Deborah Hutton makes a fresh start

TV presenter and style guru Deborah Hutton has learned more than a few things since she decided to leave her ‘hectic’ lifestyle behind.

Deborah Hutton has made a fresh start

Deborah Hutton isn’t interested in a hectic Sydney lifestyle and moving to the south coast last year was all about priorities.

Deborah, who recently celebrated a significant birthday, says now aged 61, health is top of her agenda.

“Health is everything, and since turning 60, I have aches and pains and I just want them to behave themselves,” she laughs. “And this is the best move I’ve made in a long time,” she adds of the move with partner Andrew Marsh.

There’s plans to get a rescue dog this year too. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time, seeing the Norfolk pines, the community, and everyone smiles and says hello – and that’s how we should be living.”

‘Health is everything.’

The coastal move doesn’t mean the former model, magazine editor and home renovator is slowing down, with a knockdown rebuild project on the horizon.

Deborah says it’s always good to live in a house before you make solid plans.

“We bought a block which has a complete knockdown, asbestos, concrete-cancer little shack on it.” The property actually came complete with a DA and I loved it and it was by my favourite architect called Walter Barda. I thought, ‘Great, I’m going to build that house’, and now that we’ve been here for 10 months, I thought, ‘I don’t need a huge house’. So I’m completely going to redesign the house to cope with the light, wind, weather.”

DEBORAH HUTTON’S FAVOURITE THINGS AT HOME

Who: Deborah Hutton.

Where: NSW south coast, about an hour out of Sydney. We bought a block and we’ve tricked up this little red bricker and turned it literally into a beach shack which is liveable. It’s quite sweet, and we’ll live in that until such time as we get the design done, construction and then it’s a massive demolition and rebuild.

Inspiration: I love an open kitchen, an old stone fireplace, raked ceiling, conversation pit – I like multipurpose spaces.

Home is: A fresh start. This is a move of great love, this is where I need to be. This is the best move I’ve made in a long time.

GEORG JENSEN elegant CARAFE

Elegant design.

Such an elegant design … whether it’s filled with wine or water. Given to me as a birthday present, and look, I love my wine. I get gifted a lot ‘cos everyone knows I love a glass. Again multi-tasking, put some water, lemon and mint leaves in it.

CLASSIC CHINESE CERAMIC LAMP

I’m a huge fan of indirect lighting with lamps as I can’t stand overhead lights. A friend of mine bought it for me as a house-warming present when I moved into Bronte. That lamp will go with me everywhere. It’s a beautiful, classic shape.

Classic Chinese.

CANOPY BAY BY DEBORAH HUTTON Palma Hat, UPF 50+

I never leave home without maximum sun protection. They flatpack, and that means you can travel with them, they are waterproof, they are easy to clean and they have this adjustable insert which means they don’t come off in the wind.

Sun, wind and travel ready.

Home with Deborah Hutton MONTAUK BOWL

Bowled over.

Love a multipurpose item, it’s beautiful. I have one that has shells in it and then I take the shells out and use it as a salad bowl. It’s a really generous size, it looks amazing with a really fresh prawn and lemon salad.

SHELL LAMP

Soft and warm.

I found this beautiful shell lamp in a second-hand junk store … the light it sheds is soft and warming. I am a bit of a Gumtree, second-hand junk shopper, I love seeing preloved pieces. And this to me was a gorgeous find.

THE COOK’S COMPANION

Go-to cookbook.

If I was made to keep just one cookbook out of the hundreds I’ve collected, this would be it. It’s your absolute go-to, it doesn’t matter what you have in the cupboard, you can start with an ingredient and end up with whatever you want.

EXTRA LARGE BEAUFORT SAND-FREE BEACH TOWEL

The world’s best beach towel.

OMG, it’s the best towel! It’s double sized, so two people can lay on it. It’s like a huge picnic blanket, double-sided, so you’ve got either that stripe and a classic print side. It’s got a really lovely feel.

MY PORTUGUESE GLAZED CABBAGE GREEN PLATES

Divine salad bowl.

Aren’t they divine? I’ve got a salad bowl, smaller bowls, if I could just keep adding to this collection I would. I live on salads and everything I put on this plate looks so beautiful.

Originally published as Deborah Hutton makes a fresh start