice, a king-size bed with clever storage built in.
"If you're worried about getting a king-size bed into an apartment, this is proof you actually can, and that it works. Generous proportions and a compact footprint don’t have to be at odds.”
With a soft bedhead and base, the Promenade Storage Bed opens to reveal a hidden compartment for blankets, pillows and linen. "The gas lift system, I'm in love with. It stores everything. Our linen closet was overflowing, so it's given us room back."
But for Anna, the bed is more than practical.
"My favourite thing in my home, and this won't come as a surprise to anybody, is our bed, because I love to sleep."
A home that grows with you
A home is never finished, it shifts as a family does. For Anna, the constant through all of it has been Haven, the sofa where memories are made.
"Arthur and I spend a lot of time on this sofa. He jumps up and down, we read books, we have the occasional snack. He loves to run his little trucks along the grooves. Arthur’s hair,” she adds with a smile, “is slowly turning the same colour as the Everleigh fabric, so he's camouflaging with the sofa."
Those small, everyday moments have shaped what matters most.
"The word 'home' has taken on a new meaning since becoming a mother. This space is the backdrop to our baby's first memories, and our first memories with him."
A statement sofa needs contrast for a space to feel complete. Anna says, "I love to pair something larger with something tiny and delicate." Beside Haven, the Myco Side Table is that smaller element, a slim marble-topped design light enough to lift and move as the room changes.
Haven is also built to evolve alongside her family. "We needed something we could expand on and add more segments to," Anna says, with new modules attaching over time rather than the sofa being replaced. It suits life with a toddler too, the covers simple to lift away when mess inevitably happens.
Anna's five small living room ideas:
1. Let art tell your story
Fill your walls with work that holds meaning. It carries the personality of a home, even a practical one.
2. Build a tonal palette
Choose a core colour and draw different tones from it. Warmth and depth beat playing it safe with pale neutrals.
3. Edit down to what you value
Be decisive about what stays. A pared-back home feels calmer and larger than a crowded one.
4. Go bigger than you think
Avoid the dollhouse effect. A larger sofa and considered scale make a compact room feel more generous.
5. Collect slowly
Buy everything at once and the space feels stuck in time.
"Things that are meant for you will call out to you, and you'll be drawn to certain pieces as your life evolves."
Discover more Creative Spaces:
- Watch the series on YouTube
- An artist and a designer: Two unique perspectives on colour
- With designer Olive Cooke: Creating a calm family sanctuary
- With Designer Brahman Perera: Making space for slow living
Artwork credits:
Photography by Stuart Miller
Instagram @stuartmillerphoto
Anna Delprat’s family works:
Polperro by Paul Delprat
Enigma by Paul Delprat
Handstand by Paul Delprat
Evening at Grotto by Paul Delprat
The Beach at Terrigal by Paul Delprat
Balmoral Moonlight by Susan Gaston
Sea Moonlight by Howard Ashton
Summer Evening by Howard Ashton
Cityscape by Brian Gaston
Abstraction by Brian Gaston
Saint Cloche Gallery works:
Holy Talk by Lucy Anderson
Radiant Nature Part 89 by Ria Green
Stool IV by Zelimir Harasty
Three Islands by Inga Dalrymple
Synchronised Breath by Charlotte Swinden
Discover more from Saint Cloche Gallery.
DATE PUBLISHED
11 July 2026
WRITTEN BY
