Melbourne Home - Mandy Paton / amor y locura

Mandy Paton's South Yarra apartment

South American details fill Mandy's home... I love the handsome couple above!

Mandy's light filled dining area overlooks the shared pool! Love her rustic dining chairs, sourced on a buying trip in Argentina.

Amor y locura = love and madness

Friends at the dinner table

These days I find myself constantly on the hunt for cute Australian Homes... It is not a very streamlined research process -mainly relying on a haphazard combination of guess-work, gut instinct and random tip-offs... it's a wonder I manage to find one each week to share (and let me tell you, some weeks I cut it pretty fine!). ANYWAY. I am always quite pleased with myself when I get an inkling which turns out to be a winner! Today's home tour is one such example! I have been chasing Mandy (nicely) for quite a few months, hoping/assuming her home would be lovely. And guess what? It's lovely! Phew.

Mandy Paton is the owner of Fitzroy's very gorgeous shop amor y locura. You know, that one you always drive / cycle past on your way home from work and think "man that shop looks cool, I gotta check that out". YES you do! Amor y locura (translation - 'Love and Madness') is full to the brim of Mandy's incredible finds, uncovered on frequent buying trips to South America - Mexican hand-painted 'day of the dead' ephemera, Argentinian artefacts and exquisite antiques, wrought iron furniture and gates, rustic press metal mirrors and lanterns and lighting, a huge life-size copper(?) palm tree...?! It really is a treasure trove of unique pieces... and you can certainly be assured that you just won't see these items anywhere else!

Not surprisingly, the South Yarra apartment Mandy shares with her teenage daughter is just as beautiful as her shop - although a little more restrained! Nestled in an incredible art deco mansion-style building by the Yarra, the 2-bedroom space is bright, warm and welcoming. It's furnished sparely with Mandy's favourite finds, many from South America of course. The apartment overlooks the shared pool and leafy surrounds, with beautiful views from every window. There's something truly unique about this grand apartment building - it really feels like no other building in Melbourne...! It has a distinctly 'international' flavour... walking up the ornate, almost gothic staircase, with ferns and overgrown foliage cascading down the central light well, you feel you've been transported to 1930's LA, or perhaps even Barcelona. It's a bit magical like that.

If you love Mandy's home you really need to check out her incredible shop! A truly unique Melbourne shopping experience! (some pics of the store below)

amor y locura
77 Gertrude st
Fitzroy

www.amorylocura.com

Winter trading hours :

Friday and Saturday 11.00am - 6.00pm
Sunday 11.00am - 3.00pm

Appointments very welcome on other days! ph. 9486 0270

Top - view of the pool from Mandy's dining room., bottom - a little underwater 'window' through to the pool!

amor y locura - how good are Mandy's new Mexican 'Acapulco' chairs in those brilliant bright colours?!

amor y locura

amor y locura

Melbourne Home - Felicity & David of Yellow Diva

The Williamstown home of Felicity and David Joll and family - above - one of David's striking chair designs for Yellow Diva.

Hallway from entrance

Lovely view of the lemon tree from Felicity's study

Bright pops of yellow in the study

One of Yellow Diva's popular recent designs - the M Series armchair, launched last year.

Love Felicity and David's eclectic colourful the loungeroom - reupholstered antique chairs and chaise, Turkish rugs, kooky wall-mounted shelving...


More loungeroom details - including a very special UFO-style lamp by international design superstars El Ultimo Grito. Felicity and David picked it up many moons ago at a trade fair in London.


Oh my. I know I say this every week, but really and truly, how gorgeous is this home? UK-born Felicity Joll and her Australian husband David Walley moved to Melbourne from London with their kids 5 years ago, after many years living in the UK. They settled in the pretty village suburb of Williamstown, purchasing a cute but slightly run-down Victorian weatherboard home. The creative pair instantly set about re-designing their ramshackle little cottage... didn't they do an incredible job?

