the home of melissa mills

melissa mills is a photographer with a love for all things vintage. she kindly let me into her home to photograph the beautiful spaces within. i shot on film, hence the grain and imperfections.

melissa and her husband shaun built their house, and therein lay the challenge to create something modern, yet incorporate melissa’s love of “antiques and things with character”. The high ceilings, recycled floorboards and ornate cornices lend themselves to a vintage style home – not to mention the twin wooden front doors, sourced from Egypt.

Melissa’s favourite part of their house is the living room, “because of the beautiful light i get all day and the fact that its spacious and the hub of the family.”

The house is filled with little treasures – I had so much fun spooking around and looking at all the awesome finds in this house. Melissa finds her vintage delights “everywhere and anywhere” from the side of the road to ebay to second hand shops. “My mum is an avid collector”, says Melissa, “and when I was little I used to get mad as she dragged me into yet another antique store. I could never understand why she liked all this old ‘crap’, but now I’m just like her, although our tastes do differ.”

In three words, Melissa has described her home as comfortable, functional and unique, and a “well thought out space that allows us to be together as a family”. 

I think they’ve done a wonderful job of merging the old with the new and creating a home that feels modern yet hints at a vintage past. Thank you so much for letting me into your home, melissa. With your pieces of inspiration artfully positioned on unassuming shelves and walls, it was hard not to feel inspired.

the home of tea for two!

when i went to tasmania, quite a few months ago now, i had the priviledge of photographing my sister katie and her husband ben's little home. i love their place. all the little things just seem to come together in a way that gives this home such a cute personality.

Katie's design style is all about symmetry, clean lines and cute things. She has made these three elements work well together by creating a space where organised piles of fabric, rows of magazines and books and stacks of square t2 boxes complement the cute little things she has placed on the shelves of her bookcase.

What Katie (and Ben) love most about their home is its functionality. "Despite the fact that the whole house is so small, each area is very functional and not a single cubic metre is wasted. My husband lives and breathes functionality. If something is not practical then why use it. Better to throw it away and design something better! (I tend to favour form over function most of the time, much to his disagreement). At the end of the day we have a functional house with the added touches of a home (thanks to me) to give it that aesthetic appeal."

" Our space is very well designed (by Ben’s uncle/architect!). It catches the sun in winter through a high north facing window. This same window is positioned so that very minimal sun beats through in summer, keeping the house cooler. Its height means that it allows optimal light, keeping the place nice and bright and airy, without compromising privacy – no need for curtains or blinds!"

"The living spaces flow easily from one area to the next: living to dining to kitchen. Anyone who has been around to our place would easily notice this. It is nice and open and each area has its own function."

Creating a space that is unique and reflects the people who live there can be challenging when room is limited.

"Working with the limited room has been an ongoing challenge from the day we first set foot in this place. As our needs have changed, so has the way in which we have organised our home. First it was sorting/organising and storing our wedding gifts when we first moved in. Deciding which items to display and which to store away was tricky, as we wanted to show it all. About a year later it was finding a place to store all our newly acquired bushwalking gear (we had fallen in love with the pastime). In the last few months we have been busy re-arranging upstairs and downstairs to make room for our beautiful new addition to the family, our baby boy."

"Luckily, the house was designed with storage in mind. There are lots of ‘hiding’ spots for our things. We’ve also used clever ways of tucking clutter and things out of sight – pretty storage boxes that hide stuff but are appealing enough to be placed in visual areas. Every now and then we have a ‘blitz’ and change an area of storage to make it more functional/practical (usually instigated by Ben!)"

"It becomes a unique space when you add all the things that reflect me and my style…clean lines, symmetrical displays and all the things I love – fresh flowers, tea (+ lots of it!), teapots, books and photos. All these things make it ‘ours.’"

Katie's house is made a home because, as she says, "all the things I love are in it and on display. I just wish I had more space to express myself sometimes! I guess because there’s only a limited space for our bits and pieces we have to be careful that we don’t end up “cluttering” it up too much."

