Material Whirl The city residence of interiors maven Barb Brownlow beautifully reflects her signature style.
In the Melbourne home of interior designer Barb Brownlow, a fabulous mix of fabrics delivers personality in high style.
Having spent the past 30 years bestowing her impeccable style on other people’s interiors, Barb Brownlow has turned her undeniable talent to her own home. Her delightful pied-a-terre in leafy inner-city Melbourne may be modest in size, but the artfully layered selection of fabrics, artworks and antiques packs a powerful punch and speaks volumes about the woman who lives here.
“My home has a distinctly English style,” she says. “I have been an avid collector of antiques and art for most of my life, so decorating around these cherished things felt natural.”
Barb’s love of colour and textiles stems from her early years studying fashion design at the Emily McPherson College (now RMIT). Upon graduating, she launched a successful fashion label, Barbara Lane, designing tailored ladies shirts, which were sold at the iconic Georges department store in Collins Street. Barb and her grazier husband David then moved to East Gippsland to raise their two children. In 1990, she established her own interiors business, Barb Brownlow Interior Design.
Over the years, Barb’s flair for design flourished and her reputation grew. In 2005, her daughter Alexandra joined the business, now rebranded Brownlow Interior Design. And the likeminded duo is busier than ever.
This home serves as Barb’s city base, where she stays during the week to meet with clients and suppliers at her Toorak showroom and studio, before heading home to the country on weekends. “It was previously owned by some friends who knew we were looking for a city pad,” Barb says. “They called one Saturday afternoon to let us know it was for sale and by that evening it was ours!”
The location is ideal – close to her showroom and the train station, with a shopping village, restaurants, cafes and a wine bar just around the corner. It’s also the perfect size for Barb, with two bedrooms (one with ensuite) at the front and a kitchen, dining area and sitting room at the rear. A courtyard off the sitting room features buxus hedging and a jasminecoveredtrellis,whichfillsthehomewithfragranceinsummer.
Barb most recently redecorated the pied-a-terre in 2015, taking great efforts to retain as many of its Edwardian features as possible. The original timber floors were restained and the bedrooms recarpeted, new lighting was
“THE PIE D-A-TER RE IS MORE FORMAL THAN MY COUNTRY HOME. THIS PLACE REFLECTS HOW I DRESS WHEN I’ M WORKING .” Barb Brown low
ENTRY HALL Schumacher Chinois Palais wallpaper, Grant Dorman Interior Products. Antique Murano glass vase, Edward Clark Antiques. Antique demilune table in custom chalk paint.
GUESTROOM Antique desk, Walter & Co. Custom ottoman in Rubelli velvet, Brownlow Interior Design. Room divider in Colefax and Fowler Livingstone fabric, Domus Textiles. Bedcover in GP & J Baker Peony & Blossom, Elliott Clarke Textiles. Curtains in Jim Thompson Taj Mahal silk, Milgate. Walls painted
Dulux Apple Day.
“I HAVE BEEN AN AVID COLLECTOR OF ART AND ANTIQUES MY WHOLE LIFE SO DECORATING AROUND THOSE CHERISHED THINGS FELT NATURAL .” Barb Brownlow
“THE RIGHT COLOUR COMBINATION CAN BE VERY POWERFUL .” Barb Brown low
installed throughout and paint or wallpaper applied to the walls in every room. Gloss-finish paint was used for the wardrobes, skirting and doors in keeping with the home’s heritage.
“Each room has a different colour scheme, all linked together to create a flow from one room to the next,” Barb explains. “This creates interest and the ability to use different colours and fabrics.”
The entry hall is the first hint of the glamour beyond. Fabulous green Chinoiserie wallpaper and white dado panelling lead down the hallway to Barb’s inviting bedroom, which is dressed with mauve grasscloth walls, silk curtains and abundant florals. The second bedroom – known as “the green room” because of its Dulux Apple Day walls – doubles as Barb’s dressing room and study. “It has a beautiful antique desk at the window overlooking the street and is a lovely spot to sit and work in the morning with the sun streaming in,” she says.
In contrast, the sitting room walls are painted fresh white and serve as a canvas for her bespoke furnishings and amazing collection of artworks and antiques. A custom bullion-fringed sofa, a pair of wing-back chairs, covered in a striking animal print, antique side tables, layered rugs and linen curtains all sit harmoniously together, the perfect edit of colour, print and texture that lends a formal yet homely appeal.
Behind the sofa, artworks are displayed in a salon arrangement. “My collection spans many periods and styles, and each artwork is often chosen by colour, composition or the way the light falls on a subject,” says Barb. Contemporary compositionshangalongsideantiques,withframedabstracts by artist and good friend Graham Fransella and a large-scale artwork by indigenous artist Emily Pwerle (on the opposite wall) notable inclusions.
Barb’s enviable collection of antiques is the result of 45 years of patient searching all over the world. She admits she has a few favourite dealers and auction houses here in Australia, including Miguel Meirelles Antiques, Allpress Antiques and Behruz Studio in Melbourne, The Vault Sydney and Shapiro in Sydney and The Drill Hall Emporium and Walter & Co in Tasmania.
By surrounding herself with the things she loves that hold special significance, Barb has created a true haven where she can be productive and creative by day, while enjoying moments of quiet contemplation at night. “In the evenings, I love to sink into my ocelot-print wing-back chair with a glass of pinot and relax,” she says.