Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Collector's Cottage Filled to the Brim With Vintage Treasures
Katoomba collector fills her Mountains' cottage to the brim with vintage treasures
A wide variety of 1950s homewares, toys and artefacts fill every corner of this Blue Mountains cottage owned by collector and graphic designer Tracey Mandelberg and evokes a time gone by. It’s enough to make a minimalist break into a cold sweat. Tracey started collecting things when she was 21 years of age and hasn’t stopped.
Houzz at Glance:
Who Lives Here: Tracey Mandelberg and family, with whippets Cookie and Cricket
Location: Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW
Size: 2-bedroom cottage with studio
Built: 1918
Houzz at Glance:
Who Lives Here: Tracey Mandelberg and family, with whippets Cookie and Cricket
Location: Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW
Size: 2-bedroom cottage with studio
Built: 1918
The cottage, with its vintage fittings, was also the perfect home for Tracey’s growing collection. The kitchen is original 1950s and Tracey has left it as is, with a few additions of her own, including the vintage dining table and lots of retro canisters. Even the stove is an original that, according to Tracey, “can be a bit limiting as the oven only turns on and off, but I keep it because I love it.”
The whippet Cricket loves just chilling on the Mid-century Modern furniture. The other whippet Cookie couldn’t sit still long enough to be photographed (see below).
“My grandmother used to take me to this op-shop in Chatswood [in Sydney] called the White Elephant,” says Tracey. “That’s where the dysfunction started!”
Her maternal grandmother was also a collector, but Tracey reckons the impulse is passed on from both sides as her father bought and sold antiques.
At 21, Tracey bought some plaster flying ducks – the kind you put on the wall – and that was the start of her collecting. “I just found them funny,” she says.
Her maternal grandmother was also a collector, but Tracey reckons the impulse is passed on from both sides as her father bought and sold antiques.
At 21, Tracey bought some plaster flying ducks – the kind you put on the wall – and that was the start of her collecting. “I just found them funny,” she says.
The collection features mainly ‘50s pieces, which is Tracey’s passion, but she also has items from the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s.
“I like the colours and designs of the ‘50s. It was an optimistic era –the postwar US era. People were getting on with their lives,” says Tracey. “After the ‘40s, which was darker and generally ‘browner’, all this colour started to appear, and modernist architecture. There was an explosion of design and colour.
“Here in Australia, there was a lot of Eastern European immigration in the ‘40s and ‘50s. This brought all kinds of influences – and a world of design and ceramics.”
“I like the colours and designs of the ‘50s. It was an optimistic era –the postwar US era. People were getting on with their lives,” says Tracey. “After the ‘40s, which was darker and generally ‘browner’, all this colour started to appear, and modernist architecture. There was an explosion of design and colour.
“Here in Australia, there was a lot of Eastern European immigration in the ‘40s and ‘50s. This brought all kinds of influences – and a world of design and ceramics.”
Tracey loves to collect vintage dolls and mannequins. “I don’t know why. They’re charming but slightly creepy,” she says. “And they’re evocative of childhood and old department stores.”
What makes this collection so interesting is that it’s not a carefully staged production with many obvious pieces of the era. It’s funny and unpredictable because it’s not based on fashion, but on Tracey’s individual tastes – tinged with nostalgia for a bygone era and also with an eye for humour.
“I enjoy Mid-century Modern design. But I’m not interested in mainstream pieces – I would be much more likely to invest in some no-name chair that no-one knows anything about than a Noguchi coffee table,” Tracey admits.
The house featured in the artwork here shows Tracey’s “other ideal home” – a classic Australian fibro beach house.
Some of these are authentic Barsony ceramic figurines. “I’ve always loved Barsony ceramics and lamps but was hesitant to buy them for years,” Tracey says. “Then I started because I just find them really beautiful.”
George Barsony was a Hungarian sculptor who arrived in Australia in 1949 and whose ceramics were popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They are now highly collectable.
George Barsony was a Hungarian sculptor who arrived in Australia in 1949 and whose ceramics were popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They are now highly collectable.
