For many designers, the most difficult project to work on is their own family home.

Just ask Graceful Space interior designer Natasha Prolisko, who recently took on the immense challenge of transforming a house that once belonged to her grandparents.

Not only because of all the ‘complicated emotions’ that come with updating such a sentimental and legacy family home, but also because it marked her first official project following her career change — having left her work as an insurance broker to launch her own design studio.

‘My brief was to not muck it up,’ Natasha says of the renovation.

The existing house was a 1920s Californian bungalow that her grandparents (along with her great-grandparents) purchased after migrating from Europe in 1952.

It’s also where her dad was born and raised. So, when her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moved into an aged care facility, Natasha purchased the home in 2017 to keep it in the family.

‘It was previously renovated in 1962 to create space and separate domestic zones to keep the peace between my Polish grandmother and her Russian mother-in-law. Since then, it saw many iterations driven by my grandmother’s quest for a beautiful home,’ Natasha adds.

‘A lot of the original features were still present, and the front rooms and the back were a preserved piece of ’60s architecture.

‘My grandparents were house-proud and very handy, so it was like peeling an onion to find layers of past cosmetic changes; some of those remnants included green bathrooms, pink kitchens and bright red wallpaper.’

These quirky details, combined with her own childhood memories of visiting the house, laid the foundation for Natasha’s daring redesign. Working within the existing roofline, the segregated floor plan was reconfigured into a more modern, singular layout, complete with an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area. Meanwhile, the original ‘sunroom’ was converted into newfound decking, connecting seamlessly to the gardens that wrap around the home.

The kitchen is like a breath of fresh air. Creamy tones and brass accents meet a curved island bench featuring pink marble from CDK Stone, alongside custom wall lights by Joanne Oshido — local designer who uses eggshells to create her organic and textured pieces.

Taking cues from her grandmother’s original green bathroom, the new bathroom embraces a luxurious green quartzite, green floor tiles, and burgundy accents.

‘It’s not often you get the user experience of spaces you design, so it’s such a novelty to spend time in the bathroom,’ Natasha notes. ‘You close the door and feel like you are in a hotel somewhere in Europe.’

Ornate gold frames, vintage finds, and artworks across the interiors also pay homage to her heritage, as a pine unit originally built by Natasha’s grandpa now serves as banquette seating in the dining area.

‘Nothing was easy on this project: I ran over budget, my timeframe blew out. In my head, the construction was going to be 16 weeks; it ultimately took two years,’ she notes.

‘A lot of the interior detail was updated along the way; I was my own worst client and kept changing my mind.’

In Natasha’s own words, it was like ‘pulling apart babushkas and then making them fit back together again’. But the resulting home — affectionately nicknamed The Russian Doll — is certainly a place her whole family can be proud of.

It’s functional yet playful, while still being filled with memories, and the space will see them through many more milestones in the years to come.