Roxy Jacenko’s home a chic place to unwind

After five years of renting, the PR maven has indulged herself — and has more room for her handbags.

Roxy Jacenko with her dog Oreo in the main living room, with artwork by Camie Lyons. Picture: Britta Campion

When Roxy Jacenko, founder and director of PR agency Sweaty Betty, moved into a newly refurbished, luxe home in Vaucluse with husband Oliver Curtis and children Pixie-Rose, 8, and Hunter, 5, it was a homecoming.

“I have wonderful memories of living in Vaucluse from my schooldays,” the 39-year-old dynamo recalls.

“After renting in Bondi Beach for five years, Oli and I wanted somewhere of our own that wasn’t so busy. With the kids growing up, it was important that they have the opportunity to ride their bikes safely and be able to explore the local parks and bushland.”

With a frenetic life at the helm of her lifestyle agency, running numerous side jobs, authoring five books, having appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia and now, starring in I Am … Roxy! airing this week on Network 10, home provides a sanctuary. It’s a chic place to unwind for the publicist with 233,000 Instagram followers, whose combination of feisty, take-no-prisoners chutzpah sees her never far from the headlines.

The Glam room inside Roxy Jacenko’s home in Vaucluse, Sydney Picture: Britta Campion

Before recently moving in, the couple auctioned their former home’s contents.

“I’m not a hoarder so we started afresh to make way for new pieces,” she says.

“We only kept a Laurence Jenkell marble Wrapping Candy sculpture and a series of works by Camie Lyons.”

Global interior designer Blainey North, with whom Jacenko had worked previously, was enlisted to help with the layout and artisanal furnishings.

“Blainey just gets it, which meant I could focus on work.”

For Curtis, a former investment banker, who garnered his own share of publicity after a spell in jail for conspiracy to commit insider trading, this was his time to shine with Jacenko crediting him as ­integral in the management of the “magnificent” project.

Jacenko in her study, with artwork by Jasper Knight. Picture: Britta Campion

It was fashionista Jacenko, however, who motivated the interior palette of white and softest grey punctuated by black accents. “I’m always wearing black — there is a running joke that at any given time, I’m ready for a funeral or a courtroom! I’ve never been a colour person, I feel it dates whereas black and white with bronze and gold accents withstands the test of time,” she says.

Similarly consistent throughout is the wall ­panelling, created by an ­expert panellist flown in from the US. “It just adds that extra layer of special to an otherwise bland wall,” she says.

Walk up the underlit, floating travertine stairs of the virtual new-build, open the front door and the visitor is greeted by a dramatic focal point: set against a black- painted blade wall wrapped in white- veined black marble (which also surrounds the fireplace), there’s a Blainey North-designed brass and ribbed glass tubular pendant casting bars of light across a refined, Brutalist-influenced hall table.

This light-filled level features the living room with hints of art deco in the custom-made white furniture; then there’s the dining room and kitchen with its extra wide marble island bench, which saw the street closed off while it was craned over the balcony.

Bonbon by artist Jenkel Picture: Britta Campion

Most remarkable is Jacenko’s hideaway Glam Room.

“I collect Hermes Birkin & Kelly handbags, so it was an indulgence that I always wanted to have one day; this house was the one day,” she reveals.

Besides bespoke handbag-display joinery, there are two hot-pink leather make- up chairs and a hair-washing basin with built in massager chair.

“I have hair and make-up done at home several times a week for work commitments.”

The first floor is devoted to the children’s adjoining bedrooms (Hunter’s wallpapered in a Hermes safari animal print, Pixie’s papered in Ralph Lauren’s bows) and their shared TV area.

The elegant main bedroom suite, which opens on to a balcony with an expansive harbour vista features a large walk-in robe.

“My shoe wall holds 60 pairs of stilettos, but I seem get about in trainers most of the time,” she quips.

Table and light fitting at main entrance by Blainey North. Picture: Britta Campion

The lower ground floor incorporates a gym, cinema, cellar, bathroom and sauna. While many walls still await artworks, a favourite piece hanging in the home office is Jasper Knight’s Underground, a painting in Yves Klein- blue referencing the stairwell maze scene from the David Bowie movie Labyrinth. It’s a theatrical accompaniment to a 3m-long, sculptural lacquered desk.

Overall, the home’s contemporised old-school classicism exudes a calm ambience punctuated only by the woofs of Oreo, the family’s Pomeranian. In precious downtime, Jacenko enjoys modelling playdoh with the kids, while Curtis enjoys cooking with them. “They know not to bother asking me to assist in that area,” she laughs.