"My favourite place is upstairs – the coziness of our big bed…my craft table which contains piles of yummy fabric just waiting to be crafted into something…my clothesline of cards and other things I’ve made or kept, hanging by little wooden pegs above my craft table. I love to sit downstairs on the couch whilst I’m feeding my little boy and admire the upstairs area I can see. I think the beautiful plywood tree Ben made last Christmas really fits in with this area nicely.
All of Eamon’s things have made our house very homely as well – mobiles, his owl wall decal, white cot and change-table and the shelves above containing so many of his ‘baby’ things."

This won't be home for Katie and Ben forever - they have plans to build a new house. Will the same design features carry over into the new house?

"I think we will continue this design in some ways in that our next house will also be functional. We are functional people so we would like to plan for each of our living spaces to be practical. The same architect who designed our unit has also had input into our new house so once again it will have some clever features, with some more modern touches as well. It will continue to be an open living theme but hopefully will reflect more of our personal styles and what we would like out of our house – I can’t wait!"

We can't wait either to come visit you either, Katie and Ben! Thank you so much for letting me 'into your window'!

'home away from home'

During my mid semester break adventures, i began to develop some ideas for the next 'into my window'. as i was riding my bike on a sunny day along the geographe bay coast, thinking about all the houses and wondering what was inside them, a lovely bunch of people waved to me from their porch and invited me in for a lemonade! invigorated and inspired by the house, (and by the holiday makers' generous hospitality) i endeavoured to stop by again and take some pictures, and so i did :)

i love this house every time i step into it. from the carpet to the lights to the garden, everything about it has charm. i wanted to challenge myself with this project, and i thought the best way to capture this house was with film! so, armed with the clunky 1980's camera and a roll of film, i clicked away! a couple weeks later, with the photographs back from the lab and an interview with the wonderful owners, i present to you..the 'home away from home'...


"The house was built in 1963 (yep, all good things come from that year) for Mrs A Pinnock", says Diane, owner of this antique gem with her husband Daniel. They purchased the house as a holiday retreat, somewhere they could relax and unwind in a beautiful place of the world.
"The reason we bought the house was because of the location. I didn’t take much interest in the actual house itself. [However], once we spent a week there, I loved it! It just felt good, just like the fitting of an old pair of jeans, cosy and comfortable."



Cosy and comfortable are appropriate words to describe the house. Although it is only lived in for a parts of the year, stepping inside reveals a home that is warm with feeling and a sense that it has been lived in.



"What I find exciting is that there has been no hammering in this house at all. It is still in its original condition, with sixties/seventies décor. From the green brown yellow floral carpet, (top quality carpet in those days - I think its westminister 100% wool carpet), to the bamboo patterned curtains, the kitchen overheads with the sliding glass door, the brown and cream tiling in the bathroom and laundry, and the built in wardrobes with the Queen Anne style handles -nothing has been updated!"



One of Diane's favourite parts of the house are the light fittings in the main living area. "the orange and white glass waffle designed ball lamp fittings suspended from the ceiling by a plaited cord. Absolutely fantastic!"



She also loves the picture of the bird in the living room. "It's painted, and I would like to take a closer look at it next time we are there, and find out who the artist is and do some research. Who knows, it could be worth heaps, or maybe just $2 from a op shop!"



She also says that the house came with a few extra surprises in store!
"We found a cupboard in the laundry which was locked. We left it for a few months, but curiosity got the better of us and we prised the cupboard open. Yes, it was a treasure trove! It was filled with hand painted crockery, silver serving dishes, vintage Tupperware and also sorts of fancy glassware .My favourite from the treasure trove was the hand painted salt and pepper shakers. They take the honourable position on the mantle piece above the fire place."



I love the fact that even though this house is used as a holiday getaway, the original and untouched decor make it a place that still feels like home. I'm so glad the owners have chosen to keep this house the way it was, and have the same passion and devotion in maintaining the essence of this house as the original owner once did.





Thanks so much for letting me into your, Daniel and Diane (and Carol and Eric of course who put up with me flitting around the house in all weird and wonderful positions to capture the house)!!