Entertaining

Global flavours to match her globe-trotting nature were the order of the day as the interiors guru threw a relaxed garden lunch to celebrate her latest book,

Interiors guru Sibella Court takes the party home.

DINING AT THE salubrious Sydney residence of Sibella Court – the welltravelled interiors maven and eagle-eyed retailer behind The Society inc. – is akin to dashing around the world in 80 minutes. At a recent soirée to celebrate her latest design-themed book,

Imaginarium, Court blended a heady swirl of nomadic, romantic and aromatic notes. “I’ve always been fascinated by the transporting nature of food, by exotic spices and unusual fragrances,” says Court, whose lunch menu zipped from Morocco to Southeast Asia, India to France – no passport required.

Court is as exacting about entertaining as she is design. Her pastel-hued Art Deco abode in Bellevue Hill is an astute medley of vintage, handmade and organic elements. “I approach food in a similar way; it’s a pastiche of found and new things,” she says. Ably assisted by her husband, Ben Harper (“He rides to the market on his motorbike and mixes up drinks”), and her four-year-old daughter, Silver (“She can crack eggs and pick coriander leaves”), Court hosts get-togethers on a weekly basis. Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines provide her base spices.

Court’s expansive terrace has been embellished with leafy plants and equipped with an outdoor kitchen. It’s the perfect escapist setting for her credo of global maximalism.