Special Nonexistent Furniture

At home with Courtney Act

After 10 years making a name for herself in LA and London, the glamorous but completely affable drag artist, singer, TV personality and cultural provocateur Courtney Act has made Sydney’s Bondi her permanent home. We help her get settled in her new waterside apartment just in time for Sydney WorldPride 2023, revamping her bedroom and helping to create the drag room of her dreams: a studio set cum walk-in wardrobe, where she can film YouTube content, host guests and organise her outfits spanning three continents by colour. Here, Courtney shares the inspiration behind her interior style, some of her favourite furniture and art pieces, and what she’s most looking forward to at this year’s WorldPride.

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Shane Jenek and his alter ago Courtney Act celebrate their new single, Celebrate. 
 

What inspired you to return to Australia after 10 years of living overseas?

Like for a lot of people, COVID really re-evaluated my values. When I came back to Australia on January 1st, 2021, there was no lockdown, there was total freedom and the weather was beautiful. It made me appreciate how much I valued those liberties of community, family, weather, lifestyle; nothing beats Australia for that. Australia also loves me more now, which might be why I also love Australia more now; it’s nice to be in a reciprocal relationship.
 
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Photography: Joseph Sinclair.
 

What made you decide on settling down in Bondi, Sydney?

When I first came back, I was living in Elizabeth Bay [in inner city Sydney] in an Airbnb. I started looking in that neighbourhood because I’d already made friends there; a lovely group of actors and artists, which, even for Sydney, was uncommon in my prior experience. My friends back then were lawyers, in marketing or had 9-to-5 jobs, so they didn’t understand the life of a travelling show girl. I was a little nervous to move away from Elizabeth Bay.

I saw this place online the first week I was looking. Wendy, my manager, came with me and said, “I just want to manage your expectations. People can look six months or more. I know you were born under a lucky star…” and I was like, “Let’s see if the lucky star extends to property.” And we got here, and I walked in, and I was like, this is it. 

I think some of the things that would have made this place less desirable to some, made it more desirable to me. The master bedroom is at the back [away from the ocean view], but it’s perfect for my drag room, and the smaller room is at the front [facing the ocean view], which is perfect for my bedroom. I wake up and look at Bondi and it’s stunning. I can walk to the beach in 20 minutes. It feels like I’m on holiday.

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The sweeping view of Bondi from Courtney's apartment. 
 

How have your international experiences influenced your interior style? 

Living in Los Angeles made me familiar with Mid-Century, Art Deco, Hollywood Regency and the Palm Springs style, all of which I love because it’s a little ostentatious and glamorous. I bought a couple of over-the-top pieces while in LA: a bright glossy orange bureau with big gold handles for my bedroom, and a teal green credenza for my living room. [These didn’t make it to Sydney.]

The place that has given me the biggest style influence though is the AirBnB where I stayed in Elizabeth Bay. Everything was chic and luxe, but understated. Drag queens are a bit over-the-top, but strangely, I’m one of the lesser over-the-top ones. It wasn’t until I lived in that Airbnb that I realised that it’s really nice living somewhere a bit more subdued. I don’t think anyone would call this place subdued, but for me, it’s a lot more elegant and understated. 

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Courtney is the only Australian to ever be featured on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
 

How do you navigate your interior style choices for Shane and Courtney? 

When I moved to Los Angeles in 2010, I was afraid of the colour pink. My friend who’s a party decorator – who’s done Dita Von Teese’s bedroom, Elton John’s Oscar parties and Barbara Streisand’s wedding – came to my little studio in LA and he was like, “Let me twirl some fabric and we’ll make this place fabulous.” He pulled out this pink chiffon and I was like, “You can’t put pink in my house!” And he was like, “Why?”, and I was like, “Because I’m a boy!” and he said, “What are you talking about?”. I didn’t even know I had such a fear of being perceived as feminine as a boy and I didn’t want any of that in my home, but I’ve gotten over that. 

I was talking to [fashion designer] Camilla [Franks] and she was saying her home is like a set, but her bedroom is just serene and all-white. She said it’s really nice to be able to go to her space. In a way, I’m also doing that here with a more serene bedroom for Shane, and a drag room for Courtney. 

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Shane's bedroom featuring artwork from Dylan Mooney's Queer, Blak & Here series.
 

Tell us about some of the artwork in your home. 

Kim Leutwyler, who painted me for the Archibald, has painted a mural in the entrance and living room, and that’s the pop of colour in the space. It has slashes of colour like the backgrounds of her artwork. I also have two pieces by digital artist Dylan Mooney. He’s a queer First Nations artist, I think his stuff is so beautiful. 

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Part of artist Kim Leutwyler's mural inspired by the periwinkle feature wall in the drag room. 
 

What’s your favourite T&W piece in your new home?

I’m excited about the Mashi Foldable Study Desk as I wanted something utilitarian as my makeup desk for the drag room. It folds out into a very long table, so it’s big enough for two people to sit at, and can work for when I’m doing a side-by-side ‘get ready with me’, but it also folds up and it’s on wheels so I can move it around when I’m filming tutorials. I’m going to paint the desk in periwinkle to match the wall and get some sort of top cut out for it. 

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Courtney's versatile vanity desk. 

There’s so much choice on Temple & Webster that you can find it all in one place. That function where you can click how tall or how wide you want something is so handy. It’s the modern way to shop, it makes so much sense. For example, my balcony has a railing so I didn’t want to sit low and be staring through bars, so I was able to find two lovely tall chairs (the Belize Outdoor Barstools) and a little cocktail table (the Jasper Round Concrete Barstool), which was great. 

