Swapping Hong Kong’s high-rises for a colourful mid-century-modern Melbourne home
When Australian photographer Belinda Bath moved back to her hometown from Choi Hung, the extra space in her new house let her spread her eclectic design wings
You can take the girl out of Hong Kong but it seems you can’t take Hong Kong out of the girl. Even though photographer and stylist Belinda Bath moved back to her native Melbourne at the end of 2018, her love of the SAR, where she lived for 12 years, is evident throughout her 7,040 sq ft Australian home.
Bath is known for her colour-themed photographic montages and vibrant prints of Hong Kong, which reflect her knack for discovering beauty in everyday objects and magic in even the dingiest of places. The colours in these and works by other artists picked up on travels around Asia dictate the palette in each room; there is even a purple-dominated nook under the staircase.
“Once we knew we were moving back to Melbourne, we had quite a few bits of furniture made or bought for the space we knew we were moving into,” says Bath, who kept busy during the pandemic lockdown creating pieces and selling works through her website, belindabathimages.com.
“We collected some lovely art on our travels and there was also my own artwork curated especially for the space – although I’ve tried not to hang too much of it,” she says. “Art is extremely important to me, so I’m always looking out for pieces that connect. I’m not a fan of clutter, which I sometimes struggle with as a stylist because I end up collecting a lot of ‘props’, so all of my Asian collectibles are in a big cupboard.”
Bath and her husband, Glen, who works for global trading group Li & Fung, bought the five-bedroom house in 2011 while they were still living in Hong Kong. Both love mid-century modern style so that was the starting point for their home search, along with open space and bags of character. And they hit the jackpot: a two-storey house with an abundance of original 1960s features, including terrazzo flooring in the hall, up the stairs and in three of the bathrooms, retro lighting, glass-brick walls and chartreuse carpets.
On the first floor are light-filled, open-plan communal areas and three bedrooms while the ground floor accommodates two further bedrooms plus a dedicated hang-out space for Bath’s two teenage children, and other rooms.