Sophie Bell
Peppa Hart founder and creative director, Sophie Bell is carving out her place in the Bali design scene—we step inside her villa, La Playa.
Photography: Sophie Bell & Ruben Beeris
‘We wanted [the villas] to be really easy to maintain and minimal, but bring fun and interest with colourful art, beautiful marble furniture and styling pieces,’ says Sophie Bell.
Sophie Bell, Peppa Hart founder and creative director.
Sophie Bell’s villa, La Playa, in Bali.
‘Bali has always been a special place for my husband and I, we were married here in 2013 and would holiday here several times a year—we’ve just always felt so happy and at ease here.’
‘Every weekend is different [in Bali], we explore nearby islands get to experience the incredible restaurant scene and just meet so many like-minded families who are all wanting the same things for their families.’
Hello Sophie—can you introduce yourself?
Sophie: My name is Sophie Bell and I’m a mum of two and a business owner who moved to Bali from Australia around 2 years ago from Northern NSW. I founded Peppa Hart in 2011, which is a creative design studio—we have worked on projects from interiors to styling to branding to lots of brand collaborations where we design products for established brands… anything from homewares to fashion to shopping centre fit-outs. We more recently have started to produce our own products in the fashion and homewares space and launched our Airbnb in Bali called La Playa.
Tell us about your career trajectory – what led you to where you are today?
I studied communications at university and was lucky enough to land a role straight out of university for an AFL team. While I was studying, I started a little blog called Peppa Hart, (Peppa being the name I would love for my future daughter and Hart being my mum’s maiden name) the blog was a way to share inspo for fashion, interiors etc, while I studied—never in a million years did I think it would become anything more than a way for me to share inspiration or be my business name for all these years.
Once I started working I kept my blog going on the side as a way to still express myself creatively, while working in a very masculine environment of footy. I was really lucky in that role to have a boss, who made me believe I could do absolutely anything, I would produce our live TV shows on game day, and all these crazy things that I’d never done before, but it really created a confidence in me that helped me throughout my career.
Around this time Instagram had just started and I would share photos of my home, dinner parties we would have and how I would style them, our wedding and holidays. People started reaching out and asking me to style their homes like ours or even plan their weddings for them. It started to really snowball and I was working until 1am or 2am in the morning to keep up with my full-time job—footy is most weekends as well, so I would be working weekends and late nights. I got to the point where I couldn’t juggle it anymore so my husband really pushed me to quit and give my own business a go for 6 months and if it didn’t work out I could always head back to the corporate world. And here we are still going!
The business has evolved so much along the way, once I knew I wanted to have a baby I started to really focus on the branding/digital side of our business, as styling photoshoots, events and interiors would take me out of the house for long days which wouldn’t work with a new baby. So that's when I really honed in on building branding for businesses of all shapes and sizes, worked really closely with Three Birds Renovations from the beginning of their business, working on launching their schools and many renovations—it was such a great time watching their business grow, we also filmed my house, House 10, build on their channels. Our team grew over the years and we built a beautiful office at our old house Casa Campana where our team worked from up until we moved to Bali.
Tell us about the move to Bali with your family—why did you choose Bali in particular?
Bali has always been a special place for my husband and I, we were married here in 2013 and would holiday here several times a year—we’ve just always felt so happy and at ease here. We always dreamed of living here but never thought it would actually be our reality with work and life so cemented in Australia. But during COVID we had lots of big conversations around what we wanted our life to look like and even though we had built our ‘forever home’ and had all the things we worked so hard for, every weekend just felt the same… we were constantly working or maintaining our acreage property. We both felt like this can’t be it forever, so we decided to sell everything and head to Bali to chase our dreams of creating our own products and work towards the end goal of having a boutique hotel and store with everything in it being something we’ve created.
The move has been so life-changing for all of us, our kids are thriving. Their friends are from all over the world—it has opened their eyes to so much. There are many different cultures, languages and backgrounds that they are fascinated by and learning so much from. Every weekend is different, we explore nearby islands get to experience the incredible restaurant scene and just meet so many like-minded families who are all wanting the same things for their families.
Tell us about your design style at home—what did you most want to achieve?