With backgrounds in architecture, furniture design and film design, it's no surprise that David & Felicity have managed to design and build a rear extension which seems to connect so seamlessly with the existing property... and somehow feels like it's been there forever! The outcome is so beautiful and has a really homely, welcoming feel. Strangely enough, it seems like a really 'English' home to me - despite being tucked just behind Williamstown beach! I think this is partly because the pair designed their extension around distinctly separate living zones - Felicity explained to me that they were really keen on the idea of separate kitchen and living rooms... which is so rare these days. It really works well in this space - no open plan living around here!

And if you're wondering about Felicity and David's incredible furniture, those amazing sculptural chairs are designed by David for the couple's furniture company, Yellow Diva! Long-standing readers might remember I interviewed David 2 whole years ago...? Wow time flies!

If you LOVE Felicity and David's home I am sure you will love their range of furniture and new home accessories...! Yellow Diva are exhibiting this week at Design:Made:Trade in Melbourne and have four brand new products to share... a sneak peek is below! Do pop in and say hello if you're heading to D:M:T!

Yellow Diva's brand new SpiraLites and Fandeck pendant lampshades, launching this week at Design:Made:Trade.

Yellow Diva - Stall 69 at Design:Made:Trade
Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton
July 15th - 18th (15th - 16th trade only, 17th - 18th open to the public)
$10.00 entry on the weekend

Yellow Diva showroom
51 Victoria Crescent
Abbotsford

9421 8844

Open Monday - Friday 10.00am - 5.00pm

Yes an original Banksy! (Purchased in London while they were still affordable!)

Kitchen. Love that heart-shaped Le Creuset pot! (A wedding gift)

David's WB stool design for Zenith furniture. It is REALLY nice. And comfy. See more colours / variations here.

Rear addition (nice Melbourne weather)

Bedroom aka 'Parent's Retreat!'

No TDF home tour is complete with the obligatory Kids's rooms!

Looking out the front door...

ACTUAL nature strip in Williamstown. Amazing, no?! Just like a country town! And there are swings on the nature strip outside everyone's houses (I saw at least 3). True story!

Byron Bay Home - Sonya Marish of Jatana Interiors

The Byron Bay home of Sonya Marish and family

You know one of the biggest challenges I have in sourcing content for this site is finding fabulous Australian Homes to feature every single week! For this reason I must say always appreciate a reader tip-off (hint hint!), particularly for interstate homes which of course are a little trickier to find! Today's home is one such tip-off - the stunning NSW Coastal home of interior designer Sonya Marish was mentioned to me recently by Sydney-based Tina Clark, whose own Tamarama home I featured on the site many moons ago! (...Tina's home has since been featured by Real Living and I think in fact can be seen in their current issue!)

Anyway I am so grateful to Tina for this one... because it sure is a beauty!

Sonya Marish's house is more than just a vibrant happy home to her growing family - it's also the perfect showcase for the stunning tiles she sources through her company, Jatana Interiors. Sonya sells the most incredible rare antique floor and wall tiles sourced from across the globe. It is just the most exquisite hand-picked collection.. and Sonya is also able to custom design tiles for a truly bespoke service - and a bathroom unlike anyone else's! Many of Sonya's favourite finds have been put to good use in her own home - just looking at these shots, it's clear how passionate she is about these precious pieces!

Sonya has always been one to seek out unique pieces... she has spent years travelling the globe and picking up gorgeous items from far away places, and of course displaying them with pride at home to remind her of her travels. A while ago Sonya started to buy her special finds en masse with a plan to set up a little market stall at the local markets in Sydney and in the NSW North Coast.

It was her love of intricate and exotic patterns that first inspired Sonya's purchases - whether those patterns were found in silver jewelery, on cushions, throws, quilts or clothing, Sonya says she 'just loved the busyness, the detail, the life in the designs.' This love soon transferred to an obsession with finding intricately patterned tiles for her own bathroom renovation. She had recently completed Interior Design training when embarking on her bathroom project, and was very excited to put her new skills into practice at home. It soon became apparent that her passion was in antique and reproduction decorated tiles - just like all her decorated fabrics, only in tile form, or as she says, in 'hard copy!'

