14th July 2021 / Prue Fletcher: At Home | with Rebecca Harding

At Home with Rebecca Harding

Rebecca Harding has long been a part of the extended Fletchers family as a long-time client and friend, entrusting Fletchers Partner, Nick Fletcher, to look after all her property needs.

Growing up in tiny mining towns across Western Australia and later moving to Melbourne to attend boarding school at the age of 14, 'home' to Bec has always been about the special memories attached to them and those she lets share her most private space. "One of my favorite things about entering someone's home is picking up on their personal touches. The books on their coffee tables, photos on their walls and treasures collected over time with special memories attached to them".

Sitting down with Bec, you can't help but feel right at home. Her cheeky yet genuine nature draws you in from the get go! The Mornington Peninsula property she shares with her longtime beau, Andy Lee, definitely has style – but boy does it also have soul, just like her! Working closely with a dream team that included Paul Di Stefano, Penny Kinsella and their builder, Built by Wilson as well as Kapitelli Construction, it's clear the pair have a strong sense of self which is illustrated by what they have been able to create together.

Bec kindly welcomed us in to talk about all things edible gardens, where she goes for the perfect homewares and how she may have to rethink the perfect sofa as she welcomes in their newest family member, Henrietta.

What makes home 'home' to you?

One of my favorite things about entering someone's home is picking up on their personal touches. The books on their coffee tables, photos on their walls and treasures collected over time with special memories attached to them. I think that's what makes a home a 'home'. I like to think our home is a good example, I've got my favourite art and cookbooks sprinkled around the house, Andy has his score card from his best game on golf at our front entrance and we've got a never ending collection of photos and trinkets to remind us of family and travel we've been on over the years.

What's your favourite room in the house?

My favourite room in the house has to be our reading nook in the lounge room. We had it custom built, and it's encased by windows, so in the morning with the sun streaming in it's a pretty special place to sit and have a cup of tea, read a book or take a nap.

Describe your interior style in one sentence:

Ever evolving, considered and relative to its surroundings.

Engaging an interiors expert can be quite overwhelming, how did you come about choosing one?

We've worked closely with two architects (Paul Di Stefano and Penny Kinsella) and our builders (Built by Wilson and Kapitelli Construction) over the years who have helped guide us in our selections for interiors. We also enlisted the help of Texture to help select some of the large, main pieces in the living and dining spaces. My mum, Gaby, is also a retired architect and interior designer, so I'm hugely influenced by her in all of my decisions

What's your go-to store for the perfect homewares?

We don't really have one particular place, and I always really love using a mix. But we have a lot of Jardan furniture, Coastal Living on the Peninsula is great for gorgeous linens and knickknacks (I recently purchased a huge, gorgeous rattan fruit bowl that takes prime position on the breakfast bench) and then vintage stores (another favourite addition are two gorgeous old bottle openers, a mermaid and weightlifter). They're so heavy and not all that practical but I'm planning on putting them up on the wall somewhere in the kitchen. I bought them from the vintage store in Sorrento, they looked so cute together and I couldn't bear to separate them.

You are quite the hostess, where do you draw inspiration when preparing for a dinner party?

I usually will run with a theme. In March we threw a friend's surprise 40th birthday dinner and I used striped, hessian tablecloths to create a lovely, relaxed vibe that the end of summer has. I filled vases with blue and green hydrangeas to pick up the colours in the sky and the tea tree outside and topped the tables with crisp white napkins and daphne scented candles to create a sense of occasion.

Has lockdown life changed what you want out of your home?

Definitely! We became quite self-sustainable down here last year. I've got a little veggie patch, so we were eating from the garden a lot and I took up flower foraging and arranging which I loved. Every couple of days I'd go for a big stroll through the property with my secateurs and collect cuttings of unique plants (sometimes even weeds) I came across and arrange them for the house. It really made us realise how much we rely on and love incorporating nature and our garden into our lives. It also made us realise that we needed a little friend to explore with, so we recently added to our little family. Henrietta, our new Welsh Terrier puppy.

Your kitchen garden is a work of art, what's your advice for taking care of it over the Winter months?

Oh gosh! Don't look at it now, it needs a bit of love and we do have help. I'd say plant veggies that you'll actually use, and a regular harvest is great to ensure that it doesn't get too crowded. Andy's dad, Mick also introduced me to Seasol. It's a game changer!

Describe how your interiors style has changed over the years:

I feel like it has matured with me. When I was younger, I loved having a mix of clashing prints, vibrant colours and an eclectic mix of artwork from friends or collected on my travels (I had a random collection of vintage bobblehead toys that a girlfriend used to send me when she was living in New York. I still have one in our living room!). However, now that I'm in my thirties I'm opting for a much more simple, classic approach and prefer to invest in pieces we'll have for life or source classic, high quality vintage pieces and give them another life.

Your top 3 pieces of advice when renovating a space:

1) Live in and use the space for a bit, it's the best way to see how you'll use the space, where the sun hits and what you actually need for your lifestyle.

2) Consider the placement of light, it's so impactful in a space and really sets the mood. One of my favourite decisions we made in the kitchen was to put muted strip lighting in all of our open shelves. At night, it gives off the most beautiful glow and really highlights the space.

3) When buying furniture and soft furnishings for the renovated space, don't expect it to all arrive and be perfect at the same time. We really loved items gradually arriving and trialling different pieces in different places, a gift that keeps on giving!

Ultimately, Bec and Andy have created a true extension of themselves; a happy home shared with those they treasure most.