Made for Life — Mate for Life with the Dal Sasso Family

We caught up with our friends, the Dal Sasso family in their Kew home in Melbourne. We chatted with them about the Yarra trails, cycling, their llamas and turtles and their favourite Jardan pieces.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves and what you do for a living?

I have been in the Travel Industry for 35 years specialising in Luxury and Adventure Leisure Travel. Due to the downtime in the industry over the past two years, I have enjoyed spending my time styling our new home in Kew as well as doing an online course in Interior Design. Nicholas is the CEO of Environment at ACOEM. The company manufactures equipment which monitors air and water pollution. I do a lot of volunteer work for each of the schools that our kids go to. We have two teenage children, Lachlan and Liliana. As a family, we love to travel and we are always up for an adventure. We have a small farm in the Macedon Ranges where we spend as much time as possible. We have beef cattle and four adorable Alpacas called Gandolf, Gary, Geronimo & Guido. Nicholas and I both love to ride road and gravel bikes, we quite often go for long rides as well as hiking adventures with friends.

Do you share your home with any pets? 

Yes, we have two German Shorthaired Pointers - Harry & Roxy. They keep us all very active. Living near the Yarra trails is fabulous as they can explore and run around but the farm is heaven for them. Their hobbies are eating, sleeping and doing as much exercise as possible. Oh, and did I say sleeping? Man, these dogs can snooze. We also have an Eastern Long Neck Turtle called Timmy who has quite a personality.

How do you like to spend your weekends? 

BUSY! Kids Sport, going to the farm, dining out, cycling.

“We love the big open space that our house offers. The outlook is really beautiful, with an abundance of trees and birdlife, as well as the nightly fly over of the fruit bats on their way to the Botanical Gardens.”

What do you love most about your house and surrounding area? 

We love the big open space that our house offers. The outlook is really beautiful, with an abundance of trees and birdlife, as well as the nightly fly over of the fruit bats on their way to the Botanical Gardens. We are very close to the Yarra Trails which is awesome for our lifestyle and The Boulevard is on our doorstep so it's never far to go for a quick cycle.

Can you tell us the back story of your house, how you ended up there and how you turned it into a home? 

We spent 15 years living in our home in Clifton Hill before making the move to Kew just over two years ago. We had renovated our home in Clifton Hill so we were looking for a home that did not require too much work. We purchased our home from an architect who had decided to sell the property once the project was complete. As soon as I saw the house, I knew I wanted to fill it with beautiful furniture. Jardan was the first showroom I went into, I already loved the brand. I met Tyson and he along with his colleague Samantha came to our home and helped choose some key pieces. The continued service we received from Tyson, as well as the gorgeous pieces of quality furniture is really what brings us back each time. The homewares and artwork are also always so interesting and we love supporting local. We have also recently landscaped our backyard. The house has been built to bring the outdoors inside so it is very easy to make the most of the outdoor area and our dogs love an afternoon swim in the pool! 

“The main living room is a space where we can hang out and chat with each other, it’s a space where we can come together as a family or invite our mates over.”

What are some of your favourite pieces in the house? 

Our Jardan Archie armchair is probably everyone's favourite. This was our first piece of Jardan furniture which we bought probably 10 years ago and it's still a crowd favourite. We move it around from room to room depending on who gets to it first! We of course absolutely love our Vista sofas and Dari rug, which are well used by everyone including Nicholas's Saturday afternoon naps with the dogs.

Who uses which area of the home the most? 

We live in every area of our home. The main living room is a space where we can hang out and chat with each other, it’s a space where we can come together as a family or invite our mates over. We all love our Togo sofa, Jardan Archie armchair and Clementine sideboard in the TV room. The kids love to hang out in this room, it’s cosy and that is when we can get our teenagers out of their bedrooms!

“Our Jardan Archie chair is probably everyone’s favourite. This was our first piece of Jardan furniture which we bought probably 10 years ago and it’s still a crowd favourite.”

If each of you were a piece of Jardan piece, what would you be? 

I would be the Joy Swivel Armchair because I don't stay still! Maybe that should be our next purchase from Jardan! Nicholas would be the Boyd Lamp as he is long and lean but lights up the room when he walks in. Lachlan would be the Archie Chair as he keeps stealing it for his bedroom. Lil would be the Vista lounge as that's where she would spend all day if she could!