The Home Renovation of No.22 Founder, Alexandra Pappas

ele HOME chats with Alexandra Pappas founder of homewares brand, No.22 and her renovation of her Bondi home.

IMAGES: Jacqui Turk

Tell us about yourself?

Where to start? I’m a Mum to three kids under two, who swapped a construction hat for the chance to run my own homewares business. I’ve been obsessed with anything property and home decor related since I was young, always collecting things during travels to put in my room or in my parents’ house as a child. I always thought I’d be a property developer as I have Bachelor Degrees in Town Planning and Construction Management and a Masters in Property Development, but I took the chance to start my own homewares brand after zigzagging in various fields such as construction, government, technology, venture capital and not-for-profit.

My husband encouraged me to start the business as a hobby as I was always buying new things for our home and my Instagram feed was full of posts of architecture, interiors and decor. The name ‘Number 22’ emerged during brainstorming, resembling a house number and symbolising home. It also turned out to be an auspicious number, aligning perfectly with the brand’s essence.

I launched the brand in 2019 alongside a full-time job where I would store the products in our apartment and pack orders on weekends. The venture gradually grew, prompting me to leave my job and focus entirely on No. 22 Home after two years. At the same time, I fell pregnant with twins, so I found myself working throughout my entire pregnancy and then day after our baby boy and girl were born to keep growing the brand. Within 10 months after the birth of the twins, I found out I was pregnant again, and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Throughout all the chaos I also managed to renovate our home and have continued working and growing this beautiful brand I’m lucky to call mine.

Where did you draw inspiration from for your home reno?

We were inspired by English terrace / townhouses and wanted the kitchen and living areas to reflect that as much as possible, while also using natural stone for our benchtops and furniture selections. We were limited by space, so we worked with a designer to open up the area while also keeping in theme with our original inspiration.

The final designed worked well with different materials and stones, such as marble, travertine, brass etc., and the final product is one of joy and love.

How would you describe your style?

Timeless with modern accents. I try to be versatile in my choices so they won’t date quickly, buying quality and classic pieces, but I will admit there is the odd choice and piece that is on trend that I couldn’t say no to at the time.

How long did your renovation take?

Approximately four months. We moved out of the home during the building phase and made the mistake of moving back during the kitchen installation which took six weeks longer than it was meant to.

Budget breakdown for the home reno? Did you stick to your budget or use contingency?

We went slightly over budget due to a few mistakes made on my end. I didn’t allow for power to our kitchen island, so our electrical budget was blown out due to having to grind into the newly installed flooring to chase electrical cabling. We used up 100% of the budget, plus the contingency, plus a little bit more.

Favourite furniture pieces/ styling?

For furniture, it would be our travertine dining table and chairs from Casa Blanco. For fixtures, definitely our kitchen island. It is designed in an oval shape to match our oval dining table and has the most striking vein of marble through the Monet Calacatta stone.

From your experience, where should you spend the most and where can you save in a home reno?

Invest in quality fixtures and finishes, they really enhance the space and will not age / not require replacement for a long time. We used real timber floors, poly joinery, brass handles and real stone to maximise the effect and character of our home. You can save by trying to sell as many things from your original home as you can. We were able to sell our previous kitchen, fixtures and finishes which allowed us to subsidise part of the costs of our renovation.

What is your favourite room from the reno project?

By far my favourite part of the renovation was the kitchen – I am obsessed. We designed it around the island bench which was curated in an oval shape to match our oval travertine dining table. It is complete with shaker panels on the sides in a unique curved design, striking whichever angle you are looking at it. The island also features a 40mm thick oval marble slab benchtop with the most incredible veins through it. Everyone that comes through the door stops and looks at it.

Any advice for first time renovators about to jump into their first project?

Seek out as much advice from professionals / friends / family / colleagues as you can. You may think you have worked it out but there are always ways to learn or improve your practices and plans. Even after working in the construction and property industry, I learnt so much during this renovation and already have many tips and tricks I’ll use for our next project.

What will you miss most about your North Bondi home once you sell?

I’ll miss the home we have created and all the memories we have made here. We brought all three of our children home from the hospital to this house and our family time has been made even more special in this beautiful house. I’ll also miss the sense of calm and peace I feel here. Even though the home is located in the middle of busy North Bondi, you don’t feel the chaos or hear the noise, instead enjoying the sound of birds and seeing all the greenery from the surrounding trees.

What’s next? Another reno or some downtime?

We have purchased another home that we are planning to renovate. I’d love to say we will have some downtime, but I’m already excited to get into another project. The plan is to spend the rest of the year designing the renovation and start works early next year.