The two villas we have in Bali are designed for holiday rentals, one is rented out all year round and then our villa is rented out whenever we travel, so we wanted it to be really easy to maintain and minimal, but bring fun and interest with colourful art, beautiful marble furniture and styling pieces. The villas were already around 80% built when we purchased them so the building and layout were well and truly set… we were able to come in and put our finishing touches on them so it felt like us. But we’re super excited to build from scratch next year and bring to life some of the design ideas we have.
Your two villas can be booked for short term stays…
Yes correct both are available to be booked, we really wanted guests to feel like they are staying with old friends—we LOVE hosting our friends and family so we want guests who book La Playa to have that exact same feeling we want our loved ones to have. We also want it to feel like a hotel experience but with the comfort of a fully set-up villa. We have staff on hand that can help with anything you need from getting supplies or just keeping the house looking beautiful, to our chef that cooks your breakfast daily. We also have lots of special touches from my favourite books, our incense, record player and custom-blended bathroom products to our La Playa robes.
‘The villas were already around 80% built when we purchased them so the building and layout were well and truly set… we were able to come in and put our finishing touches on them so it felt like us.’
La Playa includes special touches from Sophie Bell’s favourite books, incense, record player and custom-blended bathroom products to La Playa robes.
“I get to do what I love, creating in any form is what I am so passionate about, so the fact that people pay me to do what used to be my hobby is still mind-blowing to me.”
‘In my home, all of our little treasures have been collected on our travels or made by my mum, so they all hold such special memories for me.’
‘I like unique pieces for my home and for my clothing—I don't like to be the same as everyone else.’
‘Everything I do is inspired by our travels; architecture, fashion, textures, colours, music, smells—it all inspires me so much.’
‘I definitely feel like my aesthetic is across everything I do—from work to my home and to my fashion.’
The pool at Sophie Bell’s villa, La Playa, in Bali.
The view from La Playa out to the rice fields in Bali.
What influences your work the most?
Travel. Everything I do is inspired by our travels; architecture, fashion, textures, colours, music, smells—it all inspires me so much. We spent two months in Europe last year and so much of my current work is still inspired by that trip, especially Spain!
What’s the first design element you notice when you walk into a room?
For me, art sets the vibe for the whole room. I’m also drawn to all the fun little trinkets and styling pieces in a room—they usually tell a story; things like trays, incense holders and candle holders. In my home, all of those little treasures have been collected on our travels or made by my mum, so they all hold such special memories for me.
How would you describe your personal aesthetic—does it cross over in your work?
I definitely feel like my aesthetic is across everything I do—from work to my home and to my fashion, it's all one aesthetic and I know when I work with other brands they want me to inject that vibe into their products or branding. I would say my personal aesthetic is on the artistic, bold side, a little eclectic and layered. I like unique things and clashing prints but also love pairing them with neutrals. I like unique pieces for my home and for my clothing—I don't like to be the same as everyone else.
Your favourite space in your home?
It would be our main bedroom—it's like a beautiful hotel suite, with a bath out in the room overlooking the rice fields. It's definitely my sanctuary and a space I feel so calm in.
The most rewarding part of your job is…
I get to do what I love, creating in any form is what I am so passionate about, so the fact that people pay me to do what used to be my hobby is still mind-blowing to me.
And the most challenging part…
Managing the business side, having a team and making sure you are on top of all the things is a huge responsibility. Once you are responsible for other people's livelihoods, not just your own, it definitely weighs heavily on you.
What’s a good piece of advice you’d give to someone starting their design career?
Find your style and really own that style—people will be drawn to your signature style when it feels authentic and they can feel your passion.
A big one for creatives is they can get in their own heads and doubt their work and their talent. I know I do this, it's human nature but I always tell myself don’t worry about what anyone else thinks of you, everyone is so wrapped up in their own projects and lives, what is the harm in putting yourself out there? What have you got to lose?
And don’t give up, you will pitch for work and sometimes it doesn’t work out but keep going, keep the momentum up and you will start to land your dream clients. And sometimes when a project doesn't work out, keep up the relationships, as you never know where the future will go and you often end up working together down the line.
What are you most excited about that’s coming up?
We’re looking at opening a store in Bali so we’ve been hunting for the perfect location. It will hopefully be open early next year if all goes to plan. It will be a mix of homewares and fashion—we can't wait!