Kate Walsh “Softened” Her Australian Home with Clouds, Curved Seating, and Disco Balls
Kate Walsh is living it up down under.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Emily in Paris” star was on vacation in Australia when she met “her person.” The decision to put down roots was a “no-brainer,” she told The Spruce in the latest edition of their Spruce Up series, which goes behind the scenes with celebs for their design stories.
Wanting to be close to the beach with ocean views, Walsh found a recently-flipped home. The clean and modern aesthetic was a far cry from her home in New York, which she describes as “more regency and very eclectic and intentionally cluttered.” But while it was recently renovated, the Aussie digs still needed some softening. Filled with “hard edges,” the space needed to embrace the same inspiration from nature that Walsh was feeling in her new environment.
“I really wanted to let nature dictate everything and have it be this calm, peaceful place so that the ocean and outdoors are really the star of the show,” Walsh told The Spruce. “I wanted to do something I’d never done before, which was more modern and neutral and Danish. It’s still collected, but much simpler and calmer.”
Working with Elissa Coleman from the home store Empire, Walsh got moving. In the living area, they added a rounded bouclé furniture set, including a curved sofa and two matching chairs to the living area. The minimalist furniture allowed the stunning views of the ocean through oversized windows to serve as the focal point of the space.
In her home office, a plush white couch with pillows sits against a wall of clouds. Overhead, a series of disco balls add a bit of whimsy. Outdoor space is also emphasized, with an outdoor cactus garden that’s a nod to Walsh’s Arizona upbringing. Her determination to make the best of every inch of space plays into Walsh’s distaste for rooms that are too perfect to be touched.
”I can’t stand a room that’s not used,” she explained. “I also like to lie around a lot, so it has to be relaxed. That’s just the vibe of Australia too. One of the things that I love about Western Australia is that it’s relaxed and nature is the queen there. I wanted that to really dictate and have the house be sort of a piece of that and flowing into that.”
These days, Walsh feels like she has “a great rounded life.” While she spends a lot of time on the road traveling for her role as the American boss of Lily Collins in “Emily in Paris,” it’s back in Australia that she found her little corner of the world.
“I feel like that’s one of the things living in Australia has given me is a great life, I met the love of my life, and I’ve got my little old cat and little old dog down there,” she said. “It’s been great to be there and have that be a place of rest and comfort, and then also just have that just massive abundance of work and so I feel very, really lucky.”
See more over on The Spruce.