57 318
BLACK & WHITE
57
May15
Portsdown Pad
Mel had long had her eye on the
houses in the Portsdown Road area.
Rory had just started at TTS, and their
current black-and-white house is just a
200-metre walk from the school. “It’s
convenient, I love the style, and although
we had to carry out our own additions
and renovations, it made sense for us.”
They renovated the bathroomupstairs,
added an extension to the front of the
house, complete with temporary roof
and blinds, and put the pool in. They
also created an outdoor play space
between the kitchen and helper’s area.
“We used the same people who did the
work for us in the Namly house; they
work so quickly and for about half the
price charged by other contractors we
approached.”
With the house now just the way she
wants it, Mel is investing more of her
time into her fitness business, Bloom’n
Fit, a far cry from her original career in
advertising. “That industry is so stressful
and I’d always looked for outlets to de-
stress, exercise being one of them.”
Vowing not to return to advertising
once Rory was born, she remembers
taking part in a “strollercise” class
during the family’s trip to New York, and
was sold. Following that same model,
the Bloom’n Fit business was started
up in Singapore by her friend Claire
Dinsmore; and when she moved to
Atlanta soon afterwards, Mel was only
too happy to take over.
The core business is with her mums’
and kids’ classes, but Mel also offers
intensive boot camps, boxfit classes
and yoga. “I would love to get more
men along to the boot camp and boxing
classes and see if they can keep up with
my super-fit mums,” she says. Mel is
also the fitness trainer for the Singapore
Gaelic Lions. “It’s my way of supporting
the club,” she explains.
In fact, a few hours after our interview
she’s flying out to Abu Dhabi to take part
in the GAA World Games, so there’s just
enough time for me to have that proper
nose around her home before I go.
Right:
“I love Rory’s room: it’s a great space, and I had
such fun bringing what I had pictured in my mind to
reality. I feel like this room suits his personality.”
Bottom right:
The ballet barre is from Jordy’s first
ballet teacher. “Jordy has her own style: shabby-chic.
Her style doesn’t really match mine, but that’s OK.”