Changing Rooms

Designer clothes and fashion magazines, fabolous shoes and crystal chandeliers they all come together in this kaleidoscope of style that Eva Galambos calls home As the owner of one of the most upmarket boutiques in town, it's hardly surprising that Eva Galambos has a dressing room packed with designer labels and floor-to-ceiling stacks of Vogue magazines dating back to 1989 . "I'm obsessed with fashion and dressing up," she says, "so for me to have a room dedicated to clothes and accessories is practical as well as indulgent."

Devotees of Parlour X, Galambos's Paddington boutique, would find a visit to her Bondi home as inspiring as a browse in her chic shop. The brick cottage, which she shares with her French mastiff, Rosie, houses her collection of antique furniture, coloured glass, , vintage clothes and books. Since buying her home seven years ago, Galambos's interior style has changed several times. "When I first moved in, I was in a bohemina and eastern inspired period. There were lots of Indian cushions scattered across the floor and sofas in the living room. When I left that phase, I went more retro and changed the look by re-upholstering the cushions with old Marimekko fabrics and buying vintage pieces at second-hand markets"

The floor in the open-plan living area has also changed colour, from a light beechwood to whitewash and its current Japanese black. "But I'm about to whitewash it again because my next look is more contemporary. I like my environment to evolve with me." Right now, she describes her surrounds as like a "warm and homely beach house." A pair of carved wooden chairs from India, an Oriental champorwood chest, taupe sofas and an ottoman covered with cushions upholstered in orange, brown and leopard print fabrics feature in the living room. A side table hodls an orange plastic retro lamp and a pair of bronze oriental style dragons.
A crystal chandelier from Paris hangs above the ottoman. "It's a gift from an ex-boyfriend. I love chandeliers and that one is my favourite. It's also from my favourite ex-boyfriend." Another chandelier hangs in her dressing room above a Victorian cabinet that stows her collection of jewellery and beads and antique bookcase that is practical storage solutions for her extensive collection of shoes.

"I love mirrors," says Galambos, who has one wall of the dressing room reserved for a huge mirrored wardrobe that holds her clothes, including vintage pieces sourced on buying trips in Paris. "I have mirrors everywhere in the shop too." Her eclectic style blends antiques with ethnic, contemporary, Scandinavina and retro items. "I like to scour markets for beautiful old teapots and teacups, doilies, coloured glass, picture frames, interesting lampshades and knick knacks. At the markets you can find amazing treasures from the 1930s to '50s. My '50s oval-shaped orange vinyl poufs are from the Surrey Hills market about five years ago - they were a bargain." A favourite item that wasn't such a bargain is the dining table that seats up to 14 people. "It's a circa 1890 refectory table from a North London boys' school. I bought it in Surrey about 12 years ago when I was working in London, During winter I love having dinner parties and i am obsessed with
merchandising so the table decoration is full-on with lots of flowers and crystal glasses" Crystals are another of Galmabos's obsessions - she has a collection on a table beside her four-posted bed. "When I go to Byron Bay, I search for crystals with a friend who's also into them. We spend a lot of time debating the properties of various crystals." Galambos's bedroom is adorned with Gucci handbags hanging from a doorknobs, piles of Turkish floor cushions and a mirror-topped table holding framed photos of her family and friends. Next to the table stands a carved Oriental chair and beside the door a re piles of paperback books. " I had many more paperbacks," she muses, "but, Rosie chewed them when she was a puppy. I couldn't get too upset because at least she didn't take a shine to my gorgeous shoes in the dressing room."

Where she shops

Kenneth Neale Mid Century Modern Furniture
Shop 3, 138 Darlignhurst Road, Darlinghurst.
Phone: 9331 2033
"This shop has some wonderful furniture"
Surry Hills Market
Cnr of Crown and Little Collins Street (Shannon Reserve), Surry Hills
Held: First Saturday of the month, 7AM to 4PM
"I scour these markets for coloured lass and second hand goods"
Kirribili Market
Bradfield Park North (near Milson's Point Station), Kirribili.
Held: Last Saturday of the month, 7AM to 3.30PM
"Another one of my favourite markets, I found some knick-knacks for my living room here"
Caravan Interiors
85 Hall Street, Bondi.
Phone: 9365 0500
"I bought the screen prints that hang on the walls of the living room from this shop"
De De Ce Design Centre
263 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
Phone: 9360 2722
"I found a light fitting for the hallway here."
The Crystal Castle
Monet Drive, Mullumbimby.
Phone: 6684 3111
"Many of the crystals in my bedroom collection are from here."

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