Tucked into the leafy folds of Sydney’s Darlington, artist Eliza Gosse and architect Benjamin Jay Shand have carved out a life defined by colour, form and careful composition. Gosse, known for her architectural paintings of post-war and mid-century design, and Shand, who leads Studio Shand with a focus on architecture and object design through considered essential materials and geometries, are partners not just in marriage but in creative life too. Together, they run Buon Gusto Studios — a transformed former pizzeria that now acts as a shared creative space, just a stone’s throw from their home.

“We’ve lived here just over three years,” Gosse says of their brick apartment block, cut into the sandstone at the edge of the city. “It immediately felt like where we wanted to be,” Shand chimes in.

Inside their home, their approach to interiors mirrors their individual disciplines: architectural yet lived-in, artistic but unpretentious. But their studio space leans into its past, celebrating its 1970s bones. “For Buon Gusto – our pizzeria-turned-studio – we leant into the period with mustard yellows and stained timbers,” explains Shand. “Whereas home is a little different. Face brick to the outside, and with rooms that taper and turn allowed us to be broader with our materials, colour and art.”

At home, design decisions are intuitive, layered with personal significance. “Benj designed and installed an acrylic bar for entertaining, and we have works of mine throughout – including a big painting from my alpine series and little portraits I’ve done of Benj,” Gosse says. The space reads like a living archive, filled with pieces made, found, or gifted.

“I love our yellow lounge: an Adrian Pearsall design for Craft Associates. There’s also our fibreglass bed; a very 70s suite of moulded shapes that we restored (that Eliza may tell you is uncomfortable, which is untrue).” 

“It’s a continuous rotation of furniture and art through our home courtesy of Benj and his never-ending marketplace adventure quests,” Gosse says with a smile. “There are so many favourites! One would have to be our bedroom rug – a design by Benj as part of his SUPERGRAPHICS collaboration between Studio Shand and Cadrys.” Shand points to a particular standout: “I love our yellow lounge: an Adrian Pearsall design for Craft Associates. There’s also our fibreglass bed; a very 70s suite of moulded shapes that we restored (that Eliza may tell you is uncomfortable, which is untrue).”

The space isn’t precious — it’s built for living and gathering. “From our wedding afterparty and Christmas lunches with friends, to movie nights with an inflatable screen on the roof – we love to entertain and have had some excellent times here,” Gosse reflects.

Art, of course, also plays a significant role in the fabric of their home. Their collection has grown organically, piece by piece. “We’ve put together our collection from Eliza’s art swaps, studio visits and late-night auctions,” says Shand. “Eliza’s Archibald portraits in the shared stairwell greet you on entry, so generally you have seen my face at least twice before you reach our door.” He gestures to another favourite: “Our Eric Smith work above the lounge – the large canvas with a rich blue background in oil – is an absolute favourite.”

Some pieces travelled longer journeys to end up here. “There’s the Coburn Pinton tapestry that we found at an auction house in New Jersey, bringing it home in our suitcase,” Gosse recalls. Others, like a small but potent memento, have a deeper local resonance. “A slightly quirkier favourite of mine is a framed geometric carpet cutting that Benj pulled from the floor of the iconic Sirius building before it was gutted,” she adds.

Living alongside art — particularly one’s own — offers its own complex experience; over time, they explain, the work can reveal itself in new ways. “I have made art over the years that I see completely differently through fresh eyes and in a new space, it can be a special feeling,” Gosse says. “Mostly I have kept sentimental works, portraits of Benj, places we have travelled to, a little work of our old Darlinghurst apartment and one I gave to him on an early date in exchange for a dumpling dinner I wouldn’t let him get me.”

“Honestly a great trade,” Shand quips.

Gosse is candid about the relationship between an artist and their older work. “All the works of mine in our collection remind me of a special time or place, otherwise, as my practice evolves, I would find it difficult to look at old works continuously without judging them.”

“A Sunday afternoon may be the closest to ritualistic – coffee machine percolating, CDs spinning, Benj tinkering and I’ll be drawing or baking.” 

But it’s not just sentimentality that grounds their space, it can also be found in the little domestic rituals performed each day. “A Sunday afternoon may be the closest to ritualistic – coffee machine percolating, CDs spinning, Benj tinkering and I’ll be drawing or baking,” Gosse muses. Their music taste, fittingly, leans into nostalgia and comfort. “Controversially, we're a little more compact disc than vinyl!” Shand jokes. “I'm still spinning Welcome to the Black Parade whilst Eliza opts for some Norah Jones or Dido. There tends to be some middle ground but it’s a little touch-and-go.”

As an architect, Shand naturally filters his surroundings through an eye for detail. “For me it will always be about points of interest and difference – quirks in detailing, shows of an original architect’s hand,” he says. “At Studio Shand we place a real focus on detailing through making, so these are always things we look for in spaces.”

And when it comes to the elements that elevate a house into a home, both Gosse and Shand agree it comes down to a few key pillars. “Colour, volume and objects with stories,” says Shand. Gosse agrees: “Art, knick-knacks and natural light.”

Their sources of inspiration are expansive and eclectic. “For me, I’ve always been drawn to artists that flatten perspectives and colours – Howard Arkley in Australia, and artists like David Hockney and Alex Katz abroad,” Gosse says. “I’m also drawn to artists like Cressida Campbell and Fairfield Porter who can make you feel warm and sentimental about mundane everyday scenes.”

On the other hand, Shand’s influences echo the unconventional and subversive sentiments present in his practice. “I’ve always liked designs and art that push the norm and play with form,” he says. “My inspirations are broad and include the concrete works by John Lautner, playful timber homes by Andrew Geller, angular cars by Giorgetto Giugiaro, designs of Dieter Rams and constructivist sculptures of Robert Klippel. I could add Japanese robots from the 80s, but we’d run out of time…”.