My Houzz: Heart Wins Over Head in Showbiz Cottage
It may not have ticked any boxes on the checklist, but this Melbourne home most definitely pulled on heart strings
Kate Hansen
1 September 2015
Houzz Contributer based in Melbourne, Victoria. Photographer, blogger and perpetual sticky beaker on the blog, The Room Illuminated.
Houzz Contributer based in Melbourne, Victoria. Photographer, blogger and perpetual... More
A home that’s a true reflection of the people that live within its walls can’t help but be a space that’s warm and inviting. The owner of this star-studded home, Jane Guy (affectionately known to friends and family as ‘Miss Jane’), is head mistress to the stars at her tap dancing academy, Glamour Puss Studios. At every twist and turn in Miss Jane’s Victorian cottage are examples of her eclectic style, with splashes of Hollywood glamour, vintage treasures, mid-century pieces and nods to her love of all things showbiz.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Miss Jane, founder of Glamour Puss Studios, her husband, Grant, and Frenchie the cat.
Location: South Yarra, Melbourne
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Miss Jane, founder of Glamour Puss Studios, her husband, Grant, and Frenchie the cat.
Location: South Yarra, Melbourne
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Curiosity alone led Miss Jane and husband, Grant, to first inspect the home. The house had belonged to designer Peter Alexander and there was some talk of the furniture in the home being covered in crazy pyjama fabric. As it turned out, the pyjama furniture story was greatly exaggerated, but as fate would have it, they connected with the home and its offerings immediately and signed on the dotted line.
“The home had practically no features from our wish list – no double frontage, no driveway, no garage, and no swimming pool. Not to mention we were looking on the opposite side of town,” says Miss Jane. “But this pretty little house spoke to us both in a way that made us realise we would be getting so much more than what we wished for, so we followed our hearts instead of our heads, and have consequently been very happy here for over a decade. We believe it is our forever home.”
Being avid readers and book collectors, Miss Jane and Grant were over the moon when their home offered the space for a separate library. “Our home is very much tailored to our lifestyle and child-free status,” Miss Jane explains. “It does seem dreadful that when our nieces and nephews come to stay they have to sleep on the floor, as we have a study and a library where better hosts than us would have two guest bedrooms.”
Prior to meeting, Miss Jane and Grant had never been overseas. They decided to visit Asia together, and the vintage Balinese puppets, pictured, were the first souvenirs they purchased.
Vintage pieces, knick knacks and curios are dotted all around the home. These portraits have a special family connection to Miss Jane. “They’re my great aunt’s – I have a few pictures of them. They always have pink cheeks and big hair and I have always found them fascinatingly severe and glamorous at the same time,” she says.
“I clearly recall the first time I became aware of Marilyn Monroe, watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the midday movie that was showing on a sick day from school,” says Miss Jane. “When I first saw her and Jane Russell appear in those red sequinned dresses, I almost died from glamour. She is from the era I love the most.”
The minute Miss Jane saw the beautiful, deep claw foot bath, she fell in love. And since that first glance, many a soak has been had with champagne and Vanity Fair in hand.
“Everything in here mismatches to perfection for me. I basically just spray painted the cane chair that was my grandmother’s, added a mismatched cushion from Ikea, threw in the Missoni towels and Central Park shower curtain and called it a day!”
“Everything in here mismatches to perfection for me. I basically just spray painted the cane chair that was my grandmother’s, added a mismatched cushion from Ikea, threw in the Missoni towels and Central Park shower curtain and called it a day!”
All major renovations on the bathroom were done by the previous owner. The only minor alterations taken on by Miss Jane was replacing the toilet and vanity tapware. “I’m a big one for changing things up and making them my own, but I’ve never wanted to change a thing in this room.”
This home has a large separate dining room that sits between the original part of the home and the newer two-storey addition. The table, from Jimmy Possum, seats 12 and has been where many happy meals with family and friends have taken place, “not to mention some very widespread crafternoons with the nieces, and martini-soaked costume making workshops with the tap girls!” says Miss Jane.
A passion for showbiz runs in the family. Both Miss Jane’s aunt and grandmother worked at the Tivoli (Melbourne’s famed variety and vaudeville theatre), and the framed theatre programs on the wall were collected by Miss Jane’s mum and dad when they were courting.
Pendant light: Bunnings
The dining room is the darkest room in the house, which Miss Jane says works well for making a large group feel intimate. “We have tried to embrace the dark glamour (and disguise the proximity of the house next door) by hanging a fabric vintage Bollywood movie poster outside the dining room window,” she says.
Upstairs is the master bedroom with a commanding arched window. It provides expansive views of the city and foliage from mature trees that are in neighbouring yards.
Pendant light: Ikea
Pendant light: Ikea
“Colour in the house makes me happy and I really wanted the bedroom to feel bright, light, cosy and happy all at the same time,” says Miss Jane. So the room wouldn’t feel too busy, she put in less things, but more colour. “I strive for the winning combination of feeling peaceful when I go to sleep, and happy when I wake up,” says Miss Jane.
The walls of the ensuite were originally lined with the same cedar panelling that lines the bedroom ceiling. Not really to the couple’s liking, the walls were promptly painted.
The living area leads on to the backyard through double doors. It’s in here where the mid-century influence is most noticeable.
“We love mid-century modern. We have a 1958 Palmer and Krisel-designed home in Palm Springs that we were able to furnish from scratch, so we have been willing slaves to modernism in that home,” says Miss Jane. “We have tried to work a bit of mid-century goodness into this home, but we are also conscious of not trying to make this 1900s Victorian cottage something it is not.”
“We love mid-century modern. We have a 1958 Palmer and Krisel-designed home in Palm Springs that we were able to furnish from scratch, so we have been willing slaves to modernism in that home,” says Miss Jane. “We have tried to work a bit of mid-century goodness into this home, but we are also conscious of not trying to make this 1900s Victorian cottage something it is not.”
Frenchie taking it easy on the comfy leather couch.
Miss Jane bought these Travilla sketches at an auction when visiting a costume designer’s home in Los Angeles. One of the sketches in this collection was the inspiration for a costume made for Marilyn Monroe, another reason why Miss Jane couldn’t let the opportunity to purchase the drawings pass her by.
The kitchen design is simple yet functional. Miss Jane is able to display her favourite crockery in the glass cabinet above the stove.
The hanging garden sits just outside the kitchen window. The plants, referred to affectionately as the ‘heritage garden’, were adopted from the gardens of the couple’s parents’ homes and also from the garden of Miss Jane’s grandmother.
Outside, the dining table was removed from the courtyard and replaced with a cosy corner configuration that was more conducive to the outdoor lifestyle that the couple prefer. “Reading the paper, sipping on a morning coffee or naughty afternoon glass of champagne” is how Miss Jane says they like to enjoy the space.
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.
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Have you seen my house on Houzz? Aside from the 'no kids' part I feel we could swap homes and be equally happy in each others spaces. In a home one should always go with the heart and gut, it's the only way to happiness. Your home is welcoming, bright, creative, interesting and most importantly has soul. I too believe my home to be my forever home but if I ever moved to Australia your home would do nicely ;)
This home is wonderfully fun. I don't think I've seen the "O. Henry's Full House" film featured in the large poster in the first photo. What a cast as well as the directors who participated. I wonder why we almost never see such films. I try to catch TCM (Turner Classic Movies) when I can.
@18kingsleyave thanks for your lovely words - I have just spent an eye popping half hour looking at your amazing house - I agree both our collections of STUFF would fit perfectly in to each others houses! I love your barn doors the most - gorgeous!