So you know that phenomenon of dogs and owners looking alike — well, it happens in homes, too. The personality we bring into a home intersects with the building and location’s characters. After a while, we tend to shift into the comfort zone of the overlap.
Sometimes, when it comes to finding your interior style, there is a dominant aesthetic force. Take stylist Lynda Gardener (featured in marie claire Lifestyle #4), who found her Fitzroy, Melbourne, warehouse 20 years ago and used it as a canvas for her delicate style. Inside, she has created a perfect microcosm of prettiness and patina – the world according to a vintage queen. Gardener lives alone, and her creative voice is unwavering.
Other times, concessions need to be made; when you’re Spanish Colonial but your home is Edwardian, or when you’re a minimalist and your kids love stuff. There are times when a partner’s mementoes fight against your vibe and instances when functionality throws off balance.
While preparing this issue, my little family swapped an art deco apartment by the beach for a mid-century house in the bush. Halfway through the move, we were headed for that happy place where a house and its inhabitants are a perfect fit. Then the boxes kept coming.
Through it all, I’ve swooned at model Georgia Fowler’s distilled Los Angeles pied-à-terre, with its uncompromised mix of cool and calm (as per the new issue). But Fowler’s home is headed for change when she returns to LA with her partner and new baby. It will be an adjustment – or a style evolution – and there is beauty in that.
Talking to fashion designer Deborah Sams at her marie claire Lifestyle photo shoot, she mentioned feeling slightly out of place in her grown-up hacienda-style home. Over time, she has introduced elements more aligned with her family. And I know I’ll settle into our place soon, too.
In the crux of moving, I spent the day with Vida Glow founder (and cover star) Anna Lahey at her family compound. Her one trick to stylishly inhabiting her space is storage. Sure, my flat-packed shelves might not be as polished as her bespoke joinery, but the tip is universal.
Thanks to our sponsors Bosch, my renovation ponderings now turn to kitchens. Subtle or dramatic? Let’s see how it plays out.
Because it turns out, mine is not the only personality urging to be represented under our roof. Interiors titan Athena Calderone calls it a “voltage” when opposite forces are juxtaposed. If you can harness that energy, that’s how you find a home’s signature style.
Deborah Sams of Bassike
Prue Ruscoe
Vida Glow’s Anna Lahey
Alicia Taylor
Athena Calderone, Eyeswoon
Matthew Williams /Future Publishing Ltd
The new issue of marie claire Lifestyle is on stands now.
So you know that phenomenon of dogs and owners looking alike — well, it happens in homes, too. The personality we bring into a home intersects with the building and location’s characters. After a while, we tend to shift into the comfort zone of the overlap.
So you know that phenomenon of dogs and owners looking alike — well, it happens in homes, too. The personality we bring into a home intersects with the building and location’s characters. After a while, we tend to shift into the comfort zone of the overlap.
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