After 20 years in the one Edwardian home, stylist Bea Lambos (founder and creative director of Bea + Co) and her family moved houses mid-COVID in search of more space.
The family discovered a Victorian home just a few suburbs away from their previous Melbourne home, with the same cherished period details plus a light-filled modern extension. ‘The icing on the cake was more space for us all, an established garden, and white walls to adorn with colour and art!’ says Bea.
The house was already beautiful, it just needed Bea’s personal stamp to make it a home.
Bea approached the styling of her home the same way she does every client project. She explains, ‘The main aim in any home is honestly just to make it feel ridiculously good … Spaces that are easy to live in, that are gorgeous to touch, and smell good. Rooms that are well-lit, naturally and artificially, all need to hit that “feel good” aim.’
Art and interesting objects have been introduced throughout bringing the property’s white walls (Dulux White Watsonia) to life. ‘It’s eclectic and curated and filled with things that we love: some hot right now, and some that we have had for many years,’ Bea says.
Bea’s furniture collection is expansive, spanning vintage pieces she bought with the money from her first job (the black cupboard in the front living room) to coveted designer items by Jardan and Ligne Roset. Artworks include prints from photographers she’s worked with over the years (Dave Kulesza, Tom Blachford, and Derek Swalwell) and plenty of contemporary ceramics.
The only ‘additions’ to the home have been minor cosmetic updates, such as the installation of new lighting, sheer curtains hung along the rear of the house, a paint colour in the front living room (Dulux Grass Sands). ‘We simply could not live without colour in our house,’ says Bea. ‘I live, eat and breathe it through my work so I love coming home to a palette that does all the right things!’
Bea’s family home continues to evolve slowly and deliberately as she discovers new artists and sources of inspiration. ‘My work leads me to incredible homes and incredible creatives every day so I try to channel what I hear and feel and see when I choose what to do at home,’ she says. ‘[It’s] always a work in progress with no rush involved.’
What Bea loves most about this home are the joyful, everyday moments it inspires. She speaks poetically about every element of the property, from the fleeting red glow of the hallway through the front door stained glass windows; to the ever changing ivy on the northern facade; and the constant dance of shadows, clouds, and stars through the skylights.
‘There’s lots of reasons to stop and look at things closely and pretend there is nowhere else to be right at that moment.’
