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Bed Threads founder Genevieve Rosen-Biller takes us inside the homes of Australia’s top designers and creatives.
Walls first moved into the space eight years ago, then with roommates. “Securing a great rental in our neighborhood is notoriously hard, so when I first applied, I didn’t get my hopes up. I rushed around at the inspection, barely taking it all in,” she says. “It wasn’t until I got the keys for the first time and opened the door that I realized how much I loved the house.” Over the past near decade, its design has had many incarnations—now it’s the perfectly pared-back place where she can both work and relax with her family. Here, she shares her biggest takeaways.
On Working With a Challenging Layout
Our home is an old workers terrace, which was built in 1890 during the Victorian era. These houses are long and narrow and notoriously dark, but this one has been renovated to open up the space and draw in natural light through the use of large windows and well-placed skylights. In these types of terrace homes, there is little flexibility in changing up the floor plan, so we have tried to create a unique space that feels authentic to us and tells a little of our story through filling it with an eclectic mix of art, treasures, and books we have found over the years.
On Vessels of All Shapes and Sizes
I am an avid collector of ceramics—I have a real love for their curving forms and the beautiful parallels between the forms you might find in a ceramic vessel and the forms you find in the female body. I explore this relationship within my paintings, too. Many of the ceramic pieces I have are vintage finds from bric-a-brac and charity shops, but I have also collected many from ceramic artists in Melbourne, like Amy Leeworthy and Ghost Wares.
On Living in Neutrals
Having this innate love for neutral tones isn’t something I consciously think about. Instead it has evolved over time and now feels entirely me—not just in the way we fill our home, but in my art-making and what I choose to wear. The color palette within our home, although muted, still feels like it has a warmth and nuance to it through the addition of timber art frames, furniture, and flooring. For me these hues feel entirely expressive and bring me a real sense of calm.
On Her Perfect WFH Space
Good light and big windows are the very best source of inspiration within my studio. The beauty of having it open onto our courtyard is that it captures the gorgeous light shifts throughout the day—during the mornings the sunshine streams in across my worktable, and by evening the light has a dim warmth to it that I find incredibly peaceful.
On Architectural Charm
Each of the bedrooms features the original fireplace and mantel, which really celebrates the house’s heritage and evokes a sense of history and intrigue. If this home’s walls could talk, I am sure they would have a lot to say.
On Making a Sanctuary
Our bedroom is a calming space for us, and sleep has taken on a new level of importance since our daughter came along. We have surrounded ourselves with artwork and ceramics in soft, muted tones to create a space that feels really restorative and relaxed.
Introducing Domino’s new podcast, Design Time, where we explore spaces with meaning. Each week, join editor-in-chief Jessica Romm Perez along with talented creatives and designers from our community to explore how to create a home that tells your story. Listen now and subscribe for new episodes every Thursday.