A home designed for the rhythm of the week

House Three in TH Brown’s In Residence series

From the moment you arrive, Annabelle’s Sydney apartment feels considered. The lift opens directly into her one-bedroom home on Fullarton Street, and beyond it the harbour reveals itself at once wide, calm and quietly breathtaking. It is an arrival that says a great deal about the space and the woman who shaped it.

Annabelle is an architect, and this harbour-view apartment reflects the way she thinks about design: not simply how a space looks, but how it feels to move through, live in and return to. When she first lived here, the view was partially hidden, and the layout worked against it. “We were sitting down and going, this is crazy, we can’t see the view,” she says. From that moment, the apartment was reimagined so daily life would remain in conversation with the harbour.

That vision also extended to the era of the building itself. Built in 1962, the apartment carries a strong mid-century architectural language, and Annabelle wanted the interior to honour that. The result is a home where TH Brown’s Danish Bar Stools, a Martelle Bar Stool, original Parker pieces, a Danish sofa and carefully chosen lighting all sit naturally together — connected by a shared mid-century sensibility, a respect for Australian design and a sense of proportion that feels calm, clear and completely resolved.

The TH Brown bar stools became part of that story after the custom table was made for the room. Annabelle first bought four Danish Bar Stools, then returned for a fifth — this time choosing a Martelle Bar Stool without a back, because that was what the composition required. It is a small decision, but a telling one. Everything here has been chosen not only for how it looks, but for how it helps the apartment feel. “We really love them,” she says.

That same care runs through the rest of the home. A Parker coffee table rescued from the side of the road at Palm Beach and later restored. A marble sill that Annabelle speaks about with delight because, as she says, she looks at it every day and is so glad she did it. Artwork collected over years, including pieces tied to family history and others chosen simply because they resonated. Even the Rolling Stones artwork has its place, included, as she says warmly, because Damien is a fan and “you’ve got to let them have that thing.”

During the week, the apartment is Annabelle and Damien’s city base, with Palm Beach for weekends. It is easy to maintain, beautiful to return to and perfectly suited to the rhythm of their life now. And then, of course, there is the view  the line through to Manly, the changing light, the quiet movement of cruise ships in the early morning.

Annabelle’s home is thoughtful, refined and deeply personal. A small Sydney apartment shaped by architecture, memory, Australian design and a clear vision for how she wants to live.