If walls could talk, Melissa Leong’s 1915 Edwardian terrace would tell the esteemed writer, food critic and television host: you’ve earned this.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t sit in my house and tell myself, ‘You did this – you made it for yourself,’” says Leong, who invited marie claire Lifestyle into her eclectic sanctuary in Melbourne’s inner city for an exclusive cover shoot. “I never dreamt that I could create a situation where this is my reality.”
With an impressive roster of freelance gigs under her belt (including an in-conversation with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver at the Sydney Opera House late last year, hosting UFC Fight Week in January, and a starring role in SBS documentary The Hospital: In the Deep End in June), as well as the hotly-anticipated return of her hit show MasterChef: Dessert Masters later this year, Leong deserves to have her cake and eat it too.
So, on a sleepy corner in Melbourne’s leafy Carlton North, she carved out her own indulgent slice.
The brief was simple: “It needed to be my Barbie dream starter home,” explains Leong.
“I purchased the house in mid-2021. It was a very strange period of time. We were all seeking that little bubble of protection. I was going through a divorce [from former chef Joe Jones] and so I really wanted to find a place that felt like a protective cocoon. I wanted it to be private, quiet and a beautiful place that could be just mine and that I would feel safe in.”
In our brand new issue of marie claire Lifestyle, the talented multi-hyphenate shares why she didn’t want her home to be an entertainer’s house, as well as her insiders guide to Melbourne’s food and fashion scene.
Pick up a copy of marie claire Lifestyle in stores on online now
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