Chyka Keebaugh’s Melbourne home is a moveable feast, full of entertaining surprises and constant changes.
Chyka Keebaugh’s constantly evolving Melbourne home is a staging ground for the lavish celebrations she is famous for, with a cosy family nest at its heart.
Entertaining comes naturally to Chyka and Bruce Keebaugh. For them, as co-directors of successful catering, events and styling businesses, work is a never-ending whirl of parties. Even when they’re off the clock, this well-connected couple likes nothing better than hosting friends and family at their grand home in Melbourne’s inner south-eastern suburbs.
“We love entertaining and we definitely don’t do it to a formula,” says Chyka, who also starred in three TV series of Foxtel’s The Real Housewives of Melbourne. “Sometimes we have drinks on the driveway and then bring guests down the side of the house to a marquee filled with candles. Other times, we might bring in a food truck and create fun zones in the garden, or have an elegant dinner in the dining room. Guests never know whether they’re going to get a laidback barbecue, an Indian banquet or a Mexican fiesta.”
Their home wasn’t always the entertainer’s dream it is today, however. “We’ve lived here for 17 years and we began working on it practically from the minute we were handed the keys,” says Chyka. “We loved it at first sight but knew it had massive potential, too.” Initially, the English manor-style house was very dark and gloomy, she explains, with dark-stained wood panelling and heavy curtains at all the windows. There were also issues with the layout.
“Our kitchen wasn’t up to scratch, there were poky addons that just had to go, and the back garden was all pool.” The couple filled in the pool, repurposed rooms, opened up and updated the kitchen, replaced flooring and repainted throughout. “We wanted to keep the charm of the house but play up the parts that had been hidden under the weight of the dark furnishings,” says Chyka. “Mostly, we wanted a free-flowing home that would work for our family.”
The interiors, all Chyka’s own handiwork, are constantly evolving. On occasion, her husband and children – Chessie, now 23, and BJ, 21 – have returned from holiday to find whole rooms completely redecorated. “I love reinventing spaces,” she says. “I am obsessed with interiors and this house is a reflection of what I love: colour, textiles, layering and detail. My motto is, ‘More is more is more!’ ” As classic as the decor is, it’s also highly personal, dotted with treasures picked up from a lifetime of adventures. “I have a love affair with India and the Middle East, and have incorporated elements from my travels to these parts. Everywhere you turn, there are little vignettes that tell a story. They make the house feel really happy.”
Having created such beautiful surroundings, it’s not surprising that Chyka feels most comfortable here. “Luxury is being at home, enjoying the company of the people you love most,” she confirms with a smile.
‘Happiness is sitting on the sofa with a stack of interior-design magazines.’ Chyka Keebaugh