Sonya's obsession with these tiles grew and grew as she accumulated and sourced more and more designs - 'They are an artform within themselves and bring something special to a space, beyond their beautiful colour and patterns' says Sonya. It wasn't long before Jatana Interiors was born!

If you love her home, chances are you will also seriously love Sonya's stunning collection of tiles... Do pop over and see the gorgeousness for yourself!

ps. Sonya also has a great little blog!

LOVE Sonya's colourful sunroom

Bathroom - showcasing stunning Jatana Interiors tiles

Jatana Interiors tiles

Jatana Interiors tiles

Love the jewel-like doorknobs and those fabulous tiles framing the fireplace...

*please note - Blogger is having some issues with the comments system this week - please continue to leave your comments here... They are coming through, but there seems to be a delay with them displaying on the site... don't be alarmed if you comment does not pop up straight away! Thankyou for your patience guys! x

Melbourne Home - Rosetta Santucci and family

The Footscray home of Rosetta Santucci and family

Perhaps this gorgeous place might look a little familiar... The lovely home of the Santucci family in Footscray has received it's fair share of attention over the past few years - it's been featured in a few local mags, and you might also have spotted it earlier this year on Design*Sponge! Much deserved attention I must say!

Anyhoo, I hope you will agree that when a place is truly this gorgeous, it is ok to double up :) Because, seriously, how lovely is it??!

The Santucci's are just the most beautiful and insanely talented family. Both John and Rosetta are incredibly talented artists.... you may have seen their stunning paintings around Melbourne galleries and homes, or featured in print over the past few years. John and Rosetta also both have a background in the film industry - John in the art department, and Rosetta in costume. A few years ago Rosetta left it all behind to pursue her passion, with the encouragement of her wonderful husband! Brilliant move! (...and I can definitely vouch for the fact that working fulltime in the film industry is not exactly conducive to pursuing ones' passion...!)

Rosetta and John bought their little weatherboard cottage in Footscray 4.5 years ago. It was built around the 1920's, with a big back yard, 'I could see some potential' says Rosetta 'and believe me, you did have to have an imagination!'. Rosetta and John pulled up the carpets, polished the boards themselves and painted them with a Porter's wood wash - transforming the place into a light, bright space. When they got the keys after settlement, they realised that the "bright kitchen" and "functional bathroom" actually had to be raised to the ground and rebuilt - which John and a builder friend did in a tight squeeze of 3 weeks before christmas! 'Stress levels were a little high!' Rosetta remembers!

Next on the list was a studio out the back - the whole family had to squeeze into one bedroom for many months, to wait for the studio to be built, as the 2nd bedroom was used as as studio in the mean time. 'Finally we got our studio and the boys (Oliver and Marcello) could move into their own room.' says Rosetta 'It felt like a whole new space opened up!'

You can see many of Rosetta's exquisite paintings in these shots of her beautiful home... and before you ask WHERE CAN I BUY ONE OF THOSE AMAZING PAINTINGS you might also like to know that next month Rosetta is having a solo exhibition of brand new work at Green-Wood Gallery in South Melbourne!

Sneaky-peeks at Rosetta's brand new works for the upcoming show! - "Follow me there" Acrylic on canvas, 92 x 92 cm.

And another... "Forage through" acrylic on canvas, 61 x 76cm

Rosetta Santucci Exhibition

Opening night - Thursday July 22nd 6.00pm - 8.00pm (all welcome)
Exhibition runs 22nd July until 8th August 2010
Gallery hours - Wed - Sun, 11.00am - 500pm

Green-Wood Gallery
1 Hothan st, South Melbourne

Put it in your diary right now people! Rosetta's work gets snapped up quicker than the Prime Minister-ship in an election year. (Thanks to tweeters Cocollette and KT for that one!).

The Santucci's cute pooch is not camera shy...

...and he kind of matches the furniture?

Love the master bedroom... Another beautiful Rosetta Santucci painting above the bed. Swoon.

Painting studio

One more of Rosetta's new paintings for the upcoming show... "I know the way out" Acrylic on canvas. 183 x 137 cm.