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Chloe Brookman’s home is playful and whimsical, just like a doll’s house

Designed with the doll’s houses of yesteryear in mind, this pretty home is some kind of wonderful
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“We found an awesome art deco fireplace, roadside, which we later restored and put in,” says Chloe. “That set the tone for the rest of the house.”
Photography: Alana Landsberry Styling: Lucy Gough

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Meet & greet: Chloe Brookman (toy and homewares company co-founder and director), her husband Charlie Wheeler, their children Tennyson, 15, Arlo, 12, Nell, eight, August, five, and Quentin, three, Chihuahua mix Toto, poodle mix Digby, and Devon Rex Humbert von Twinkle.

The property: Renovated early 1900s five-bedroom former duplex.

Home owners standing in their green and white kitchen
“We designed this room to feel quite European. Everything’s centred around the Falcon oven,” says Chloe. She kept the rest of the space quite simple, from the marble benchtop to the brass knobs and handles. Instead of a splashback, the custom green shade sprawls across the walls and rangehood. “It’s [Dulux] Wash&Wear paint, so it’s very easy to wipe off.”

Olli Ella co-founder and director Chloe Brookman is having a busy morning. “I’m laying tiles,” she says. “There’s a side of the house with original concrete slabs that we were going to leave. Then we were like, ‘You know what, let’s try our hand at crazy paving.’ So my husband and I are doing it right now.”

The mum of five has a track record of throwing herself into projects others see as challenging. Buying and renovating this home was top of the list. “Truthfully, no one found interest in this house,” says Chloe.

“It was a tricky property. The landscaping was tiered and the house was configured as a duplex with two separate homes, one on top of the other. Previous owners had also painted it this bright teal colour, which didn’t appeal to many people.”

A rumpus room wirh dusty green walls and storage units, and pastel pink and white chequered tiles
In the kids’ play space, a painted ’80s oak cabinet runs along the wall, with eye-catching vintage lights on the far wall. Bonnie and Neil bolsters sit on the secondhand sofa, which they reupholstered in sheepskin. Someone made the vintage coffee table from a single hardwood tree trunk.

But the location, just a short walk to the beach, and the integrity of the early-1900s building won them over.

“You could see that it had undergone a few renovations but some of the original details were preserved,” says Chloe. Ornate ceilings and bewitching art deco details shone through, which they embraced when converting it into their family home.

Over a speedy four months in 2023, the front door was moved, a new internal staircase was created, six bedrooms became five, plus a playroom, and the floor plan also got a shake-up.

A dusty green staircase
A beautiful new set of stairs creates a grand entrance foyer. “The challenge was making the staircase work in the space. We had only 1.8 metres side-to-side,” says homeowner Chloe Brookman. “Luckily, it looks incredible. It’s one of my favourite parts of the house.” They used the custom green shade by Dulux liberally throughout their home. A sisal stair runner also adds a natural element.

The couple had already sold their previous place in the same suburb. So, the family of seven went travelling during the demolition and structural phase. They spent the rest of the time in an Airbnb.

Having grown her toy and homewares business into a global brand with offices in Australia, London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles since she began it with her sister Olivia in 2010, Chloe is adept at managing things from any locale.

The savvy entrepreneur and her husband, Charlie, enlisted the help of a local design company for the architectural plans, as well as a builder who specialises in high-end residential constructions.

A shelving unit before the door to the downstairs bathroom
“Most people use this one during the day,” says Chloe of the ground-floor bathroom. The custom Rosso Verona tiles join the red scalloped Ottoline wallpaper on the door frame. They also repurposed the vintage cupboards as a linen press and the European bobbin stool has been in the family for many years.

Then, Chloe took the reins with the cosmetic elements. “I really wanted it to feel like a grown-up doll’s house,” she shares.

With the dusty pink and pale green combo, mixed with whimsical wallpapers, leadlight windows and daintily placed furniture, she has achieved exactly that. “What I love about it is that it feels like it’s always been this way. It doesn’t feel like someone has come and renovated it. It feels like a house you discovered that is 200 years old.”

Text: Rebecca Hooton

Photography: Alana Landsberry

Styling: Lucy Gough

Shop Chloe Brookman’s home style

A collage of shopping products that are inspired by retro doll's houses
Clockwise from top left: Flat Sheet in Lilac, $215, at Shop Your Home and Garden; Nora Multi Function Storage Unit, $2,298, at Freedom; York Scatter Cushion in Wood Rose, $69.95, at Freedom; Mount Maunganui Alternative Colour 2024 Art Print, $49, at Shop Your Home and Garden.

See more photos of Chloe Brookman’s home

The exterior features Dulux Piglet around the windows and the bright teal paint is now white.

The homeowner with her dogs sitting at her dining room table

The table, designed by Chloe, is paired with vintage Henning Kjaernulf chairs. The vintage wall lights are from Europe and a secondhand window frame adds a little old-world charm.

A pink and white tiled bathroom inspired by those in retro doll's houses

Pink and white tiles were laid to form candy stripes in the upstairs bathroom, the go-to space when the kids are getting ready for bed. A local curtain maker crafted the sink skirt using dead stock to dress up the art deco basin. The shower hardware ties in with the existing pendant and vintage sconces.

A pink curtain hangin gin the doorway to a bedroom like those in retro doll's houses

A curtain in pale pink velvet drapes across the main bedroom, serving as a soft and romantic alternative to a door. The walls are painted in Dulux Beige Royal.

A pastel pink bathroom inspired by those in retro doll's houses

This room features floor mosaics with tiles around the base of the wall. The wall was cut to fit the window from Egypt, which almost gives the effect of being in a ship looking out to sea.

The only girl in the family, Nell’s room is a true delight. The wainscoting is a wonderful detail put in during the renovation, with a floral wallpaper from Milton & King. Nell’s “mix of potions” is mounted on the wall next to a vintage cane desk and boudoir chair.

A pink shelving unit against a dusty green wall

Shelves painted in Dulux Piglet hold some treasured pieces.

Tennyson’s bedroom is painted a custom blue with a scalloped Ottoline wallpaper border and vintage artwork.

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