Another world

A European sensibility pervades this Melbourne home, with a roster of sumptuous pieces collected over time and assembled with a deft hand by Christian Lyon.

- Carli Philips

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Well, what did you expect?” asks Perth designer Christian Lyon in reference to his latest residential project deep in the quiet, leafy streets of Melbourne’s South Yarra. Truly, from the shuttered, ivy-covered brick facade, assumptions gear towards a farmhouse-style maison not dissimilar to one you might find in the French countryside. Pastoral misconceptions aside, this is more Milan than Melbourne, a sophisticated residence with layer upon layer of period pieces and modern art arranged over three vastly different, yet masterfully cohesive levels.

With an aversion to cookie-cutter design and a magpie’s eye for provenance, it’s a defiantly inimitable arrangement that saw Christian dig deep within his network of international antique dealers and pull vintage items from his retail gallery, Editeur. It’s here that he rediscovered a chinoiserie-style drinks cabinet purchased more than a decade ago but kept in storage, waiting patiently for the right client. “I didn’t want anything gimmicky, ‘of the moment’ or transient. I wanted something that would last,” he says of the refurbishment and furniture.