“I remember being in India ahead of a five-day hiking and camping trip through the Himalaya and beforehand I bought a six-kilo bronze statue of Ganesh,” says Paul Ewart. It’s one of his key memories from a well-travelled life that’s taken him to over 80 countries.

As one of Australia’s top travel writers and established journalists, it’s fitting that his home reflects this sense of wanderlust. As he and partner Campbell, and their two rescue dogs, Zeus and Luna, prepare for a new chapter, we were eager to hear more about the treasures within the Darlinghurst home.

You have curated a home with a very distinct global flair. What’s been your approach in doing so?

I’ve always loved collecting antiques. Ever since I was a child, I had a fascination with old and ancient objects. As I grew and my tastes formed, I started to collect and curate specific items: old sketches, ancient Roman pottery, Indian statues…the list expanded the more I travelled. I’ve been fortunate enough to live in three different continents and to travel to around 80 different countries, both for work and play. I always try to hunt out treasures.

Ancient Roman pottery shards from Italy; hand carved Buddhas from Thailand and Laos; traditional wooden masks from Sri Lanka and Mexico; 300-year-old church tiles from Seville; a voodoo doll from New Orleans; tribal bronze sculptures from Africa…just a small selection of items that now jostle for space on my shelves.

Believe it or not, I’m not a big shopper. In fact, I hate to trawl typical high street stores. However, paradoxically a flea market or antique warehouse overseas thrills me. 

I’ve developed an ‘eye’ for what works and what doesn’t. I’m quickly able to see potential in pieces or art that my partner really can’t! It’s a good skill especially as I have an aversion to boring and beige houses — I really believe that a house should represent the owners and that the objects you put in a house should both bring joy and spark great memories or prompt happiness and wonder. 

 

How have you gone about choosing pieces from your home while travelling?

I guess I always collected in my early days with a view to having a home in which I’d be able to live amongst the memories and stories. That’s the focal point for me. Next, is the aesthetics and history of the item. It has to ‘speak’ to me — I wouldn’t buy anything solely to create a certain ‘look’. I have to love it. But when I buy something, I naturally curate it with my other pieces. 

As above, wherever I travel I seek out flea and antique markets and art galleries. I have no interest in ‘typical’ souvenirs and, often, practicality is forgotten. I remember being in India ahead of a five-day hiking and camping trip through the Himalaya, and beforehand I bought a six-kilo bronze statue of Ganesh!

Do you have a favourite space of your home and why?

The dining area and its feature walls and matching bookcases. As a collector, this is obviously the best display place for all my treasures and I love having dinner parties and telling friends , who inevitably ask about the pieces, the backstories of how I found them and what they are. Given that a lot of the items I have displayed here are very unique — from ancient Egyptian mummy masks and Regency portraits, to Voodoo dolls gifted by a Salem witch and New Orleans voodoo priestess — there’s usually a lot of interest!

 

 

 

What’s next for you and the family?

We’re coming up to the final 3-4 months of what will have been a three-year plus renovation journey on a federation semi in Bondi Beach. We purchased the property while temporarily trapped in a Melbourne lockdown (so were unable to actually see it!) and it was the definition of a fixer upper. A former share house that hadn’t been touched since the 80s.

This aside, we’re also looking at buying in the Northern Rivers, likely Byron Shire, which has been my personal dream ever since I arrived in Australia 14-plus years ago. I landed here with a backpack after spending eight or so months between Mexico, Canada and the US and spent my first month or two living in my friend’s grandfather’s dilapidated Queenslander in Bungalow. The area has held a special place in my heart ever since and I’ve always longed to have a property up there. 

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