The Good Room

A Stylist's Good Room In South Yarra's Most Coveted Apartment Building!

When someone’s entire job literally consists of sourcing beautiful things and styling spectacular interiors every day, there’s a pretty high chance their own home is going to be something special. We’re here to confirm, the apartment of stylist and Sunday Life homes editor Heather Nette King does NOT disappoint!

Today our columnist Lisa Marie Corso gives us a tour of Heather’s stunning ‘Good Room’, at her home in the Beverly Hills Apartment Complex in South Yarra, Melbourne.

Written
by
Lisa Marie Corso

Assortment of vintage chairs collected by Heather. Vintage table from Leonard Joel. Rec chair bought’years ago’ from Chapel Street Bazaar, then reupholstered by Robert at Upholstery Direct in Preston. Vintage brass ‘Semi’ pendant by Fog & Morup from Angelucci 20th Century. Pineapple light on balcony is  1950s Murano glass from Nyary in Albert Park. ‘Ikebana’ vase by Jaime Hayon from Cult. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Stylist and editor Heather Nette King in her favourite room in the house! Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Light fitting by West Elm. Bust from Capocchi. Gifted mirror. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Cushions Heather had made in Timorous Beasties fabric she sourced. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Mario Bellini for C&B Italia sofa from Castorina & Co. Featherston lounge chair by Upholstery Direct in Preston. Light fitting by West Elm. Rug by West Elm. Vintage poster from Vintage Posters Only in Armadale. Blue pillar painted by Heather. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Featherson lounge chair Heather found for dirt cheap at an op shop, reupholstered in purple by Upholstery Direct in Preston, cushions she had made in Timorous Beasties fabric she sourced. And of course, Dougal the family dog! Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Artemide ‘Nesso’ table lamp. Buffet from Canvas & Sasson. Framed print (top left): ‘With You I Create’ from Atley & Co. Unframed print below from Vintage posters only. Table from Leonard Joel. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Looking through ‘The Good Room’. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Artemide ‘Nesso’ table lamp. Buffet from Canvas & Sasson. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Artemide ‘Nesso’ table lamp. Buffet from Canvas & Sasson. Large artwork ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ by Arite Kannavos, a gift to Heather from her family. Framed print (top left): ‘With You I Create’ from Atley & Co. Unframed print below from Vintage posters only. Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

The stained glass window that captured Heather and Jeremy’s hearts! Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

This glorious stained glass was salvaged by the architect Howard Lawson from the tip site of a former Toorak mansion! Photo – Amelia Stanwix.

Writer
Lisa Marie Corso
16th of February 2020

One night sometime in the 1990s a young couple named Heather and Jeremy went to a party at South Yarra’s Beverly Hills apartment complex. There was music, some fizz and a few Neighbours TV stars. Almost 30 years later, Heather and Jeremy would return to the same complex. But this time, as its newest residents!

The Beverly Hills apartments were designed by architect-builder Howard Lawson in 1935, who wanted to bring some of that 1930s Hollywood glamour and Spanish Mission style back to Melbourne. His idea was to create a place for communal living, where people could connect and live in close quarters.

“The apartments were built during the Depression-era and the ‘Whelan the Wrecker’ period, where lots of Toorak mansions were being torn down because people went broke,” explains Heather. “A lot of Beverly Hills is actually built from recycled brick and stuff Lawson salvaged from these demolition sites headed for the tip.”

Heather and Jeremy became reacquainted with the apartment complex around two years ago, when they were looking to downsize from the family home they previously shared with their two daughters, dog and cat for 20 years. “We’d joked for 20 years that we’d renovate and when we were finally a position to do so, the girls had grown up and we were ready for a new adventure,” says Heather.

“I Googled ‘older style apartments in Melbourne’ and an ad for this place came up, we took one look at each other and were like, yes,” she describes. It was the arched stained glass window that hooked them. “We knew we were in big trouble, we really wanted it and had to act quickly to make it happen.”

Now, after living in their apartment for the last year and half with their daughter Allie, Dougal the dog and Sugar the cat, Heather is dead serious (with a smirk) when she tells me: “I’m never moving again.”

Onto their good room, and Heather tells me “it’s THE room of the house”. The open-plan living dining area is very much in its original state, except for its colour – now a beautiful deep, dusky grey. “Choosing a colour was the hardest part because I knew we would be spending so much time here,” confesses Heather. The room is filled with the family’s treasures from their old home, including a much-loved Arite Kannavos abstract painting (given to Heather by her family as a birthday present), and a few new additions, including the Featherston lounge chair Heather found dirt cheap at an op shop, new lighting fixtures, and what she describes as her “first proper grown up couch” (a Mario Bellini for C&B Italia sofa) and floor-to-ceiling Italian ‘Grazie Zia’ vintage film poster.

But the ‘stuff’ isn’t really the reason why this room is so dear to Heather. She loves the character of this space, not to mention the seriously swoon-worthy views. “The first night we moved in, we took off the curtains and saw this view to the city all lit up, of course I cried,” she says of the moment she knew she was home.

Heather loves the neighbours too, and the feeling of belonging to this intimate community – she often leaves the windows open and chats to those passing by. “I garden lots too, and our friendships grew from hellos, to my name is, to swimming laps in the pool with each other in the mornings.” In Heather’s experience, Beverly Hills residents really care about each other, and the history and preservation of the complex itself.

Sitting in her ‘good room’ comfortably at ease, it’s easy to see Heather’s found her happy place. “This is the room where we come together – mostly the three of us – but I did manage to squeeze in 50 friends for my birthday party last year! It was tight but very good fun.” And in case you were wondering, no Neighbours stars were in attendance, instead just the good, real and regular live-next-door kind.