On a sunny rooftop terrace high above Notting Hill, Réalisation Par co-founder Teale Talbot and English interior designer Sophie Baker settle into conversation surrounded by marble, climbing greenery and the gentle hum of London below. The two women are drawn to beauty with purpose, collecting objects and memories with equal care. Together, they discuss timelessness, family life, far-flung travels from Bali to the Orient Express, and the concept of living with intention.

SB: Hi Teale, do you want to start by talking a little about your style from a business perspective?

TT: I think there's a luxury in something timeless and wearing something again and again and again; an investment piece rather than something seasonal or a trend. I love forever pieces, and that's in my home as well as my business. It doesn't have to be expensive, of course it can be, but I invest in something that I love, and so the idea with Réalisation is having something that you buy and you have forever, and it evokes a feeling, a memory, an emotion. It's the same with my house. I buy things that I love from my travels that remind me of my children, and I like to build that up over time and keep them forever

SB: Definitely – it’s about living with intention, doing things that you love with the people you love, and buying things that you'll cherish that mean something.

TT: 100 per cent. Like, I use my CHANEL bag as my gym bag because I just really like to use it. If there's something that I love, I just like to use it again and again.

SB: What drew you to this house specifically, and Notting Hill as an area?

TT: When I first moved to London, I lived in Marylebone. I loved it. I was around the corner from Chilton Fire House, so that was my go-to my watering hole. But I felt like a little bit of a tourist there, and so when I decided to stay in London and make it my home after two years, Notting Hill just felt more local. I love the melting pot of it – there are gentrified areas of Westbourne Grove, and then you go down to Goulburn Road, and you have all the people that are along Portobello Road. The place that I'm in now, we rented it during COVID, and it looked very different then. The kitchen was orange, but we had the terraces. And I think that's what saved us during that time. So, I said to Daisy, the owner at the time, "If you ever consider selling, can you think of me?” And two years later, the opportunity came up. There was just something so special about this little place that we loved. We've got the conservatory in the top; we've got these two terraces. It's small, but every nook of the house is used, and I guess that's what you were saying before: everything's considered. I don't like waste. I like to use everything that I have. We moved back to Australia for a little bit, when I had my son, and I bought this huge house – all we did was sit in the kitchen.

SB: That’s so true about Notting Hill, it’s such a melting pot of creativity. You do walk out the door and feel inspired. It's a really lovely place to live.

TT: The thing I love the best about London is how easily you can walk. We have the giant park, we're so lucky we have the private gardens, and we have all the amazing cafes nearby. It’s very family orientated, and it feels perfect for this time in my life.

SB: Growing up in Australia, in Melbourne, there is such a similar culture, with the food, design, art, fashion. Do you think that influenced you at all?

TT: I'm not sure. Melbourne's home, and in terms of living in London, it was a really easy transition coming from L.A., where I lived before, which felt very foreign and far away. When I moved to London – which was even further on the other side of the world – it felt like home to me. I am never homesick here.

SB: Are there any pieces in your house that hold memories or are particularly special to you?

TT: Things that I love the most… it sounds silly, but I love my couch. I've got a Maker&Son sofa that is the least aesthetically pleasing thing in the house, but I like things that are also comfortable, so I have that. I'm very connected to my art – I had an original Andy Warhol Dolly Parton Polaroid that sits perfectly in my bathroom. I bought an Annie Morris sculpture from her studio when I first moved to London– eight years ago – and that's one of my favourite pieces. And then I have a beautiful collection of books. A new favourite thing is, I just put in some big kid bunks in my children's room, and the way they were designed is again, they're like an heirloom now. They’re made from this beautiful French oak. It's so beautiful to see the house progress as the kids grow.

SB: It’s such a special thing putting those pieces into here, which is like your home, and then seeing which nook they find in the next place. Are there any materials or textures or colours in your house that you're particularly drawn to that are perhaps a reflection of your personal style?

TT: I love my kitchen, where we're sitting now. It’s marbled, and it was originally meant to be green, but then at the last minute I said I just can't do green, so it's all white. It's this beautiful Italian marble that was specially sourced, and it makes me feel like we're up in the clouds. It's like this little hidden oasis. I also have a cute little office, which is much darker. The house is all white, it's all concrete, textured walls, but the office is actually a dark charcoal.

SB: That's really cool. What role would you say entertaining plays in your home? Do you love having people over? I guess I know you do, because we’ve had gorgeous dinners here. Is that something that's always been important to you?

TT: I love it, especially with the kids and having friends over. We've got some friends coming over who also have a little girl the same age as my son, and we sit up here, we water the plants, It's just beautiful.

SB: It does feel like a sanctuary in the city – it’s like an English walled garden. And then you just lift up your head and there's the whole of London, and then you're reminded “I'm in the middle of the city”.

