CITY

Circle Living in a residentialcum-retail hub is the perfect spot for interior designer Chelsea Hing to combine work and pleasure.

WIn a ‘boom’-style terrace in Melbourne’s Bayside. It’s a quiet cul-de-sac that feels really removed but is just 10 minutes from the city. The pace is slower, it’s a short walk to the beach and the local strip has everything: wine bars, bookstores, cafes. I don’t really need to go elsewhere, it’s so convenient. There’s a village vibe with lots of crossings and everyone gives right of way to pedestrians. If someone barrels past you, we know that they don’t live here! Before moving here my life was planned around the car. Now, I just amble up the street. IS YOUR HOME YOUR SANCTUARY OR DOES IT DOUBLE AS A WORKSPACE? Both. Sharing home and work makes my life easier. I’m less stressed about trying to fit things in after hours and can rearrange my day if necessary. Sometimes I’ll take my laptop and have breakfast at a local cafe at 9am but then work through lunch. Clients have to walk through the house to get to the upstairs office but my home is a reflection of my work and life so it’s the best way to show them my aesthetic. It’s taken 12 months to pull everything together and I love it. To be a sanctuary it has to have a sense of joy. WHAT INITIALLY APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT THE SPACE? DID IT REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT ALTERATION? It has a beautiful facade and is in a residential street but just at the end of a commercial precinct so it functions well as a business and house. It’s rare to find a terrace with a full width studio space large enough for working and storage. I’m drawn to buildings with big, old classic bones and this has beautiful, high decorative ceilings but was also a blank canvas. No carpet, joinery or wallpaper and plain walls meant I could make it my own. With its large scale and proportions this house needed strong gestures so I could be brave with colour and compositions. I put in new lighting, rugs and decorated with layers of art. I am an avid user of Artbank so I can lease works and change them after a while. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE PIECES AND WHY? My Cassina table in the kitchen – it’s a timeless classic.