Tracey particularly likes ‘50s ceramics with a European flavour. The vases pictured may be genuine Barsony, but Tracey can’t be sure, as these particular ones aren’t marked.
This vignette features a Barsony lamp, a print of a painting by the Russian-born painter Tretchikoff, and a painting of a boy Tracey just happened to like and picked up at Rozelle Markets in Sydney.
Tracey advises never buying more than one thing – because once you’ve bought two of something, it’s a collection. “You’ve started and you’re in trouble!” she warns.
But for anyone who really wants to start a collection, she advises beginning with things you simply love, and to start collecting at vintage markets, op-shops and auctions.
“It’s actually a great way to spend a day, but auctions are pretty dangerous!” she says.
But for anyone who really wants to start a collection, she advises beginning with things you simply love, and to start collecting at vintage markets, op-shops and auctions.
“It’s actually a great way to spend a day, but auctions are pretty dangerous!” she says.
Tracey’s collection focuses primarily on Americana. “England and Europe were more affected by the war and took more time to get over it,” she says. “So a lot of that colourful stuff came from the US. They were living the dream and that’s the attraction of those things.”
The Hoosier cabinet would have been imported from the US. Rare in Australia, they were made from the early decades of the 20th century. Showing that they really don’t make them like they did back then, the cabinet is complete with bread board, metal-lined drawers for flour, a chute for sugar, a recipe book holder; the list of practical functions for bakers goes on.
This pantry was purpose-built for Tracey’s extensive collection of ceramics, including rare J&G Meakin South Seas (English) ceramics, that come in gorgeous pastels.
I ask Tracey if these are for everyday use. “Yes, of course. And, yes, I do get angry when someone breaks one,” she says, laughing.
I ask Tracey if these are for everyday use. “Yes, of course. And, yes, I do get angry when someone breaks one,” she says, laughing.
Every room of Tracey’s cottage, including her 10-year-old’s, is filled with vintage finds.
She is relieved that her 10-year-old loves the collection, too. Not surprising, given that so much of it comprises toys.
It’s lucky that they both share Tracey’s passion for aesthetically pleasing toys, “but there’s a line drawn between children’s toys and my toys!” says Tracey.
Tracey has pulled together her collection from many sources – from op-shops, markets, vintage stores, and from online sources, such as ebay.
There’s something nostalgic about the toys and dolls. The wooden toy pictured is in great condition and is still perfectly usable, but you can see and feel from the surface that it has been played with and touched thousands of times.
This particular one was first brought by a late friend of Tracey’s. She met this friend when they both spotted it at a local Salvation Army shop. He beat her to it and, to her great disappointment, bought it first – but they stayed in touch and a few weeks later he gave it to her. Now her friend is deceased, she treasures it more than ever.
This particular one was first brought by a late friend of Tracey’s. She met this friend when they both spotted it at a local Salvation Army shop. He beat her to it and, to her great disappointment, bought it first – but they stayed in touch and a few weeks later he gave it to her. Now her friend is deceased, she treasures it more than ever.
The home features collections of vintage children’s books including the well-loved Bobbsey Twins and many Enid Blyton classics.
Some pieces have been salvaged from unexpected places – this old tin sign advertising local tourist attraction, Jenolan Caves, was found by a friend of hers during a kitchen renovation. It was being used as a shelf under the kitchen sink – now it has pride of place at Tracey’s entrance.
Signs can be found all around the house – this one is a warning to visitors that the studio at the side of Tracey’s home is out of bounds.
Tracey with the whippets Cricket and Cookie.
To make some room in the cottage, some of Tracey’s things can be found for sale on Instagram.
My Houzz is an ongoing series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes in Australia and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more inspiring projects.
To make some room in the cottage, some of Tracey’s things can be found for sale on Instagram.
My Houzz is an ongoing series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes in Australia and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more inspiring projects.
“I can’t explain it but I love the house,” she says. “I just knew it was the one for me.”