Opulence, glamour and five dogs: How a Real Housewife restored her home

1 week ago 4

By Jackie Brygel

September 7, 2025 — 5.00pm

At first glance, the 1920s Double Bay home of Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh makes a statement that’s as glamorous as it is grand.

Rising majestically on a 2300-square-metre parcel of land, the impressively appointed house is cradled in a manicured, almost dreamlike garden setting.

Real Housewives of Sydney star and cookbook author Krissy Marsh at home in Double Bay.

Yet, a tour through the home unveils a delightfully different persona to its stately street presence – one that, despite its dimensions, is intimate and homely.

Just as Marsh and her husband John intended, the house is a place to retreat and reconnect, while also offering a convivial welcome to a steady stream of extended family and friends.

The couple bought the property in 2023 and live here with their children Billy, 22, Nicco, 20, and Milana, 18, along with their five dogs.

“I’m a crazy dog lady,” Marsh says.

Marsh has made her home pet friendly and durable, utilising outdoor fabrics throughout the interiors.

Marsh was instantly smitten with the home on her first viewing, despite the property needing some work.

“When we first saw the home, not a lot of work had been done on it for quite some time,” she says.

“But we literally walked in and, after 30 seconds, I said, ‘This is the home!’ It just has a beautiful feel.”

The bathrooms were completely renovated and restored.

While no major structural changes were required, the couple immediately updated the bathrooms.

They also replaced dated green tiles with dramatic nero Marquina and Carrara marble chequerboard flooring at the threshold and in the foyer.

A widely travelled Marsh – who has lived in both Shanghai and Singapore with her architect husband – wasted no time personalising the spaces.

Artful surprises hide around many a corner in the form of eye-catching decorative pieces from near and far.

The black and white tiles are a favourite of Marsh and remind her of the home’s 1920s era.

“I have a beautiful antique chest that I believed was haunted at one stage, but it was just my daughter’s jewellery box going off the whole time,” Marsh laughs.

“It’s of Huangshan Mountain, which is Yellow Mountain. When I sold my business and moved to China, I climbed Yellow Mountain and realised how unfit I actually was!”

Adding to the visual drama are highly collectable works by contemporary artists, including Dina Broadhurst and Dee Smart.

Marsh, host of the Vodka Lectures podcast, describes her interior style as full of a “whole lot of love” that reflects her family’s interests and things they all love.

Marsh has also ensured that the milky-hued soft furnishings layered throughout the home, while enhancing a sense of understated luxury, are durable as well as timeless.

“I love white fabrics, and people ask, ‘How can you have white furniture with five dogs?’ but I say, ‘It’s easy, because I make sure to use outdoor fabrics that can be washed and which wear well.’”

The heart of the home is the kitchen, especially on Tuesday nights when up to 20 friends and family typically pull up a chair at the dinner table.

“We have a big Tuesday night dinner every week, when the house is filled with our kids’ friends; everyone comes,” she says.

Marsh describes the kitchen as the heart of the home.

“I love to cook. I have my own cookbook, The Real Krissy Marsh Cookbook, which I designed with Ronald McDonald House.”

Marsh feels most recharged and connected when she’s in the thick of family life.

“I’m not the sort of person to take myself off to a corner and read a book; I like to be where the action is,” she says.

Marsh is also an avid green thumb for whom the garden is a joyous work in progress.

The home is filled with homewares and furnishing collected over the years and the family’s time living abroad.

“I’m always in the garden – give me a pair of secateurs and I’ll be there all day,” she says.

“It’s almost like a little jungle oasis here, we get native birds, kookaburras and other beautiful wildlife.”

While the family have loved the home as it is for the past couple of years, they have decided to proceed with plans for a dramatic extension spearheaded by William Smart of Smart Design Studio.

“William is so clever, and ultimately I’m happy to be guided by him,” Marsh says.

Bronte and Bondi perched on the family couch.

“He’s designed the new podium to be very modern with clean lines. We’ll be putting in a lift for my parents – for when they come to stay. So, for me, it’s also about functionality. It’s going to be a really exciting project.”

One that will no doubt carry the historic home into a breathtaking new chapter.

This article was originally published by Domain.com.au. Reproduced with permission.