Madeleine is an ex-journalist, stylist, crafter and proprietor of Do Re Me – a versatile creative business which has seen her run craft workshops and host craft-based activations for a range of clients including South Melbourne Market, Chadstone Shopping Centre and more. Madeleine’s husband Jeremy is a surgeon. A home with enough space for their four growing girls was not easy to find, so when they came across this generously proportioned 5 bedroom modernist home in Caulfield 3 years ago, their decision was made. The family moved in in July 2011.
‘When we bought this house it was a serious beige and apricot explosion on EVERY single surface’ says Madeleine. She and Jeremy knew the home needed updating a little before moving in, but were keen to avoid taking on major renovations. They set about refreshing the interior colour scheme, bringing most of the interior walls back to white. This including painting out the floorboards in the front room – ‘it seemed like a crime at the time, but the white really works well with all the colour in there now’ says Madeleine.
Elsewhere, the original parquetry that runs through most of the ground floor was polished, carpet in the bedrooms and study replaced, and heavy curtains removed to let the light in, and celebrate the home’s beautiful big windows. ‘We called the house ‘Casa del Sol’ because it is constantly bathed in light, and in our family travels through Mexico we love the laid-back, light-filled casual and family-centric living spaces we experienced, so we’ve tried to capture some of that here’ explains Madeleine.
There’s something refreshingly functional and no-nonsense about Madeleine’s approach to styling her home. She’s an intuitive decorator with a great sense of style, but she’s not a perfectionist, she’s happy to mend and make do, and has done her best to make the most of the home’s existing features. She also has an impressive (compulsive!?) knack for uncovering op shop treasure and re-vamping hard rubbish finds! ‘We’re big on reclaiming and reinventing – so much of what we have done is low-cost cosmetic refurbs rather than totally replacing, and we’ve tried to retain the integrity of the house without compromising our own aesthetic’ she says.
But Madeleine’s ‘hands down’ favourite elements here are a selection of pieces she fortuitously managed to salvage from her late Father’s home nearby. By pure chance, a friend recently bought Madeleine’s childhood home in East St Kilda. Before renovating, she generously allowed Madeleine and family the gift of ‘open picking’ on the house before it was demolished for redevelopment! Here Madeleine salvaged a number of vintage fittings and building materials – including the original Castlemaine slate that was once her Father’s front steps and rear patio. These beautiful, multi-hued pavers now adorn the Grummet family’s new outdoor fireplace. ‘I hacked this up piece by piece, and my talented brother Dan and I constructed the fireplace over some long days of loud music and reminiscing (my Dad died 2 years ago)’ explains Madeleine. Meanwhile, Madeleine’s Dad’s much-swung front gate is now her side gate, the family have gorgeous succulent-filled, mid-century pots in the garden that were once her Grandfather’s pride and joy, and the house is now illuminated by amazing atomic saucer lights salvaged from the ceilings of her Dad and Aunt’s childhood bedrooms! ‘I’m a sentimental gal – and a bit of a bower bird clearly – but the chance to let these parts of provenance (and fab design) live on in our lives is really special’.
Other favourite pieces for Madeleine include her ad-hoc collection of beautiful artwork – including much loved sculptures by her kids, anonymous pieces scoured from second hand shops, alongside the work of collectible local artists. One particularly treasured piece is ‘Home Coming’, a watercolour and acrylic work on paper by local artist Luisa Rossitto. ‘I bought this for its quirk, vibrance and the ballsy, incongruent sheer kitsch of it all – and I love that it celebrates women – albeit in a troppo way!’ says Madeleine. ‘The colours are seriously amazing and burst off the wall, and it makes a great talking point at dinner parties!’ The ‘Memento Mori’ neon piece that sits above the piano in the front room is a favourite newly installed piece which Madeleine commissioned last year after the sudden death of her Dad. ‘Jeremy and I love a bit of philosophical banter, and this ancient phrase really resonated’ explains Madeleine. ‘Memento mori is a phrase that originated in ancient Rome – translated literally it means ‘remember (that you have) to die’. The meaning of this phrase is not as morbid as it may first appear – for Madeleine and Jeremy it’s a reminder and that life is short and therefore for living thoughtfully and consciously, every step of the journey.
Huge thanks to the Grummet Family for sharing their amazing home with us today!
Love this family home.
Everything about it.
It’s real, colorful, eclectic. The mix of IKEA furniture alongside super finds, makes it all the more interesting.
Total eye candy for me :0)
My favourite on here for a long time!in recent years the hard rubbish is just that – rubbish and op shops in my area vigorously raided by secondhand dealers or so overpriced you couldn’t call the treasures a bargain.i doubt madeline(although she looks and sounds lovely!)would be willing to share some her special go to spots with us…(please).would have loved to see a floor plan of this beauty-it must be gigantic if it has five bedrooms,two living areas,a study and a studio.absolutely divine and yes, I am a tad jealous!well done madeline and family.
Oh that outdoor patio is just amazing!!
Just wow! Serious home envy.
Wow! LOVE this house. Every room is so colourful and mixed. Love the atlas globes hanging over the kitchen; and the outdoor fire area. Fabulous kids’ rooms too. Ironically their ‘good’ room, which I also liked, was probably my least favourite.
What a visual feast! Beautifully put together and oozes character and warmth. Love this home. The photography is just lovely too.
