My Space: Inside Oli Clothing’s Phoebie and Oliver McDonald’s versatile and minimalist bushland retreat

Oliver and Phoebie McDonald have found having architects in the family incredibly useful.

The owners of Oli Clothing were able to build their first family home in Parkerville, meet their budget, and move into the home in less than a year.

“Oliver’s parents are architects (Matthews McDonald Architects) and they designed our first Oli Clothing store, and then the second store, and now they’ve designed our first home. We have been really lucky,” Phoebie says.

The smart design and use of structural insulated panel systems allow the couple, who have a four-year-old son, Percy, and four-month-old twin girls Harriet and Mabel, to add additional rooms to the floor plan if needed.

“The play area upstairs could be transformed into two additional rooms if we decided over time that we wanted to change the space,” Oliver says. “We love the texture and warmth that the SIPS walls add to the house.

“I originally wanted to paint them white, but now I love them,” Phoebie says.

Choosing readily available items, such as standard-sized windows and SIPS panels, meant the build was quick.

“We decided to keep the walls exposed in the interior spaces because we loved the warm, cosy nature of them,” Oliver says.

After living in Highgate, near their Northbridge Oli Clothing store, the couple were ready to get away from the hustle of work.

“We love it out here. I grew up in Boya and Phoebie grew up in Geraldton, so we love open spaces and we wanted to have space for the kids to grow up in,” says Oliver. “The house is a retreat for us.”

They embraced a minimalist decor, with colour, artwork, greenery, and furniture the priority.

“We really like a clean-living space so minimising the number of surfaces and areas that can collect clutter was important to us,” says Phoebie. “Whilst we like minimalism, we want the house to feel lived in.”

Large artworks by Oliver are hung throughout, and Percy also has a wall dedicated to his art. In the main living and dining area is a vibrant Jardan lounge that adds warmth to the home.

“When you walk through the front door or anywhere in the house, you’re looking at the couch. Often lounges look great from the front and a bit bland from the back, but we really liked that this couch looked good from all angles. We wanted a lounge that you could sit on at the back of it, so it doubles as extra seats when the house is packed while entertaining,” Oliver says.

All the main living areas open out on to the large native garden, pool, and alfresco area that’s perfect for entertaining.

“We love that the living areas open on to the garden. Last year we had Christmas here and we had about 60 people. We just opened the doors, and everyone was able to sit and relax and enjoy the spaces,” says Phoebie.