Totem Road brand and marketing consultant Kelly Müller, recently moved into her new home in Lennox Head, Northern NSW. We spoke to Kelly about the process, the vision and the memories she hopes to make in her home.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
My name’s Kelly Müller, I am a mother to two girls, Sunny and Ari, and together with my husband Josh run a marketing consultancy where we work across fashion and lifestyle brands. Originally from New Zealand, we now live on Bundjalung Land in Lennox Head, NSW.
After living in Sydney for several years, you made the move to Lennox Head and have just finished your first home build. Can you talk us through that experience?
Josh and I lived in Sydney for six years before we started craving more of the childhood we both had growing up in New Zealand. Sunny was almost two and we wanted less of the city life, less traffic and chaos, and more space. We didn’t want to move back to New Zealand so we started looking outside of Sydney, first the South Coast and then in the opposite direction, north to the Northern Rivers. We had friends who’d moved up to Byron and we’d visited a fair few times. It had a relaxed, family feel to it but still had an energy that excited us professionally. We ended up renting in Lennox and it fast became the perfect place to call home.
We were in the right place at the right time, coupled with some great advice, and bought land in a new development in February 2020. We ‘finished’ the build in June of 2022. I say finished because anyone who has built a house will know that it’s never quite done - throw in a pandemic and devastating floods and it’s been quite the ride. We're so happy to finally be in and to have such a beautiful and welcoming space to call home.
What were some of the biggest considerations for the design of your home?
We were working to a pretty tight budget so we went with a project builder, which meant we were going with a floorplan and design that already existed. We chose a company that allowed us to customise quite a bit of it however, and we were able to change up the façade and the finishes quite significantly and flip the floor plan around.
Our biggest considerations were that it needed to be functional and fuss-free. We have young kids and Josh and I were aligned with the same vision – a simple, single storey rectangle that would invite connection with one another.
We also wanted to maximise our northern aspect so all of our living and dining areas, which are central to the house, open out to the north. It's an area we naturally gather and spend most of our time. Where we could, we tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible - we used a lot of concrete throughout the house and for the landscaping; we used Trex Decking around our pool which are composite decking boards made from a blend of 95% reclaimed timber and recycled plastic; and we were considered with our furniture purchases, including our Luxa Dining Table and the Totem Road Organic Latex Mattresses!
When adding furniture to the home, what role does the impact on the environment play for you?
Over the years, Josh and I had started to collect pieces that we knew would eventually end up in our own home and because of this, we designed the space around pieces we already had, loved and intended to keep. With things we needed to replace or spaces we needed to fill, we really took our time and ensured we were investing in things that we’d have for a long time and that were mindfully made.
We try to be as conscious as we can with our purchases as we’re aware that the earth’s resources are finite. We try to support brands that consider both the planet and its people, something that’s become more important to us as we’ve gotten older and since becoming parents.
We recently updated our dining table, opting for the Totem Road Luxaand sold our old one. We had a similar design prior but when we started looking to invest in a bigger option that would suit our space better, we considered the impact its production had on the environment as well as how it was made and how long it would last. Investing in sustainable brands can certainly be a more expensive option, but we view it as playing our part in ensuring a better future for our children. We want them to live long, happy, healthy lives and if that means choosing products from brands who consider the impact they have on this world, then that’s an investment we’re willing to make.
What kind of memories do you hope will be made around your Luxa Dining Table?
We eat together around our dining table every evening and while there are many arguments about what’s served and how much has to be eaten, it really is such a treasured time for me. Ari will often sing a new song she’s learned at preschool and Sunny will fill us in on what’s happened at lunchtime or what’s going on in her new favourite book. We always share our favourite part of the day and I hope the kids look back on dinner time and remember it as a time for family.
I love nothing more than sharing a meal with the people I love (preferably cooked by my clever husband) so over the years, I hope the company at the table grows, with friends and loved ones, and that anyone who sits at our table knows that it’s a welcoming place of connection and of love.
Images by Nat McComas.
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