inspire {home truths}
Barry Du Bois’ style secrets The master builder and popular TV presenter reveals his love of antiques, from evocative French art to salvaged street finds in Sydney As TOLD TO Anna McCLELLAND STYLING HEIDI ALBERTIRI PHOTOGRAPHY NATALIE HUNFALVAY
“My wife Leonie and I have been collecting antiques and art through our travels for the past 20 years. Our inspiration mainly comes from the south of France, but also Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Italy – all over. I was very lucky to travel after finishing school. I was a kid from the western suburbs who liked football, meat pies and beer, but it wasn’t until I travelled that I realised there was so much more to life, and that the arts and architecture in particular are the basis of a beautiful community and society.”
“We live on a yacht
for six months of the year, sailing around Europe, although not at the moment because of the twins [16-month-olds Bennett and Arabella]. We always spend time in Villefranche in the south of France – it’s a secret hideaway with a beautiful bay.”
24 {febrUARY 2014} homebeautiful.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHY carmen martinez banas (vllefranche), opposite, middle, john rizzo
“I picked up this model car
from the Garage Sale Trail last year. We were looking for a scooter, because we take the kids to the park every day and they go up to other kids’ scooters and ride them, so we decided it was time to get them one. I’ve bought stacks of things from garage sales – the other day I bought a pushbike for my son Bennett that’s the exact same one I had when I was seven!”
“There was something about this painting that just meant something to me. I found it in the market at Villefranche and it takes me straight back to the day I bought it, right down to what I was wearing and what I had for breakfast. It was an incredibly happy time in my life. I don’t know who painted it – I’m guessing it’s from the 18th century, it could even be earlier than that – but it doesn’t matter. That’s not why I love it.”
“It’s not so much the piece for me as the story of the piece. That’s why I like vintage and second-hand stuff.”
“Another of our favourite markets is Saint-Germain [in Paris]. We don’t buy too much because we’re in transit to the boat, but we buy supplies, like cheese and cured meats, there.”
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“Our little set-up here [left]
was inspired by a village in Italy called Ravello, which looks down onto the Amalfi Coast. There are so many little vignettes like this where you can just sit and be whoever you want. That’s what I was trying to create here. This is a place where I might take a moment when I come home, before I go inside to see the twins.”
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