For Sarah Pickersgill-Brown, home is both a sanctuary for her beloved family and a creative project with an audience of thousands.
Words Casey Hutton / Photography Annette O’Brien / Styling Alana Langan
This Melbourne house is home to Sarah, her husband Ben (a technology analyst) and their twin three-year-old boys, Caspian and Quill. It’s also headquarters of The Bear Cub Club, Sarah’s fashion and decor styling project, which has captured the imaginations of tens of thousands of followers on Instagram.
The family moved into the house two years ago. “We were drawn to the size and layout, and all the light that floods into the upstairs bedrooms,” Sarah recalls. “The kitchen was newly renovated and the perfect open plan for family living.”
The main living area – a lounge leading through to an open-plan kitchen and dining room – is a serene space styled in grey, blush and light timber tones against crisp white walls, with splashes of muted green foliage in pots, baskets and vases. “I’ve just put sheer curtains up and they add so much height to the rooms,” Sarah says. “I choose a lot of blush tones for the practicality in terms of wear and tear. It’s a very calming colour to live in.”
Caspian and Quill are lucky enough to enjoy two playrooms – one downstairs alongside the living zone, and one upstairs with the bedrooms. Practically speaking, this decision means that the children have a dedicated space for play on either level of the home – and Sarah has been strategic about how she’s designed each of them.
The magical upstairs playroom evolves according to Sarah’s styling whims and the boys’ interests and needs. Old-fashioned wooden toys evoke a nostalgia for childhood adventure, while mobiles, hanging canopies and structures to crawl in and out of provide endless opportunities for imaginative play.
“I am forever changing this room!” Sarah says, adding that she loves the natural light that streams into it. “I keep it filled with bigger play equipment like the slide and swing, so it stays tidy and provides different entertainment to the toys downstairs.”
The downstairs playroom, on the other hand, houses things like puzzles, car sets and soft toys. “We have shelves with big tubs hidden in the cupboard in that room but it’s a constant battle to keep it tidy!” Sarah admits. Nevertheless, “it’s great to have a room downstairs to hide all the toys, which saves the lounge getting taken over too much”.