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While compact, the balcony is still perfectly set up for entertaining and soaking up the million-dollar view. 
 

Tell us more about your drag room.

It’s almost like a set as it’s a YouTube studio for me to do makeup tutorials and film content. The built-ins have smart rainbow LED strip lighting. There are ceiling-mounted studio lights, mirrors and a fold-up couch for guests (the Plast 3 Seater Velvet Sofa Bed). But, even with the periwinkle feature wall, I think it will still be somewhat of an understated drag room. 

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Apart from functioning as a walk-in wardrobe, the drag room is also set up as a content studio.
 

What are some of your best organisation tips?

The best tip is don’t blame yourself. If you’re finding it hard to be organised, it might not be you, it might actually be your circumstance. I’d been carrying around this shame for so many years about being disorganised, but actually, it was my circumstance. I travel a lot. 

In my drag suitcase, I have all my accessories in a roll, I have a calico bag with all my body parts, my tucking G-strings, my hip pads, boobs, corsets, cinchers and different coloured underwear. When you’re travelling, you have to have everything you could possibly need; all kinds of adhesive, tapes, glues for anything that could go wrong. Your luggage becomes your home. 

Storage boxes are great; the more places to put stuff and organise it, the better. When I was younger, I thought I was disorganised but it’s just that I didn’t have enough space. When I have a place for everything, I can maintain organisation. I’m looking forward to the drag room being that place for everything. 

I have storage units from three continents all converging here! I’m planning to organise it all by colour; it’ll be like a rainbow. One day, I want an island with clear glass drawers, like Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

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The drag room has been designed to accomodate Courtney's extensive wardrobe and accessories. 
 

What are some of Shane and Courtney’s favourite at-home rituals?

For Shane: meditating, skincare, working out and cooking. My favourite thing to cook is spicy dan dan noodles. It’s amazing how many things you can make from tofu, soy, Sriracha and rice wine vinegar in different combinations. My spice rack got quite complex in London and I’m excited to have Szechuan peppers in my spice rack here. Courtney’s at-home rituals are all about the closet. 

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Photography: Luke Fontana.
 

What aspect of performing do you enjoy most and why? 

At the moment, I really enjoy doing the Courtney Act's One Plus One series. It shows off the curious part of me, something that’s a bit unexpected, [and allows me to] ask questions through my lens and perspective. I get a lot of positive feedback from the interviewees and from the people watching. It’s a real collaborative process. It’s nice to be able to pull in people you admire. Last season, I interviewed DJ Hookie [Tom Nash], who was someone I met in 2006. He was always someone who I found charming, fun and lovely, and thought he’d be perfect for One Plus One

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Courtney with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann on the set of One Plus One. 
 

What does this Sydney WorldPride mean to you personally?

Seeing the whole city get on board is amazing. I’ve seen so many more rainbows than I would normally see at Mardi Gras. That level of visibility crosses over to the mainstream where it starts to normalise the idea that queer people exist. Kylie on Live and Proud is going to attract more than just people who’d be tuning in to watch a Mardi Gras event, and as they’re watching, they’ll see me, Casey Donovan, Electric Fields and all the other acts, and see the humanity and connect with that, so they can understand themselves a little bit better, and understand their loved ones who might be queer, and be more accepting of people who are just different. 

The queer community intersects every part of humanity; there are queer men, queer women, queer First Nations people, queer disabled people, queer people of colour, queer rich people, queer poor people; we’re like the perfect community to bring togetherness. 

Sydney WorldPride has really led with queer First Nations identity being a cornerstone and it doesn’t feel performative, it feels authentic. I think that representation is important for everybody, not just the people it represents, but the people watching as well. 

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Courtney was a global ambassador for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2015. 
 

Apart from Live and Proud, what are some of the other events that you’re looking forward to at Sydney WorldPride?

I’m going to be a judge at the Miss First Nation pageant which will be fun. I was a judge last year in Melbourne and it was a really fun night. Miss Ellaneous, who puts on Miss First Nation, is also the co-creative director of Sydney WorldPride. There’s going to be lots of parties, there’s the human rights conference, and there are lots of really good speakers. 
 

Where do you source your spectacular outfits? 

Marco Marco makes most of my big stage stuff. He’s in LA so he’ll make stuff and then ship it over and then I’ll have someone here to fit it. Zhivago and Camilla have been two great Aussie brands for me; Zhivago for a few years and Camilla just recently. I was amazed by how much cool stuff that isn’t just your traditional Camilla kaftans; really modern and they’re covered in crystals and all fabulous. 
 
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Courtney in one of her Marco Marco creations.   
 

What places are you most looking forward to visiting around the country? 

I love Lady Chu in Potts Point [in inner city Sydney]. She’s such a character. She’s got this old-school nous very typical of Kings Cross that you don’t see anymore. There are so many one-star reviews on Google and she replies to them; I often do dramatic readings of her reviews for friends. 

I also love Bondi Beach and the Bondi to Bronte walk. Cooper Park is epic; it’s like a rainforest in the middle of suburbia. Weirdly, living closer to Bondi Junction, Westfield is much more exciting than I thought it would be, I’ll definitely be very well accessorised at WorldPride. 
Selma Nada Rajah 23 February 2023

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