Home sweet home...

I went home for a couple of nights last weekend and decided to get a bit 'Lucy Feagin' from The Design Files. I am in constant awe of the beautiful photos she shares in her Australian Homes sneak peaks. It makes me want to grow up and become a proper adult already! As much as I enjoy sharehouse living, I am craving the day that I'm able to move into my own space and spread my hoarded possessions through every room. Does that sound a little dirty? Perhaps. But I will certainly be taking immense pleasure in doing it. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy visiting Mum and Dad to admire their lifetime of collection. Mum denies that she is a 'hoarder'. But Gran certainly is and I can't refute the fact that I am. My conclusion is that it runs in the family. So Mum, own up to it, we're hoarders. But hoarders of beautiful things in my opinion. Maybe not the latest or the most glamorous, but things that are beautiful in their unique story of handcraft, neglect, reinvention, history or nature. My photos have nothing on Lucy's of course and I couldn't cull them as much as I should have but I hope you get a small glimpse into what I feel when I go home.

Meet my dear dog Molly. She's just too cute. And so silly. Don't be fooled by her regal posture shown here.

I spotted some new plants potted!

Feathers, and photos from VCE... selected for Top Arts in case you were wondering...

A music book of Christmas carols sits on our piano all year round and has done so since I can remember.

I love the collection of walking sticks, regular sticks, branches and twigs, as seen on the left.

On the right, I love the old trunk which belonged to a very great uncle of mine, George Robertson, who brought it over from Scotland. I'm actually just guessing that fact but it would make sense. Unles G.R. stands for Geraldine Richards but I don't think it does.

A collection of my grandmother's paintings. Ha, I just realised that the painting might look a bit rude. It's not a, ahem, painted on the small naked boy. It's a tear in the canvas.

Blue and white vases in the bathroom.

Friends keep exclaiming how cool and creative my parents sometimes sound. I keep dismissing the thought. But every now and then I am confronted with the fact that they aren't altogether disastrously daggy. For example, my Dad MADE the above stainglass window! Pretty cool, hey?

Mum and Dad have always had a collection of hats above their bed. I do like a collection.

Mum's dresser of jewellery and photos. Put some clothes on that girl!

Mmm... big, chunky jewellery. Yum.

When I was little, Mum took me to my very first ballet lesson, which I was very excited about. I was greeted by the other girls, all wearing the exact same pale pink leotard with pink jiffies. What was a wearing? A black leotard with black jiffies and that colourful woven belt thing (as seen above) tied around my waist. So so SO humilitating. But Mum being a good Mum, I believe I turned up in standard pink the following week.

Can anyone guess which colour Dad prefers when choosing shirts?

Our fridge, covered in pictures, postcards and clippings that keep me entertained while waiting for my left overs to be reheated in the microwave. Can you see the Able & Game card I gave Dad for Fathers' Day?

Stacks of baskets and a couple of oars.

Lemons and shoes stretchers. Shoe stretchers? Is there a more technical, better sounding name than that? Anyway, it's an unlikely combination. But I like it.

Bags and baskets and things.

I absolutely love those tiny little vases. They've been on show in our house since I can remember.

I've never properly noticed this collection of little glass vases. But I love how the light passes through them.

Hmm. I think Mum's film studies at VCA means her dusting duties are being neglected.

Beautiful old keys and beautiful old lamps.

To the left is a piece by my Mum's ceramicist friend, Trevor Abraham. I can't get over how life like the body is! Just gorgeous. To the right is a sculptural tray Mum made from twigs.

A bowls of... actually, I'm not really sure what it's a bowl of. I can identify some walnuts but that's about it.

The top left image shows a shadowbox of small knick knacks. I WANT/NEED a shadowbox similar to this, in any size. Oh, I love it. The top right image is my collection of rubber duckies from my teenage years. The bottom left image is Miranda who you may have met recently. And the bottom right image are friends about to go for a teddy bear's picnic.

Mum found this hatbox in an opshop and I think I should have it. She thinks otherwise.

So, I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the things that I find inpiring in my home. Until next time, stay safe and smile.