collector’s edition
Let designer Bianca Spender’s home transport you to another time and place
Designer Bianca Spender takes us into her home – and another era altogether.
From the outside, fashion designer Bianca Spender’s home looks like your typical two-storey Sydney terrace. But inside the unassuming doors, there’s a treasure trove of collected delights and well-loved antiques that wouldn’t look out of place in an apartment overlooking the Seine.
Spender and her family – partner Sam and children Florian and Dominic – only moved in last year, but the nostalgic way of decorating makes it seem like they’ve been here much longer. “I have a love of old things that have a story and my house has always been filled with pieces that I’ve collected along the way or inherited from my grandparents and parents,” she says. “There’s nothing forced.”
Spender uses the same instinct for design that makes her fashion label so covetable to style her home space. “Subliminally, I’m sensitive to my environment. Things must have a sense of balance. I can’t sit in a room and be comfortable if something doesn’t have a sense of balance and flow,” she says.
A love for the effortlessly chic Parisian aesthetic is obvious in the home, so it’s no surprise to hear her favourite place to find treasures is at markets in the French capital. “I love the Porte de Vanves flea market in Paris. It’s a real discovery – they have everything from old tapestry to Art Deco furniture to obscure trinkets like thimble collections. Everything there has a story and history,” Spender says.
Her favourite nook is the one in which she isn’t required to fulfil any duties. “The front living room, sitting cross-legged on the day bed, is where I retreat. In the kitchen I’m cooking, in the other rooms I might be playing games with the kids. That spot is the one space I read or listen to the ocean breeze or even just the tick-tock of the grandfather clock.” Sounds like time well spent.