Sarah Nolan
Homes
5th June, 2013
Upstairs living area (kind of in the master bedroom!) in the Fitzroy home of florist Sarah Nolan. Vintage ladder found at a garage sale, knitted rugs collected over the years, plants from Glasshaus. Hammock from India. Danny Young mini painting. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Dining room seen from the mezzanine. Jardan dining chairs, oversized timber spoon and moose from Nyary 604, handmade Indian rug. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Sarah's workspace. Vintage opera poster from Letitia Morris Gallery, tin and leather stools from Nyary 604, Pop and Scott Painted Pot, Hanging hoya plants from Glasshaus, floral works in progress for Mr Lincoln. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Sarah Nolan at her workbench. Garden posies by Mr Lincoln, those crazy 'sweetcorn' things are vintage fairground props! Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
God it's a good feeling when I finally get to share a home I've been chasing for many months! This amazing warehouse in the heart of Fitzroy has been on my radar for quite some time (after a tip off from the lovely Poppy Lane of Pop & Scott) - it's a brilliant, eclectic, creative home and workspace for florist Sarah Nolan of Mr Lincoln.
Sarah's been here for ten years, and currently shares the home with a housemate - fellow florist Bianca Filer, and two dogs, Bessie and Franks. The warehouse itself belongs to Sarah's sister, Rachel Nolan, who is one half of Kennedy Nolan Architects. Rachel and her husband Steve lived here for five years prior to Sarah, and in its early days, Rachel's architectural practice was based from here too. Such is the wonderful versatility of a space of these proportions!
With her sister for a 'landlord', Sarah has been lucky to have had some freedom over the years to personalise her much loved home. 'I've painted and added shelving' she says - 'the layout has seen many iterations, but the shell has remained the same'. The home is very open plan - the entire lower level (kitchen, dining and Sarah's workspace) is one open space, whilst the top floor is essentially the world's BIGGEST bedroom, with soaring timber panelled ceilings - very cool!
In her many years here, Sarah has amassed an eclectic collection of artwork, furniture and op shop gold. Favourite finds include the amazing green antique poster in her workspace, found at Letitia Morris Gallery in Armadale - 'the scale is perfect for the house' Sarah says. Sarah is also especially fond of all the vintage treasures she's picked up at Armadale store Nyary 604 over the years - these include the tin leather stools in her workspace, antique Italian oversized timber farmhouse spoon and leather moose (on dining table) and old French milk bottles. 'I love all of these, stepping foot in this shop is like going on holiday, filled with such amazing nicknacks from all over the world' says Sarah of Nyary, one of her favourite Melbourne stores.
Of course, it's no surprise Sarah's home is also filled with plants and greenery. 'I love living with plants, they've always been a part of my house' she says. Her favourite spot for sourcing interesting plants for her home is Glasshaus Nursery in Richmond, run by the very knowledgable Paul Hyland. (I can vouch for the incredible variety at Glasshaus - it's one of my favourite city nurseries, well worth a visit!). Sarah is also rocking a great collection of those amazing painted fibreglass planters by her good pal Poppy from Pop and Scott Workshop - and a Pop and Scott swing, of course! (No self-respecting Melbourne hipster should be without one by now!)
After five years running her floristry business from a sweet shopfront in Gertrude st, Sarah has recently moved her business into this warehouse. 'Mr Lincoln operated out of Gertrude Street for five wonderful years - I loved the space, there's a great supportive community in Fitzroy and it was great to be a local trader' says Sarah. However, over the years Sarah's client work began to require a much larger space, so once the lease on her little shop was up, it made sense to move her business into the ground floor of her Fitzroy warehouse. 'The majority of my jobs are events, weddings and commercial work, an area of floristry that I really love' says Sarah. 'Melbourne has such fabulous restaurants and venues, each job is always really exciting'. So whilst she's not retailing to the general public anymore, Mr Lincoln still operates from here, and Sarah welcomes clients here by appointment.
HUGE thanks to Sarah for sharing her home and her story with us today. Do consider her beautiful floral work for your next wedding / posh event... such a clever cookie.
Jardan stools and dining chairs, oversized timber spoon and moose from Nyary 604, handmade Indian rug, hanging floral ball above dining table by Sarah / Mr Lincoln! Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
View to mezzanine from Sarah's dining room / workspace. Pop and Scott swing, fighting cocks wall hanging from Camberwell market, Brendan Huntley painting (left). Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Spiral staircase leading to mezzanine. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Kitchen. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Brendan Huntley painting. Books from Artisan Books, Ceramics Sarah has collected from all over. Billy Buttons in vase from Mr Lincoln. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Massive master bedroom! Bromeliad hanging plant by Mr Lincoln, bedspread - a gift from a friend of Sarah's from Croatia, artwork by nieces and nephews! Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Bedspread - a gift from a friend of Sarah's from Croatia. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Hammock from India, painted zig zag pot by Pop and Scott. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Sarah's desk. Hanging antique PomPoms from Cottage Industry. Photo by Tmaction. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Large painted pot from Pop and Scott, small pots by Mr Lincoln. Danny Young photograph. Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Details from Sarah's workspace. How good are those variegated dahlias!? Photo - Sean Fennessy, production - Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
