At home with nutritionist and cookbook author Lola Berry

LOLA BERRY’S Paddo terrace is a virtual Alladin’s cave of spiritual knick knacks and nature.

Inspirational yoga mat.

LOLA BERRY is a self-confessed hippy chick who surrounds herself with fresh flowers, inspirational quotes, crystals and dream catchers.

So it’s no surprise the nutritionist’s bedroom is something like a fairy’s cave.

Who

Nutritionist and cookbook author Lola Berry

Where

Paddington terrace with best mate Oscar and their chocolate labrador Humphrey

Favourite thing

I have 13 pairs of runners and I love them all because they're bright and pretty. Exercise is important to me, so I'm in them a lot. My favourite ones are a white leather pair because I can wear them with a dress or a pair of jeans.

Inspiration

I love to surround myself with nature, so you'll always find fresh flowers, crystals and candles in my home

Home is

A place that makes me smile

Lola loves runners.

After a spate of less-than-ideal share-housing arrangements since moving to Sydney from Melbourne recently, Lola’s found her groove in the Paddington terrace she shares with her best mate Oscar and their chocolate labrador Humphrey.

“I’ve been renting with Oscar for six months, we’re like two kids living in Paddo and I love it,” Lola says.

“We have such different lifestyles because he’s involved in brekkie radio, so the mornings at home are mine and the evenings are his. Our home is a quirky mish-mash of the two of us.”

Lola says her bedroom is her haven, her spiritual space, or “fairy’s cave” where she can retreat any time she needs to recharge.

“My room literally looks like a fairy’s cave, it’s my little escape haven in the city,” Lola says. “I have a rule that I never take my laptop or my phone in there, so it’s a place where I can truly relax.

“I like to meditate in there.”

If Lola’s room is her private sanctuary, the kitchen is the social centre of the home, a place where Lola likes to create healthy meals, hang out and chat with family and friends who are always welcome.

“Mum says I’ve always been attracted to food and was often the last kid at the food table at parties,” she laughs.

“I eat 99 per cent of my meals at home, I don’t like takeaway so I spend a fair bit of time in the kitchen.”

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Pictures Rohan Kelly

The Happy Cookbook, $34.99, Pan Macmillan

Fresh flowers

There’s a word I like, biophilia, which means the healing power of mother nature. I really believe in this so I surround myself with fresh flowers. You’ll always find them in my home.

Lucky Rose Oil
People say Cleopatra wore it and it was the reason why she was so powerful against men like Julius Caesar. It opens up your heart chakra and I wear it every day.

Photo with dad

This photo was taken last year at Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival. I love it because dad is my hero. I keep this beside my bed and dad has a copy of the same photo beside his bed.

Himalayan salt lamp.

Photograph with dad.

Himalayan salt lamp

You put a candle inside it and it’s really good at calming you while it releases a beautiful light. It also releases a lot of negative ions, which is great for good health.

Yoga mat

I’m a qualified yoga teacher and I used this mat when I was training for it. I have positive quotes written all over it.

Inspirational yoga mat.

Music

I listen to music a lot, when I write, run and create.

Music ... for when Lola writes, runs and creates.

Surf docos

I have about 20 in my collection and I love watching them because I love seeing people who are free and passionate about what they do. I don’t even surf, but I love watching them.

Dream Book.

Surf documentaries.

Manifesto or dream book

I write my goals and inspirational quotes in this book and cut out images from magazines that mean something to me. I’m a visually creative person and this keeps me really focused.