French vintage in Australia

I also wanted to share with you Lyn Gardener's home who runs a vintage-store in Melbourne.

When Gardener bought her home, it was a dark, dingy old mattress factory with no light, dirty old concrete and asbestos. Rather than feeling daunted by the huge task, Gardener embraced the challenge and in just four months, transformed the dilapidated building into a light and bright sanctuary which mixes her love of all things yesteryear with a contemporary flair.

The double-storey terrace is a vision in white, yet it's anything but sterile. Overlapping hues - the walls are painted ivory, while a daybed is more alabaster - serve to create depth. A collection of pearly milk glass lines her kitchen shelves, crystal chandeliers hand haphazardky from the ceiling. If I'm not miskaten that where the Hush Loungewear catalogue was shot a couple of years ago.

To create the illusion of space, Gardener opened up the rooms. Unless you go outside, or to the powder room tucked neatly beneath the staircase, there are no doors - just one aperture separating the dining area from the kitchen and lounge. The room she enjoys the most is the upstairs bedroom which incorporates an original cast-iron claw-foot bathtub and an antique French wardrobe, with the latter revealing a colourful splash of vintage dresses.

On the walls, cursive lettering (sold through Gardener's shop Empire 111) spell out phrases appropriate to their surroundings. Above the bath is the word 'bathe' and above the bed 'kiss me'. Downstairs in the guestroom, is 'be my guest' and above the couch 'home'....
Gardener quite lives and breathes her passion.

Her shop is full of everything you need for vintage glamour and she also provides interior design services and rent her space to interior & fashion magazines. She has a second location (below) in a former leather factory warehouse which has huge rooms with soaring ceilings and industrial fittings...another beautiful space.

Definitively a shop to visit next time you are in Melbourne. In the meantime, you can always lust over Lyn Gardener's site