Down to the Detail

AWARD-WINNING designer Pam Ellis has studied and refined her original flare for home design around the world, working on the hit TV show The Block, and studying at the California Interior Designers Institute.

Her most recent accomplishment has been in developing two, one-off luxury houses in Belgian Gardens as part of her designer collection.

The newest project is currently in the process of being developed, and is still up for grabs — with it on track to be ready for move-in by Christmas.

Her newly completed home, dubbed the Nora Jones house after its previous late property owner, was snapped up before it even finished coming out of the ground.

It is now home to the Lenahan family who officially moved in at the beginning of this month, after losing everything in the recent floods.

“For about three years we had been looking to buy in Belgian Gardens, but we couldn’t find anything that was the right fit for our family,” Ms Lenahan said.

“When we came in to have a look at this place, we walked through it, half completed — and it was just perfect.”

Ms Ellis said she felt the Townsville property market was missing something, and was inspired by her experiences abroad.

“I wanted to create something different to what’s generally offered in Townsville,” Ms Ellis said.

“I’ve studied and done developments in places like California, Georgia, and Italy, and I had so much inspiration and had seen so many ideas that just weren’t being brought to the Townsville market.”

Ms Ellis added that her approach to the custom project was different to the usual method of building for an existing client.

“Usually when I do a design job, I start with a client in mind, and with this one I just came up the client in my head — I knew it would be a family, with young children who needed two separate living spaces.

“That’s where I came up with the idea of doing a kids’ wing, and then I added designer features like vertical slats, textures on the wall, high ceilings, a pendant light, and just doing different things so the finish would be really special.”

The Hamptons-style design won over the family with its unique features, and Ms Ellis’s personal touches made the house feel like home.

“We loved the high ceilings, and now that it’s complete the kitchen is just perfect — the marble splashback is incredible,” Ms Lenahan said.

“Our daughters are six, four and one in age, and after Pam met them, she put little teddy bears on the draw handles in their bathroom.” (Pictured above).

“I wish I’d known about Ellis Developments two years ago because we probably would have designed a home with Pam back then.”