Styling Stephen Mendel’s house
When I first started working as an interior stylist in Melbourne, Australia I used to enjoy visiting Globewest’s tiny office and chatting to the owner, Stephen Mendel. South African born Stephen and his brother, Alan had recently taken over the business which quickly grew to be one of Australia’s most well-loved furniture brands. Globewest was often my first port of call when I was commissioned to create decorating stories for Real Living magazine.
Fast forward a few years and Stephen asked me to style his newly renovated Caulfield home in readiness for a Real Living shoot. This would be an in-depth house story, showing every area of Stephen’s house.
I was invited to go to the Globewest showroom and chose furniture for the main living spaces. I also collected together homewares from various Melbourne stores. Having long admired the Mendel brothers and their success story, it meant a lot to know that Stephen trusted me to choose furniture and style his own home. Stephen was so pleased with the results that he kept most of the furniture in place, along with a lot of the homewares that I’d sourced. I also interviewed Stephen and his wife, Tanya, then wrote the house story copy, which went in to detail about the renovation process and their inspiring journey.
The main family sitting room is flooded with light and overlooks the pool and palm trees. The large doors open up to make the space feel resort-like in summer, great for parties and family gatherings. I chose the stylish Globewest ‘Siesta Zee’ 3 seater sofas, ‘Tango Boleo’ occasional chairs and oak ‘Ascot Slat’ side table + coffee table to accentuate the laidback, contemporary feel.
Bailey, Stephen’s adorable dog, makes herself comfortable next to our bold Curio & Curio zig zag cushions. I introduced cushions and accessories in warm, earthy orange tones to complement the oatmeal sofas, rich wood and large abstract artwork. I sourced all the homewares in this main sitting room including the stripy African wire bowl and curvy, organic shaped vases.
Thanks to Gaby, Stephen’s daughter for modelling in this shot and matching the décor so well!
Having a large extended family means Stephen’s house is often full of people and it’s not uncommon for Tanya to cook for 24 people at the weekend, so a huge dining table was a must. I sourced the chunky green Italian bowls and plates from Market Import and the yellow bowl from Mud Australia. I gathered all other crockery and tableware on the dining table from homewares store, The Works – Bed, Bath & Table. I love featuring yellow dancing lady orchids in my styling work and here they tie in with the tropical feel of the house and echo the yellow tones in the colourful paintings above the dining table. Stephen found the plane painting by Julian Tan, in a gallery in Makati, in the Philippines and the other painting (on the right) was picked up while on holiday in Bali. All the dining furniture and woven pendant lights are from Globewest.
I selected the dark wood ‘Tripod’ coffee and pale ‘Cebu’ side table (foreground) from Globewest to go in this cosy snug off the main living space. I added some green cushions, including one of my own Curio & Curio ‘Rambling Rose’ designs, to echo the hues in the Bird Man painting by Gary Solomon hanging above the sofa. I also supplied the table lamp, ceramics and Moroccan style metal tray in this room.
Tanya and Stephen were particularly pleased with how the kitchen turned out. Lots of sleek white cupboards, textural Calcutta marble and stainless-steel worktops combine to create a minimal, modern space.
I brought in pops of yellow and green to break up all the white, and link with the colours throughout the house. I sourced the classic Stripy Bistro bowls from Country Road, a green jug from Market Import, white tea pot and green Mud bowl from The Works – Bed, Bath N’ Table.
Stephen and Tanya fell in love with the painting ‘Dream On’ by Marise Maas with the bright golden circle, because they’re always planning a holiday or following the sun. I sourced the yellow velvet ‘Castle and Things’ pillowcases to echo the rich gold colour in the painting. The cushions are from our brand, Curio & Curio. I styled the bathroom with a rustic stool and accessories.
Stephen’s teenage daughters, Asha and Gaby have their own upstairs retreat. This rumpus room has doors leading out on to a spacious balcony overlooking the pool, with bedrooms on either side. I chose the stylish Globewest ‘Juno’ sofa, ‘Cebu’ occasional whitewash chairs, ‘Tripod’ pale oak coffee table, and wire ‘Rumba’ floor lamp to fill this space. All the pink and turquoise cushions are designed by me for our Curio & Curio collection. I also brought along the African bowls on the coffee table to echo the colours of the ‘Trio do re mi’ poster from the Leticia Morris Gallery, which was a gift to music loving Gaby for her birthday.
Asha’s bedroom is bright and fun with splashes of vibrant green + blue against a fresh white backdrop.
I sourced the green Kardelen ‘Maya’ woollen blanket on the bed from homewares store Hut 13 and added playful artwork to the walls, including the ‘Blue bird of Happiness’ print from our brand, Curio & Curio.
The Curio & Curio ‘Herringbone Horse’ ottoman softens the scheme and adds interest.
I chose the curvy ‘Kalibo Arc’ Globewest wire side table to bring a sophisticated edge.
A striking vintage 1940’s poster called ‘La Cravate’ by Rouille J, from the Letitia Morris gallery in Melbourne, dominates the main bedroom. I added the sunny yellow velvet ‘Castle and Things’ cushions, and yellow dotty bedlinen, to tie in with the citrus orange tones in the poster. I also supplied the taupe bed throw from Country Road and the ‘Herringbone’ cushion from Curio & Curio.
Huge established palm trees were the starting point for the tropical outdoor entertaining area. The spiral staircase leads up to the girls balcony and bedrooms on the second floor. The white outdoor ‘Boracay’ easy chairs are from Globewest. Blue and green ‘Rambling Rose’ cushions are from Curio & Curio.
Stephen asked me to come back after the shoot and decorate his daughters, Asha and Gaby’s bedrooms. I added pops of colour and pattern, incorporating modern lighting, artwork, cushions and bedding.
Huge thanks to James Braund for the beautiful images. I can’t believe how many stunning photographs we managed to capture in one short day (this is the edited version). I don’t think our feet touched the ground! Thank you also to my two gorgeous assistants for the day, Nick Young and Julia Green.