By Jacqui Bialocki
For Chyka Keebaugh, home has never been simply about how a house looks. It is about how it feels.
Photo: Marcel Aucar
It is the scent of candles drifting through a room, the softness of a throw, flowers and herbs gathered from the garden, the glow of a lamp at dusk and conversation carrying from the kitchen. It is a table set with care, food shared with people you love, and those perfectly imperfect moments that make a house feel truly lived in.
Her Mornington Peninsula family home is a beautiful expression of that philosophy. “The moment we saw it we loved it,” Chyka says. “It’s been a true labour of love to turn the house into a home.”
After decades creating extraordinary spaces and experiences both personally and through The Big Group, the events and hospitality company she established with husband Bruce, Chyka knows how to make people feel welcome. “It’s about creating an inviting and welcoming space I love to share with family and friends; a home that’s perfectly imperfect.”
It is a philosophy reflected in the simplest details. Lamps replace harsh overhead lighting, candles bring warmth and fragrance, while flowers and bunches of herbs add colour and scent. Cushions and throws can instantly change the mood, while seasonal touches bring freshness in summer and cosiness through the cooler months.
And then there is abundance, one of Chyka’s secrets to creating that unmistakable feeling of home. A glass jar filled with chocolate-chip biscuits can make a kitchen feel more welcoming than an expensive decorative object ever could. “Surround yourself with all the things you love,” she says.
For Chyka, that means lots of books. Stacked throughout the house, they include a striking floor-to-ceiling bookshelf devoted entirely to black-spine books. The collection has its own story. For about a year, friends coming to dinner were asked not to bring wine, but a black-spine book from an op shop, with the money going to charity. Slowly, the collection grew until Chyka and Bruce achieved their dream bookshelf.
It perfectly captures her approach to decorating: make it personal. Books, teacups, perfume bottles, old typewriters or treasures collected along the way, favourite things should be seen and enjoyed, not tucked away for a ‘special occasion’.
The same generosity extends to entertaining. Having spent much of her life creating spectacular events, Chyka understands that hospitality isn’t about impressing people; it’s about making them feel they belong. Setting a table is one of her joys, whether for a relaxed alfresco lunch or a wonderfully themed Christmas table.
Her homewares collection with Harris Scarfe reflects the same accessible philosophy, bringing style, comfort and homeliness to everyday living without an extravagant price tag.
After a lifetime of creating beautiful places for people to gather, her answer to what makes a home a happy place is beautifully simple: “The people in it.”
And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all. A home is more than a house. It is a collection of moments, memories, scents, sounds, stories, and the people who give it meaning. It is where the heart is.
