Houzz Tour: An Artist's Take on Vintage-Eclectic
Melbourne artist Paula Mills has drawn together the unique fittings and furnishings for her new home from marvellous second-hand finds
Vanessa Brunner
8 August 2014
Houzz Contributor
For many homeowners decorating your house in all-vintage can be a tough sell. But for blogger and artist Paula Mills it’s a necessity. “My style has always been vintage-eclectic,” she says. “I try hard to avoid new products. Why go out and buy brand new things, when you can enjoy something in your home that’s been pre-loved, is full of character and is part of an era where things were made to last?”
Mills’s home is located in Warrandyte, a small wooded suburb north of Melbourne. She and her family moved into the home recently, and were drawn to its lush surroundings, back garden space and nearby nature reserve. Mills used a combination of finds from flea and craft markets, charity shops and products found on travels to create a welcoming home that’s anything but ordinary.
Mills’s home is located in Warrandyte, a small wooded suburb north of Melbourne. She and her family moved into the home recently, and were drawn to its lush surroundings, back garden space and nearby nature reserve. Mills used a combination of finds from flea and craft markets, charity shops and products found on travels to create a welcoming home that’s anything but ordinary.
Mills found her retro-pink vintage dining table and chairs at an auction in South Africa. The pendants above the dining table were being thrown out at an art school in Melbourne – Mills stopped by just in time to save four of them for her dining and living room spaces.
This open living area is Mills’s favourite room in the house. It’s completely open plan, with the kitchen, dining room and living areas all connected. “It’s full of light, and the heart of our house,” says Mills.
This open living area is Mills’s favourite room in the house. It’s completely open plan, with the kitchen, dining room and living areas all connected. “It’s full of light, and the heart of our house,” says Mills.
On the other side of the dining and kitchen area, there’s another living room with a balcony and view overlooking a canopy of trees. Another salvaged pendant light leads the eye from the dining table over to the living room. Mills’s look is a highly personal mix of vintage and industrial style. Nothing in her home is cookie cutter – each piece is unique.
Mills discovered the black couch while on a trip to London. The sofa is topped with pillows from Etsy, as well as pillows made of fabric she found in South Africa. The floor lamp came from a junk shop in Melbourne, and the industrial benchtop was purchased from Kabinett Vintage.
As for the amazing distressed fireplace? Surprisingly, it didn’t come with the home. “I found the fireplace at a junk shop on the way back from a camping trip,” says Mills. “Thankfully, we had a trailer with us. I just strapped the old Victorian wooden fireplace on, then took it home!”
As for the amazing distressed fireplace? Surprisingly, it didn’t come with the home. “I found the fireplace at a junk shop on the way back from a camping trip,” says Mills. “Thankfully, we had a trailer with us. I just strapped the old Victorian wooden fireplace on, then took it home!”
These retro stools add a pop of colour to the bright white of the home’s floors and walls. A vintage advertising chalkboard in the kitchen was a lucky flea market find that helps when writing last-minute grocery lists.
Mills found this 1950s kitchen cupboard at a local charity shop and filled it with her vintage dish collection to complete the look.
The intricately carved bed frames in the children's room were found at an antique shop in Johannesburg, South Africa. "I feel like it's important for our home to reflect who we are as a family," says Mills. "We're creative, fun, messy and relaxed. We also wanted to make the most out of our surroundings by enhancing light and space."
The original floors in the home were an orange and very knotty pine, as were most of the cupboards and the staircase. Even though it wasn’t practical to keep clean, Mills decided to paint it all white. “It’s brightened up the whole house,” she says. “It’s well worth the extra sweeping I have to do!”
While some of the artwork in her home is the result of years of collecting, much of it is also some of Mills’s own work. Mills runs both her blog, Sweet William, and an Etsy art and accessory shop with her sister.
Mills’s bedroom is as eclectic as the rest of her home, but it also has a relaxing and soothing sensibility. The organised chaos of the other rooms is left behind here. The vanity was a lucky find ($50!) from a local charity shop. The sweet wire ‘amour’ was found while Mills was holidaying in Ireland.
In lieu of the traditional nightstand and table lamp set-up, Mills’s husband installed simple bulb pendants on either side of the bed. A colourful banner and a painting salvaged from a local second-hand shop add cheer and Mills’s signature quirky style to the space.
A blend of Mills’s own artwork and vintage finds sit above the mantel in her work studio. “I love the idea of giving new life to something that was destined for the landfills,” she says. “I’ve really enjoyed the blank canvas of this house and adding all of our bits of colour, texture and patterns.”
Mills’s studio in her home functions as a place for her to work on her art, collages and sewing for her shop. A craft table holds supplies for current and future projects.
While Mills loves her new home, like any homeowner she can’t help but daydream about what would make it perfect. “I would love to make the rooms a bit bigger,” she says. “And maybe one day I could open up the ceiling.”
While Mills loves her new home, like any homeowner she can’t help but daydream about what would make it perfect. “I would love to make the rooms a bit bigger,” she says. “And maybe one day I could open up the ceiling.”
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when you say that decorating all vintage is a necessity for Paula Mills - what you should say is that vintage is her chosen style. Of course it helps that its currently trendy to be vintage! But true necessity is when you can't actually afford to buy new stuff - hence the old "make do and mend" - which actually was borne out of necessity and poverty. Its how many of us "styled" our homes, when our kids were small and we were stay at home mums - all hand me downs and junk store finds - I learned very early on to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"! (Haha - bet THAT is a cliche today's vintage bloggers have never heard of ;)
my home is all hand me downs and a mixture of things, I love it, it welcomes me when I come in...