Love this house – so much colour, so much clever reuse of existing features. Love that outdoor patio.
Love the mix of op shop finds and recycling with new items and artwork, it’s really working.
That is the best outdoor area, the stone wall looks amazing. Any chance you can reveal the source of the stone work? Love it!
I seriously LOVE this incredibly enthusiastic lady. Mother, crafter, business woman extraordinaire.
So good to see the ultimate party haus on TDF. xoxoxox
Oh my god dream home!!!!!
Love it! Please share where that gorgeous outdoor sofa is from?!
I love every home you feature here but this one made my heart skip a beat. So much inspiration!
My dream home. Seriously! Love the eclectic mix of new and old. Absolute perfection.
Surely they wouldn’t notice an extra girl living there, when can I move in?! xx
Wow!!! My kind of dream home, love the eclectic mix and warm, welcoming vibe, thank you Lucy & Madeleine x
Wow. I love everything in this house. Only got a glimpse of the kitchen. Would have love to have seen that.
That outdoor patio, the 70’s glass collection, the lounge room – just WOW!!
One of your best!
Love the warmth, the colour, the practicality and the fact that this is family living at its best.
thanks for sharing
GORGEOUS – I’d love to live here . Beautiful bathroom and LOVE the colour!
What a great house – full of colour and uniqueness! Having grown up in the area, it is so nice to see this family have preserved a piece of history whilst also putting their own touch on it. So many of the older houses have been replaced with modern monstrosities that will out date in not time. Good job!
This is a great feature! Fantastic to see a home that is clearly practical and well lived in by a growing family – and I love Madeleine’s style. Great to see a blend of old and new, and inclusion of affordable items from Ikea. Particularly love the familiar ceramic piece from Shanghai (my current city of residence), which I assume is from one of my favourite stores Spin Ceramics (www.spinceramics.com). My absolute favourite in this house though is the collection of glassware, artfully displayed in a rainbow. Look forward to reading about more colourful family homes.
I always spent my half an hour to read this weblog’s content
everyday along with a mug of coffee.
It’s gorgeous Madeleine! I’ve just remembered you from fellowship days in nth fitzroy! Sorry to hear about your Dad. Your space is happy & lovely
The most incredible home! I adore it!!
How good is that outdoor room!
Love, love this house – it is one of my all time favourites!
Such warmth emanating from the screen. A family home with heart. Loved it.
Utterly love this house. The outdoor fire brought tears to my eyes, so reminiscent is it of my dear Grandparents 70’s(?) fireplace. Agree with Jackie re floor-plan.
What a gorgeous house! I LOVE the parker dining chair covered in Warwick ‘pantone’ fabric. I did a google search and couldn’t find it – any idea where to source this fabric?!
Such a lovely, relaxed and unpretentious family home. Thanks for featuring. I, too, would be interested in knowing where the outdoor lounge is from.
Lovely! Please can you tell us where to buy the outdoor sofas? Thanks!
The outdoor fireplace is absolutely beautiful, all the more so for the sentimental value it holds – stunning. And I just love that en suite, too!
I loved seeing that beigey-apricot late 80/early 90s bathroom styled nicely! It was very, very inspiring, and I’m so glad you included it.
Amazing. Just live it. Congrats.
Gorgeous, and what a feeling of great energy.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOveeeeeeeeee!
A family who’ve made themselves at Home!
PS;
Would love to know the stockist of the outdoor furniture setting. Cheers.
This is a beautiful home – it’s a house full of treasures, giving it so much warmth and character. Love it! Thank you for sharing
MUCHAS GRACIAS for all your lovely lively comments about our casa – we’ve been overwhelmed by the response + are so glad so many people dig our colourful thrift-chic digs! :) We’ve had lots + lots of queries about where we’ve hauled our stuff from so here goes (feel free to email me directly at above email if this doesn’t answer your query)
OUTDOOR SOFAS: These babies are from BUNNINGS – we got two complete settings in beige (3 chairs + one ottoman + striped outdoor cushions) and from memory they were around $550.00 per setting.
GOOD ROOM SOFA (grey): IKEA! Under $1000.00 + so-fa so-good.
PATIO SLATE FACING: Vintage dug up from house scheduled for demolition (as story says). Very hard to get these pinkish + variegated hues from the quarry these days – you can still try slate + stone suppliers and sift through stock as sometimes they have old batches if you’re trying to replicate a mid-century tone + face. My very talented practical whiz of a brother Dan of Just Dan It Building + Maintenance constructed it – contact on 0418 564 358.
WARWICK FABRIC: The pantone multi-coloured fabric on the dining chairs in the front room was from warwick http://www.warwick.com.au – contact them directly for details.
FAVOURITE OP SHOPS: The very BEST op shops are those in the outer suburbs that haven’t been stripped bare by inner city treasure hunters or vintage sellers! Country town op shops often have amazing handcrafted stuff from decades prior that you just won’t find anywhere else and of course garage sales or weekend markets are always great for a gander. Failing that, eBay + other local online marketplaces like Gumtree are also great spots to pick up unique vintage pieces or basics ripe for a refurb! Good luck. Go hard!
Hi there, LOVE this home! Quick question is the grey sofa in lounge the KIVIK
Three-seat sofa and chaise longue Isunda grey? Thanks!
Do you know where she got the blue/green striped rug?