Jack and Claire of Muse Built take us inside their luxury new home
If you’ve been following Jack and Claire, the couple behind local luxury home builder, Muse Built, on the socials, it won’t come as any surprise that their latest and most personal project is one of pared-back luxury and style.
It was inevitable that Jack, one of six siblings and the son of a builder, who grew up on building sites around the Hunter Valley, would one day step out on his own and channel his talents into his own business. Add to the mix, Jack’s wife, Claire, who is no stranger to building sites herself, and in 2019 their lovechild, Muse Built was born.
Jack and Claire Burke - owners of Muse Built
Fast forward a short six years and with many client projects under their belt they are now standing proudly in what was only a couple of years ago, the ugliest little duckling on the street.
“We bought this little, yellow, two-bedroom New Lambton cottage in 2021 and it was the ugliest house on the street. Houses rarely come on the market on this street so we saw it as an opportunity to do something really special.”
“It was all out of level, it was really really bad. It had no insulation in it and the veranda was all closed in so we opened all of that up,” Jack said.
It’s difficult to imagine what once was, when standing in this light-filled, spacious interior with soaring ceilings up to 5m high, an abundance of glass, and natural finishes like travertine, marble and limestone throughout. These two go where others fear to tread.
For example, the use of a combination of sublime marble and limestone bathroom tiles that needed to be soaked individually in sealant prior to application, and will require re-sealing once a year may seem like an obstacle to some. But the end result leaves you in no doubt that it is a very small price to pay for what is a breathtakingly beautiful room.
While many shy away from grout lines on a kitchen splashback, Jack and Claire have embraced them, using grout as an opportunity to add a subtle pop of colour to the white tiles, connecting the palette with the joinery and flooring.
Whilst the floor plan in the original part of the home has been altered, many of the characteristics have been retained, such as the original wall linings in the front two bedrooms, high skirting boards, and traditional ceiling cornices. What used to be the dining room is now a luxurious walk-in robe and ensuite.
The old seamlessly blends with the new addition at the rear of the house, where the skirting boards and cornices are replaced with square set finishes and the timber floor transitions to travertine. I asked the couple what their inspiration was for the renovation.
“We briefed our architect, Kirby from Brik Design, on a design that was really bright. We wanted to incorporate as much glass as we could and we also really wanted a detached granny flat which we could use as our office. We have a big family and entertain regularly. A regular family dinner is 12 people together so we really wanted a space that flowed effortlessly to the rear entertaining area.”
“There were a few things we had to upgrade to achieve that, like the doors. We had to go with commercial 3m high doors because I wanted the indoor/outdoor space as one big continuation with no visual separation,” Claire said.
Jack would recommend to anyone undergoing a major home renovation and planning on also including a granny flat, to build the granny flat first, so that it can be your accommodation whilst the major work on the house is underway.
With a coveted north facing backyard, the couple have cleverly used louvre windows along the east facing walls to capture the sea breezes.
The log burning fireplace is finished with a travertine hearth and a coating of Venetian Plaster above. Where possible Jack will always choose natural surfaces and finishes, right down to incorporating a fireplace that burns wood, as opposed to gas or electric.
“I’m a bit of a traditionalist and love a log fire. Chopping wood used to be my job as a kid. I can access a lot of hard wood from jobs I’m working on and I still love to build a log fire during winter” Jack said.
The self-described “foodies” incorporated a butler’s kitchen into their kitchen design which adds an abundance of storage for their regular entertaining and family life. Open shelving allows easy access for their food and appliances and a fully integrated French Door fridge blends into the wall of joinery which is dressed with glamorous brass handles and knobs.
Claire and Jack like to work with ABI Interiors, which is where they sourced their tapwear, kitchen splash back tiles and laundry tiles, as Claire explains,
“We like to try a lot of products and design ideas out in our home because we bring our clients through when they’re going through the process of planning and making selections. We weed out the nitty gritty and make it easier for them. We tried these Clipsal Brass PowerPoints on the splash back and really love them.”
“We trialled a Plungie pool in the backyard which we’re really happy with. The exterior of the garage and granny flat was clad with a new product from James Hardie called Oblique which comes in a couple of different widths and has a slanted groove which plays with the light at different times of the day. It worked really well,” Claire said
Spending almost every evening and weekend on site, Jack and Claire were able to pivot with design choices along the way. Claire tells me,
“I convinced Jack to add a curved wall at the end of the hallway, which was a last-minute decision but we’re both really happy with it. I also had the idea to incorporate arched recesses into the hallway and master bedroom walls with downlight as additional features. When the joinery was installed, I came up with the idea of adding additional cabinetry for a home bar which is perfect for our lifestyle,” Claire said.
The team at Muse Built adopt the same approach when working with their clients and will share their thoughts and ideas as each project progresses.
In the backyard, they have installed a selection of plants and succulents chosen by Jack and Claire, including a statement Dragon Palm that takes centre stage.
“I spend a lot of time on Pinterest and Instagram. We also go to Bali and Queensland quite a bit and scope out the houses there. We love Bali builds. Jack has a friend over there who builds villas. I also love looking at realestate.com just to look at people’s houses and get ideas. Also, working with our suppliers, we get a lot of recommendations from them. If we plan on recommending something to a client, I want to use it here first and see if we love it,” Claire said.
With clients’ projects taking priority, this project took over the couple’s weekends and evenings and they became adept at small space living whilst the majority of the house was a building zone. Any spare time left over was spent visiting suppliers like Newcastle Tile Co, Saddingtons, and Beacon Lighting or searching online suppliers including Lo&Co and TradCo for handles and ABI Interiors to make their seemingly never-ending selections.
For their furnishings, they’ve sourced pieces from retailers including Nick Scali, Lounge Lovers and Dharma Door.
In true fairytale fashion, this little ugly duckling has become the swan of Errington Street.
Photography credit - Teresa from Muse Photography