Photography

Armelle Habib

Written
by
Lucy Feagins
Writer
Lucy Feagins
14th of September 2011

The Yarraville home of photographer Armelle Habib!  Red curved chairs bought in Adelaide 15 years ago – a bargain at $35 a pair. Planet Lamp. Boz Scaggs album cover, ‘I love green’ says Armelle!  All photos in this post by Armelle Habib.

Bathroom.  OH so very The Selby, what with the indoor plant and sci fi figurine!  Cupboard from Camberwell market, blue glass door knob bought in Varanassi, India in 1995. Both framed photos (and all photos in this post) by Armelle Habib.

When a respected interiors photographer sends you an email offering to share their gorgeous Melbourne home with your readers, and also offers to supply the most stunning suite of photographs for the post… well, that’s basically a design blogger’s Christmas.  So a big THANKYOU to Armelle Habib for that recent Santa Claus moment!

Armelle is an amazing photographer who specialises in interiors, food and lifestyle.  Her work can be seen here. You might have spotted  many of her shots in Australian magazines including Inside Out, Gourmet Traveller, House and Garden, Home Beautiful, Real Living, and The Age; Good weekend and Sunday Life magazines. (Can you see now why it is so completely AMAZING that Armelle has given you guys the first peek at her home!?)  Armelle also loves working with local Melbourne designers, and says she is fortunate to work with many lovely local brands including Bonnie and Neil, Poppies for Grace, and Curio & Curio.

Armelle lives in Yarraville in Melbourne, with her partner Bruno Mein (a construction site manager – v. handy), their Kelpie Lab cross (Spencer W. Brown) and a couple of cheerful chickens!  Bruno bought the double fronted Victorian home 13 years ago, and since then has pretty much rebuilt the house from the ground up, adding a second story – only the front 4 rooms remain the same.

I heart Armelle’s super quirky mix-n-match style, and many brilliant op shop and garage sale finds!  (What am I doing wrong!?  I never find anything good at op shops).  She brings together such random elements for great effect in these stunning shots – the vintage planet lamps + indoor plants + kooky figurines and ephemera is just too cool for school.  Todd Selby would be very impressed, and totally jealous. :)

Armelle says she loves the light and space here, (photographers know a thing or two about light!), and she’s also a big fan of her local area.  Yarraville, or  ‘The Village’ as she calls it, has great cafes (Hausfrau, with its world renowned Vanilla Slice, is a favourite!) and the much-loved Sun Theatre cinema just around the corner.

MASSIVE THANKS to Armelle for sharing her beautiful home, and all these gorgeous shots!  Do share the love by popping over to check out her website!

Ikea rug and bookshelves, black chair from Mill Markets in Geelong…  All photos by Armelle Habib.

Blue globe and industrial medical side cabinet both from garage sales. Fish bought for a prop in one of Armelle’s photo shoots, some 6 years ago….!

Light filled mezzanine bedroom with dormer windows and pitched roof, Armelle’s favourite room in the house

Fantastically quirky piano room – complete with chequerboard floor!  Original 80’s Ghetto Blaster.  Letter ‘A’ bought for Armelle by her father when she was 10. ‘He initiated my passion for hunting through op shops and garage sales’ says Armelle. The piano was a gift to Bruno from his Nan. The collection of film and Polaroid cameras continues to grow….

Spiral staircase sourced from a warehouse in Footscray

Kitchen

Kitchen details – Armelle’s cupboards are exploding with vintage pieces collected to use in photo shoots…

Favourite finds – skull candle from Alphaville, Armelle’s favourite shop for new things. NO that is not a real dead bird!  It’s a Postcard in the glass dome, ‘Flying on the ground is wrong’ by Ricky Swallow.
Dining Room – Green Door by photographic artist and close friend Magdalena Bors,  Candelabra and old chairs from various country sourcing excursions.

Hallway. Armelle would like to thank her friend Zena for the ‘semi-permanent loan’ of the vase in this shot!  ‘Thanks Ze!’

Formal Lounge – The antique chairs are over 100 years old from Bruno’s Nan’s country homestead.

Main loungeroom – Armelle says she found the zebra rug at Margaret’s Bazaar in the West, sadly no longer there.

Fancy spare bedroom with four-poster bed!   Cushions and bedspread from The Assembly Hall – a favourite local, just down the road in Williamstown. Lightbox side table for viewing slides.

Spencer W. Brown on rug, again from The Assembly Hall in Williamstown. Pair of chairs – another amazing garage sale find!

‘The girls!’

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