Inside a theatrical share house its own residents consider 'ridiculous'

Who: Sarah Walker (theatre photographer and fine artist), partner Mike Greaney (animator and director), and friend Eve Gilbert (designer) with Jacko the greyhound.

What: A theatrical share house

Where: Thornbury, Victoria

This eclectic and cheerful rental in Thornbury eschews share house stereotypes, with its palatial proportions and distinctly theatrical style. It’s the perfect environment for three artistic residents: theatre photographer and fine artist Sarah Walker; her partner, animator and director Mike Greaney; their friend, designer Eve Gilbert, and Jacko, the greyhound.

Walker, Greaney and Gilbert have been renting here for a year-and-a-half, after Walker stumbled across the property online.

Despite the poor quality photos on the real estate agent’s website, she had a hunch it would be a winner, and describes how she “turned up to peek through the windows, and immediately fell in love”. When it comes to real estate, it pays to follow your instinct.

The home is described by its residents as “ridiculous” – filled with columns and archways and a theatrical grandeur. Walker and Gilbert have lived together for the past six years in a variety of unusual homes, but this one offers a new level of idiosyncratic charm.

The interiors are a delightful and unexpectedly successful mash-up of the trio’s diverse aesthetics: Gilbert’s 1960s tiki vibes, Walker’s Viennese Wunderkammer inspiration, and Greaney’s aspirations for a Danish cabin in the woods.

On paper this really shouldn’t work, but somehow there’s a sense of harmony here.

Walker explains: “Because we’ve all worked on film and theatre sets, we have a good knack for collaborating to make a space feel pulled together, and we’re all always on the lookout for a bargain.”

This pick-and-mix approach to furnishing and decorating means the house is filled with unusual treasures. Walker draws attention to pieces that were used for a film set in 1700s Versailles, including an antique letter writing cabinet and powder-blue binoculars.

Walker describes how the home’s quirky grandeur allows the residents to furnish it with really unusual pieces. “The relationship between the space and furnishings is a two-way exchange,” she says. This bold, eclectic home has personality in spades – and provides a perfect setting for these creative professionals to feel truly at home.

Make it personal

With the rise of Instagram culture, you’d think we’d be getting more creative in home decoration. But if you rely too heavily on referencing other spaces, your house can start to look, well, like someone else’s. Here’s some tips to inject your own personality.

• Start with your stuff. Prized possessions say so much about you. They should be displayed.
• Collections form a great basis for styling. What do you collect that can be displayed creatively?
• As a general rule, antique, second-hand and vintage things lend interest and depth.
• Matchy-matchy style is boring. Mix-and-match is fun and interesting. Shake off your inhibitions.