brace yourself now – what you’re about to see is completely gorgeous and swoon worthy. for our final sneak peek of the day we’re venturing down under to a lovely small town about an hour and a half outside of melbourne in the lovliest little town. the house is an old miners cottage and built in the 1850s and is home to lynda gardner of empire vintage. lynda opened her shop over 15 years ago after working many years as a visual merchandiser for levi strauss. now she runs her own shop which is filled to the brim with beautiful collections that she personally finds. during the 1980s the house was given a complete make-over where all the original features were taken away. so when lynda stepped in to renovate, she stepped it up a notch, and pulled everything out to start again. so don’t miss the full peek below -with additional images here – to catch all the great touches lynda’s put into this gorgeous home. [thanks, lyn!] -anne
p.s. if you ever find yourself in melbourne, check out a vintage outing – a group that lyn is part of which gives tours of melbourne’s great vintage stores while riding in style in a vintage fiat.
[above: the lounge area that was previously a bathroom. I added the fire place and recycled all the bricks found from in the back garden. the ceiling I also used recycled wood from an ex factory. all the furniture are 1930's and 40's original furniture that I had recovered. I used industrial lighting throughout most of the house and added all my favorite collections.]
one of the bedrooms, the feature here is that the room has two windows, on which I added doors (old recycled) and turned them into shutters. the gorgeous industrial light was found at a market. table next to the bed features a 1960s lamp and a collection of old books. I used Porters Paints which has a very old flat feel in a donkey grey…the paint is made to leave natural streaks and marks….I love it.
the first photo, is of the bathroom, which has been dramatically changed. the original one had a corner spa bath and the toilet sat right next to it….charming!!! I pulled the whole lot out and added a claw foot bath which is may favorite ways of relaxing….so a claw foot bath has been featured in every single renovation of mine. the basin was recycled from an old house and once again I used doors for shutters. I added the early french chandelier as a dramatic feature to the room. the next photo shows a rare find….old 1930s scales and an old mirror just casually leaning on the wall.
CLICK HERE for the rest of lynda’s sneak peek (and all the images on one page) after the jump!
another bedroom…..I found the toile wallpaper and managed to find enough to feature one entire wall. the light fittings are just oversized light globes which I love and have been casually hung with extra long lengths of wiring. the next photo just shows an old oil painting found at a second hand store, and two old trophies now used as vases, also an old filing cabinet as the bedside table. all the linen has been hand made for each room of the house.
large lounge and dining room…..one huge room to entertain in. I kept the kitchen very simple with open shelving and charcoal grey concrete bench tops, commercial over and recycled tapware….I had the old work bench which has now become a great central cooking station.
dinning room features a long tressle table I found in another state and dragged it back with me many years ago……it is surrounded by old office chairs from a boardroom, which are particularly comfortable….huge old extra large enamel light shades also another feature of the room. In the kitchen I added a huge blackboard to feature favorite recipies and notes.
the garden bedroom was converted from a tiny old falling apart shed. it was transformed by adding height to a once flat roof and making pitched ceiling…creating a sense of space and light. I found the old frech doors at a salvage yard and had them put in, concrete floors and a beautiful private bathroom also were added to the space. a small green ex army bedside table beside the bed also features favorite books and a 1960s lamp. once again the hand made linen. all the wood once again was recycled from a salvage yard.
an old claw foot bath and reclaimed shower head from a slavage yard…..old mirrors on a wall feature as a little collection.
the next photos are from the library which was once a horrible tiny bedroom which barely fit a single bed……it now has a wall filled with real books alongside a wall of Deborah Bowness wallpaper,…this room also has a couple of leather 1930s chairs, a star light handed down as a family heirloom and a cow skin hide….a cosy place to sit opposite an open fire on the opposite wall.