TT: I know we have the greenery here, like behind us, but then you can see the London Eye and all the beautiful landmarks of London when you look around, it's incredible.

SB: It is, it's just such a gorgeous, magical place. It feels like a fairy tale. And you look so gorgeous and ethereal sat here in your vintage dress.

TT: Oh, thank you.

SB: In terms of when you're traveling around, which I know you love to do – going to beautiful places, gorgeous hotels, experiencing new cities – what is it you look for when you're sourcing where you're going to stay or how you're going to get there? I know you recently went on the Orient Express, which was fabulous. TT: That was because it was my 40th birthday, so that was a bucket list trip. I don't usually celebrate birthdays, but that's just something that I've always wanted to do – to go on the train, be somewhere new. I've never been to Venice before. So that felt amazing for a 40th birthday, but then Soho Farmhouse, that's probably my most favourite place to go with the kids. I went to Oxfordshire and rented a house, and we ran through the sprinklers and played with the horses.

SB: It will never get old. If you could take one thing from Australian living into London, what would it be?

TT: This is it. It’s exactly what we're doing right now. We've got the doors open to the kitchen, we're sitting outside, we're cooking. It's sitting and eating outside, which is very, very Australian. And I think that's the one thing that's been captured in this flat that we've brought in, which is why I love it so much. And we sit here all the way through till October. We have the little TV that we flip around to become like a little outdoor cinema. Or we sit up here listening to some country music.

SB: I love that so much. Have you collected any objects when you've travelled that you now have in your home here? I know you've lived in different places; you've lived in Bali and you've lived in L.A.…

TT: I have so much stuff in storage. The only thing I think I have right now that has come with me from other places, are ashtrays. I have the Sunset Towers ashtrays. I have mugs, and then some glassware and art. I think my life has dramatically changed in the last eight years from living in L.A. alone to having a young family here. I put a lot of special pieces in storage. I do like recycling things, so at the moment, I have a bit more of a practical mindset with certain things, but it's those smaller pieces of art, the ashtrays, the books.

SB: And it’s not just buying books that are attractive to look at on the shelf, every one of your books in your house is about one of your interests– they actually are meaningful to you. You collect them over time and the places you've been.

TT: I thought of another thing – I’ve got some great candlesticks with me too.

SB: How was your life when you lived in Bali? Where did you live and what were your daily rituals?

TT: That is where I started my first business. I was there when I was 23 so, again, that's a long time ago now. Life has changed dramatically. I was a rug rat who would jump on a motorbike, very reckless, hair-free, no shoes. But that was the trajectory that kind of changed my life in terms of starting my own business, which led me to London. It also really changed my life in terms of how I eat, doing yoga, the spirituality of it, I still, every year, go back. I found it like my spiritual home. Now I love taking my children there – there's classic places that I just go back to still, 17 years later. I haven't been caught up with the trends in Bali. I do all the really key traditional things – the same things I've been doing for 20 years when I go there.

SB: That's beautiful. And what is one of those spots you keep returning to?

TT: I have a little place on Sunset Road where I go for salmon. It’s this very unassuming place. I have this little cheap and cheerful beauty spot called La Beaute, where I go and get a cream bath and reflexology. I used to take my dog and run on the beach, and now I get to take my kids and run in the water – they're all my favourite things. They may not be exciting to someone else, but you know, they're the things that just make my heart swell.

SB: I love Bali so much. I'm sure it's changed so much, but I would also go straight back to the same things I know. You have created such a beautiful life between your work, which is so impressive, your traveling, and your home, and where you live.

TT: Thank you.

SB: What would you say you’re searching for in the next chapter of your life? What does that look like? I wouldn't say goal, but what is the next intention?

TT: I think for me it's balance. I've got two very young children, and I have my own business. They say you can't have everything at one time, but that you can have everything over the space of a lifetime, so for me now, it's just prioritising.

SB: If you could have one dream home in any place in the world, and you could have it for free, where would it be? Would it be a beach villa in Italy? Would it be a ski chalet in the Dolomites?

TT: Well, after last weekend, I'm starting to manifest my cottage in Oxfordshire. If we’re talking anywhere in the world, would I say Bali, would I say Italy, would I say... Ibiza? Something really fabulous there would be great.

SB: Do you think some of Ibiza feels like the old Hollywood Hills?

TT: Yes, it's got that Spanish influence. We went to the most incredible 1930s-style Spanish home there last year and had this fabulous party, so maybe there... But I think my number one answer is the house in Oxfordshire.

SB: I can imagine exactly the garden with this gorgeous limestone…

To experience RUSSH Home Issue 05 in its entirety, it will be available on newsstands from Monday 27 July 2026 and through our shop. Find a stockist near you.