Welcome to Sweet Digs Australia, where we take a look inside the sometimes small, sometimes spacious, and always unique homes of women and gender-diverse people across the country. This week, we tour the cosy one-bedroom Potts Point apartment of cookbook author, Charlotte Ree.
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In the heart of Sydney's King Cross district, tucked up and away in a quiet top-floor apartment, we find the one-bedroom home of memoirist and cookbook author Charlotte Ree. Ree's Potts Point pad might be compact, but it's always brimming with life, sunshine and, of course, delicious meals. It's the site of her regular supper clubs that she hosts with perfect strangers, intimate dinner parties and plenty of writing sessions. In short, Ree's home is a testament to her love of food and community.
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For two years, Ree has been paying $650 a week in rent for her 32-square-metre home and a private outdoor roof terrace that's bigger than the apartment itself. Stacks of colour-coded books span the walls, along with an eclectic mix of mid-century modern decor, pastel art and sentimental keepsakes — all of which combine to tell a beautiful story about who Ree is and where she comes from. "I love bright paintings [and] I love pastel, which is probably a mirror of my childhood home, which is full of colour and chaos," Ree tells Refinery29 Australia as she walks us around her home.
As a cook and cookbook author, it's no surprise that the kitchen is where Ree spends most of her time. Despite being on the smaller side, Ree makes do, having once cooked for a dinner party of up to 30 people in her one-wall kitchen. As we talk, Ree starts to whip up a classic spaghetti dish, the mouth-watering smell of parsley, onions and tomato filling the air.
"Cooking is the aspect of my life that most influences my home," Ree says as she prepares lunch. "This is where I host supper clubs, it's where I write recipes, it's where I wrote my latest cookbook," she says. "It's the be-all and end-all of my life, really, and I can't imagine food not being a part of it." Everywhere you turn in her home sits a cooking pot or pan, a meal poster or some other decorative homage to her life's love and work: food.
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Her bedroom is the one and only place in the house where food doesn't reign, nor do screens — and she explains that this is by design, as it's a place just for sleeping and reading. Natural pink and beige tones command the space, making it feel clean and calm. Little sentimental knickknacks have found their home here; a special note from Ree's Mum, cards from friends, and special market finds.
The dining room, where her vintage Johannes Anderson dining table and her grandmother's beautiful (and rare) Ladderax proudly sit, flows into her living room, which is equally an uncluttered yet warm space. A "podium of honour" sits here, showcasing Ree's own published works, as well as a little nook adorned with a gallery wall of artwork where she can read, write, eat and watch TV. According to Ree, it's the perfect "everything" space.
When she gets up from the nook to open up the bifold doors that lead onto the rooftop terrace, the apartment is immediately filled with a gorgeous amount of light and air. "The reason I actually fell in love with this apartment was because of this private rooftop," Ree confesses, and it's not hard to see why. With Bondi and Sydney's east in one direction and the backdrop of the city behind, the view is calming and protected — and also an incredible New Year's Eve fireworks watchpoint!
"It's just such a beautiful space to be; I drag the dining table out here and host supper clubs, I sit out here and read, I sometimes bring out my desk and I work out here. It makes me feel like I'm either in New York or in Paris or anywhere but Sydney," Ree smiles — and it truly is a space that feels worlds away.
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As we wind up our tour, Ree points out the most sentimental piece in her home — a framed picture of her and her mother locked in a tender embrace when Ree was younger. And that's certainly the feel you get here in her home — a loving, tender embrace served with a side of warm, delicious pasta that soothes the soul.
Get the look of Charlotte Ree's home below:
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