Houzz Tour: This Gorgeous Home is Filled With Bespoke Pieces & Art
For these owners, home is the best gallery for their favourite modern art and memories of their globetrotting adventures
Working for Australia’s largest online art gallery, Bluethumb, and having a penchant for collecting “nostalgic things” means Freddy Grant needs a space to display all his beloved objects. Thankfully, his 1920s weatherboard home is the perfect backdrop for his eclectic collection. Brimming with personalities, including his husband Burton Reynolds, dog Grungle and rather large feline, Totoro, Grant’s home is all about telling the story of lives lived well.
“The agent said if we put in an offer within the range we’d likely get it. We knew the market was finally slowing and thought this could be our chance. We put in an offer and it was ours. It seemed like a miracle.”
The two batiks in the hallway are by Erik Suriyasena and were picked up during Grant and Reynolds’ travels through Sri Lanka.
Check out design tricks for narrow hallways
The two batiks in the hallway are by Erik Suriyasena and were picked up during Grant and Reynolds’ travels through Sri Lanka.
Check out design tricks for narrow hallways
The previous owners were in the middle of renovating when they sold, so the interior was almost finished, and required only superficial touching up. There’s still work to be done on the outside but, having only been in the house since October 2017, all of the residents are happy to wait.
Grungle (pictured) is particularly keen on settling onto the beds when he arrives back home after a day at the office. “He comes to work with me and commutes on the train,” Grant says. “He’s like a little human, very smart and full of personality and eccentricities. He loves life and anyone who throws a ball or wants to go for a walk. He hates hot air balloons, thunder, air brakes, fireworks, the vet, baths, solitude, puppies, Melbourne traffic … the list gets longer the older he gets, a bit like me.”
In one of the front bedrooms an old photo of Shanghai’s Bund has pride of place. It’s a souvenir from the year the couple lived in Shanghai.
Grungle (pictured) is particularly keen on settling onto the beds when he arrives back home after a day at the office. “He comes to work with me and commutes on the train,” Grant says. “He’s like a little human, very smart and full of personality and eccentricities. He loves life and anyone who throws a ball or wants to go for a walk. He hates hot air balloons, thunder, air brakes, fireworks, the vet, baths, solitude, puppies, Melbourne traffic … the list gets longer the older he gets, a bit like me.”
In one of the front bedrooms an old photo of Shanghai’s Bund has pride of place. It’s a souvenir from the year the couple lived in Shanghai.
Grant, who works in PR for Bluethumb – and confesses to being one of its most prolific customers – loves art and says that moving into the house has spurred his creativity.
“This house has been my latest outlet; I like hunting for things and putting them together to create a space we love, and that’s full of memories and meaning,” he says.
“This house has been my latest outlet; I like hunting for things and putting them together to create a space we love, and that’s full of memories and meaning,” he says.
In the third bedroom/study
hangs a tribute to Canadian artist Douglas Coupland’s famous work of art, We Live as We Dream, Alone. The couple bought this reproduction when they lived in Shanghai.
Take a look at this essential guide for art lovers
hangs a tribute to Canadian artist Douglas Coupland’s famous work of art, We Live as We Dream, Alone. The couple bought this reproduction when they lived in Shanghai.
Take a look at this essential guide for art lovers
The living area is a friendly space full of art and treasures. Four of Karen Coull’s Orchid series hang to the left of the credenza. The couple also uses Samsung’s The Frame TV to display art, in this case a photograph by Megan George. On the right is Ross Yulidjirri’s Lightning Man.
While he loves every aspect of his house, Grant’s favourite place is the mantel above the fireplace, because of the memories it holds. Surrounding Erin Nicholls’ Rainy Day in 3D, which she made in collaboration with Lars Laug, are souvenirs from the couple’s life together, as well as knitted pieces by Grant’s mom, aka MadMonkeyKnits.
A bar provides welcome refreshment in a corner of the living area. This cuckoo clock sits behind it. Grant bought it on eBay for Reynolds’ birthday.
When Grant first came to Australia from the UK, he worked at Readback Aboriginal Art Gallery in Darwin, Australia, where legendary artist and actor David Gulpilil painted and sold his work. “It was such an exciting time,” he says. “I loved hanging out with David in the day and watching his films at night.”
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When Grant first came to Australia from the UK, he worked at Readback Aboriginal Art Gallery in Darwin, Australia, where legendary artist and actor David Gulpilil painted and sold his work. “It was such an exciting time,” he says. “I loved hanging out with David in the day and watching his films at night.”
See these popular ideas for home bars
The bathroom was also complete when they bought the home, though they plan to one day add a second one. To pep it up and make it theirs they added a shelf from Bunnings, some living greenery …
This is how plants can transform a bathroom
This is how plants can transform a bathroom
And of the objects they bought for the house, almost everything comes from a single supplier: The Vintage Workshop in Melbourne, Australia. “I’ve always loved old things,” Grant says. “But I didn’t realise I had such an affinity for mid-century design and teak until we started buying from the owner, Dave.”
“He restores things beautifully and charges a fraction of the price you’d pay in [more upmarket] Fitzroy.”
“He restores things beautifully and charges a fraction of the price you’d pay in [more upmarket] Fitzroy.”
The colour doesn’t stop outdoors either. The couple bought the coloured bottles from Australian hardware store Bunnings because Grant wanted a little rainbow pride in the garden. “Stringing them up together seemed like a fun way to make them a feature, and Burt doesn’t like fairground lights so they were a good compromise,” he says.
So what’s next for the couple? “More art!” Grant says. “We have the beginnings of a portrait wall, but we want it to be completely covered from floor to ceiling, like something out of a haunted house, only not scary.
“I’d also love a couple more large abstract pieces for the bedrooms. Something by the artists at Tjarlirli or Ninuku would be perfect. They have surprisingly affordable work by high-profile artists such as Jimmy Donegan, so if I was smart I’d invest in something by one of those. But as I said before, I usually just buy what I love…”
Read more:
Delhi Houzz: For This Jewellery Designer, Home is Where the Art is
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below.
“I’d also love a couple more large abstract pieces for the bedrooms. Something by the artists at Tjarlirli or Ninuku would be perfect. They have surprisingly affordable work by high-profile artists such as Jimmy Donegan, so if I was smart I’d invest in something by one of those. But as I said before, I usually just buy what I love…”
Read more:
Delhi Houzz: For This Jewellery Designer, Home is Where the Art is
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in the Comments below.
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Freddy Grant (pictured), Burton Reynolds, Grungle the jack russell and Totoro, a Maine coon
Where: Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Size: 3 bedrooms; 1 bathroom
It wasn’t easy for Grant and Reynolds to get into the housing market, a feat they only managed after searching for years and living through many disappointing auctions. When they came across this double-fronted home they almost didn’t go inside: The agent was late and it was a miserable day. “Thankfully we did, and as soon as we stepped inside we changed our tune,” Grant says. “We were blown away by the daylight and space, as Melbourne houses are often dark and dingy.”