Australian Homes
Peter and Paula Mills and Family
Lucy Feagins
We first photographed the home of Melbourne illustrator and designer Paula Mills and her family way back in 2014! At the time, the family were living in semi-rural Warrandyte, in a beautiful house perched on the edge of a nature reserve, and surrounded by Eucalyptus trees. Weekends were spent on the tyre swing in the yard, or walking in local bush land.
The Mills family’s new home is in North Melbourne. Here, in a red brick Edwardian terrace with Melbourne’s city skyscrapers as a backdrop, Paula, Peter and their now high-school aged girls have created a very different family home! With high ceilings and grand proportions, this previously unloved inner city home has been given a colourful, creative update, all on a modest budget.
The North Melbourne home of Peter and Paula Mills and family. Above – Living room, with eye mirror from the Woods Folk, dark print in frame by The Souvenier Society, pink and blue print by Paula’s business, Sweet William Prints, small water colour patterns by Sweet William Prints; large print to right by Ali McNabney-Stevens, black and white screen print on floor by Cassie Byrnes, turquoise lamp from Freedom, black and pink print on desk by Flatearth Studio on etsy, tan leather couch bought second hand from a friend, cushions from Etsy. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Living room. Fireplace – Nectre N60, blue cushion from Lyn Gardener’s shop in Albert Park, flowers from Casa Verde flowers in North Melbourne, kilim rugs from The Home. wooden stool next to leather couch from a collaboration Paula did with Zaishu stools. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Kitchen / dining detail. Hanging plant and Botanical wall hanging from Casa Verde flowers, blue and white delft tile collection from whereever Paula sees one she likes (!) – mainly junk shops and markets. Red pendant from light Great Dane furniture. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Oak kitchen table from a junk shop in Richmond, collection of chairs from Ebay, vintage advertising blackboard from Camberwell market, hanging plant from Casa Verde flowers North Melbourne, flowers from In Full Bloom. Rugs from The Home. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Pink hutch bought from Salvos store (painted by Paula), kitchen apron from Gorman, blue and white crockery collection from all over. Mary print from Lynn Gardener’s shop in Albert Park. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Sunroom / hall detail. On the wall, a mixture of art prints from Paula’s business, Sweet William Prints; as well as wrapping paper and junk shop finds. On the couch – large yellow cushion from Fenton and Fenton, turquoise cushion from Bonnie & Neil, turquoise arrow stool from Space to Create. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Love that yellow door – little white cupboard found on ebay; orchids from Ikea, original wallpaper, with a few added bits from Paula’s own paper collection (simply plastered over the top of the existing wallpaper with modge podge). Small red matt from Fossil Vintage, larger red mat from The Home. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Lia’s bedroom – white bedding from India; cushions from Arro Home, jungle art print Sweet William Prints, other prints from various artist on Etsy. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Lia’s bedroom – torn out pages from magazines; Moonrise Kingdom poster from Etsy. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Rosie and Liberty’s shared bedroom. Above – Liberty’s bed, with bedding from Adairs. Handmade soft toy frOm Cape Town, South Africa, tiger tote bag from Gorman, vintage beds from junk shop in Johannesburg, South Africa, banana wrapping paper from Wrap Magazine Shop. Liberty’s own artwork on the wall. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Rosie and Liberty’s shared bedroom. Above – Rosie’s bed. More wrapping paper from Wrap Magazine, Yay art print from Sweet William Prints, large poster with dark background from The Souvenir Society. Bedspread from Earth Tribe. Hand cushion hand made by Paula’s sister Shelley, brightly coloured cushion from Halcyon Nights. Pink velvet cushion from Rachel Castle. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Master Bedroom – Ship poster from All Posters. Grey linen bedding from Adairs. Turquoise linen sheets from Home velvet cushions from Freedom, vintage rose cushion from Etsy, plywood side tables from Like Butter. Copper lights put together by Pete. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Front sitting room! Turquoise couch a great Ebay find, gold pendant light from Freedom, vintage tortoiseshell wicker stands from various junk shops. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Lounge – Zoological Wall hangings from Erst While Co. Small Red Peony Art print by Paula’s business, Sweet William Prints, Kilim Rug from Warrandyte Farmers Market, grey ottoman from Brosa, oil painting of Protea from Cape Town. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
The North Melbourne home of illustrator Paula Mills, her husband Peter and their three daughters Lia (14), Rosie (12) and Liberty (10) is a joy to be in. Like all the most inviting spaces, it’s a work in progress, but its imperfect-ness is part of its unique charm. This home is colourful and creative, full of artwork and handcrafted things by Paula and creative friends. It’s a truly eclectic space (most overused term but in this case most accurate!), decorated with vintage finds, Ebay treasure and gorgeous handcrafted things from Etsy.
Below, Paula tells us in her own words what makes her home special.
(We’re trialling a sightly different format with today’s story – Q&A style! Please let me know what you think!?)
Who lives here?
Peter Mills (lawyer for wind turbine company, Vestas)
Paula Mills (illustrator, designer and founder of Sweet William)
Lia, (aged 14), Rosie (aged 12) and Liberty (aged 10)
Bella (pugalier, aged 4)
How long have you lived here?
8 months
Any renovations / structural or cosmetic changes?
We removed one internal wall in the kitchen/living room and exposed the brickwork in the kitchen. We had all the all internal walls painted off white. We installed wooden plantation shutters and a wood burner in the living room.
Favourite furniture pieces or artwork?
We love our large wooden oak kitchen table, which we eat at every evening – it is the centre of our home.
I am also very proud of our eclectic rug collection, made up of a mix of old beautiful pieces passed down through the family, amazing market finds, online bargains and special pieces that suit or home.
What do you love most about living here?
North Melbourne is a wonderful suburb with wide, tree lined streets, all the amenities of inner city living but with a distinct village feel. We walk everywhere, greeting local residents on our way and never have to venture far for a brilliant brunch! (The Auction Rooms, 5 Lire Cafe, Mork Chocolate and Howard Street are our favourites!)
How did you come across your home?
After many happy years of living in beautiful Warrandyte (24 km east of Melbourne CBD), where our primary school aged kids benefitted from a tire swing in the yard and the Australian bush, we decided on a complete change. With our three girls growing up, recognising their need for independence and wanting to embrace all that Melbourne has to offer as one of the most ‘liveable cities in the world’, we set our plan to move in, in motion.
We chose a good local high school, and started looking for a family sized home in the zone. Not an easy task. We marched through poky, little dark houses, clambered up and down stairs of modern town houses. Sighed over beautiful homes way out of our price range and bumped shoulders with the throngs of eager buyers at live auctions. One Saturday morning, just as we walked away from another auction that we were unable to bid on, we discovered this one.
Being on a busy corner, it was almost scratched from our inspection list but as we stepped into the entranceway, the busyness of the city subsided. The high ceilings and grand proportions of this crumbling, red brick Edwardian stopped us in our tracks. The traffic noise became a quiet hum and we found our inner city sanctuary. Our new home is a work in progress, which we plan to bring it back to it’s former glory bit by bit… but actually, I think it is rather glorious just as it is!
Paula at home! Paul wears linen pants from local label Tanner and Teague, cane table and chairs are vintage, Melbourne Poster from Zetta Florence; small prints from Sandra Eterovic. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.