The posh enclave of Elizabeth Bay’s Billyard Avenue is home to an array of glitzy trophy residences, but tucked away in the whisper-quiet apartment belonging to interior designer Lucy Montgomery’s parents, it’s a sea of tranquillity.
She’s clearly a perfectionist, darting to the kitchen to brew a pot of mint tea, tweaking lampshades and fluffing cushions en route. “I’d always loved the plaster lamps I’d seen on my European travels, but I was so frustrated not being able to source great pieces like these for a table-lamp shoot I had to do for work. Apart from a few vintage options, nothing stood out. I’d been keeping all these vision boards that were dominated by imagery of grand dame Mediterranean hotels such as
“Our Del Rio lamp was inspired by those gorgeous spiral columns but scaling it down to size wasn’t as simple as I thought. It took six months.” Montgomery with homewares from the LMC Petit range, including the linen bedhead, cushions, quilt, Del Rio lamp and striped wallpaper. “Social media provides endless interior inspiration, but I can’t stress enough how beneficial working with an interior decorator can be, even if it’s just for rug or furniture selection” she advises. “People don’t think about scale and proportion. I find it so frustrating when people jump on a trend – say, chubby ‘Flintstone’ furniture – purchase a piece and haven’t considered how it plays with the rest of the room.