It’s fair to say Melbourne based bedlinen label Kip & Co has enjoyed a stellar rise to fame since launching in 2012. We’d go so far as to say it’s reached ‘cult status’ amongst an army of loyal colour-loving linen devotees! Today, we’re finally paying a visit to the bold and beautiful home of Kip & Co co-founder Kate Heppell, her partner Mal (of DMS Landscapes) and their 3 year old son Zig.
We’re ALWAYS looking for vibrant colour, texture and generally quirky, unexpected details in the homes we feature. It’s not that we don’t also love a white, streamlined minimalist architectural masterpiece… it’s just that, well, for the sake of visual storytelling, variety is our friend. So when we finally made the drive to Point Lonsdale to photograph Kate and Mal’s hyper-creative family home, we weren’t disappointed!
Kate and Mal purchased their property in Point Lonsdale 10 years ago. At the time, the property was advertised as a ‘knockdown house’. ‘The house had literally been “cut and sealed” – ready for demolition’ explains Kate. But it seems this quirky knock down had a special appeal – and unexpected staying power! Kate and Mal never demolished it.
’The short of what we did was; reverse the “cut and seal”, add 2 extra bedrooms and 1 bathroom, replace every window, extend the front and back decks, fill in the car port to create two additional rooms downstairs, and clad the entire house’ explains Kate. ‘While the exterior of the house was dilapidated, the interior was actually really beautiful, a sweet layout, with stunning natural light – and a lot worth salvaging. So we did – and the interior, particularly upstairs, is virtually original’.
This ‘mend and make do’ approach explains, in part, how Kate and Mal’s house came to be such a rich patchwork of textures and materials – as the creative pair added to the modest existing home, concrete finishes, bold colour and timber details were layered onto the existing framework of the house in a loose, unstructured way. In addition to embracing a brave materials palette, Kate and Mal have also used brilliant and quite unexpected colour throughout the house – rich olive greens, warm orange tones and deep indigo work so well here – there is barely a white wall in the house! An eclectic edit of second hand furniture, handcrafted homewares, beautiful artwork and, of course, vivid soft furnishings complete the look, and prove that more really is more when it comes to a home like this!
Kate is passionate about Australian art, and amongst her collection are treasured pieces by the late Minnie Pwerle. ‘A special piece is the Minnie Pwerle painting in the living room which Mal and I purchased together about twelve years ago – a couple of years after we met’ explains Kate. Two Rhys Lee paintings given to Mal by Kate for his 30th birthday seven years ago are also firm favourites.
Kate’s also very fond of the ‘popcorn sculptures’ by Madeleine Child scattered throughout the house (we love them too!). There are 15 in total displayed through the house in various rooms. They were purchased whilst Kate and Mal were on their honeymoon in New Zealand in 2010.
‘This house and Point Lonsdale are just heaven to live in’ explains Kate of her relaxed beachside home. ‘The house has the most beautiful energy and natural light, and to us, there is nothing better than living walking distance to the beach’.
Love the use of colour in this beautiful home! Especially that green in the guest bedroom. Amazing. Thanks to Kate, Mal and Zig for giving us a peek inside your very special home xx
Absolutely gorgeous!! I love this home! Beautiful light, surroundings & great pieces!!! Lovely place Kate!
Stunning! Love the feature wall in Zig’s room :)
Dream house.So inspiring.Thanks for sharing Kate and Mal
can you share the paint colour for the gorgeous deep indigo please
LOVE this home!
One of the best houses featured!! love it
You found that hand chair at Geelong Market- incredible! This house has soul, love it.
Does anyone know what Blue was used on the walls?
Hi guys, Thanks for the sweet comments. The blue/indigo paint is a Porters colour called Nova Scotia. xx Kate
Hi Lauren, Yes – the Geelong Vintage Market (what was the old Mill Market) is awesome for unique finds like this chair. This was actually from the vintage market next door to it but I am not sure of the name. x
Who was the architect? x
Absolutely gorgeous home!! Kate could you please tell me the name of the green paint used in the guest bedroom its to die for!!
What a beautiful, cosy home. I love the stories behind all the objects. I dream about living somewhere like this!
Hi Pamela,
The green is a Porters paint called Banana Leaf. It is an amazing colour but tricky to decorate alongside. You might have a better go of it than me though. xx Kate
Our architect for the extension was Hobba Architects near Torquay. Their website is http://www.hobba.com
The principal there Tony Hobba is a mates dad and a ripper guy. Really understanding to budget and while we didn’t follow a lot of his material recommendations (as we salvaged a lot of preloved materials – all locally sourced) his aesthetic was bang on for us. I highly recommend him. xx
Wow!! Very rarely comment but this house just looks like a dream to live in. So comfortable and full of character and colour.
DREAM HOUSE ARGHHHHH!!! Going to keep this for my one day folder. Perfect in every way!!!
Great house, love the cladding. I love the painting on the wall directly behind the family in photo number 3 – any more details on who painted this?
Love the bold use of colour. Rare to see in this epoch of white-washed walls.
Love Kate & Mal’s sensitivity when deciding not to demolish the original house. So much of the old buildings around Pt Lonsdale have gone, replaced by fence-to-fence garishness. The landscaping of the garden and textures of K&M’s home have merged together over time, the inside and out seem so harmonious. Such a special place.
Love this house. That coffee table is amazing!
Such a beautiful home. Just wondering whether the blue painted timber walls was existing pine-lining that’s been painted over or was a part of the reno? Looks so great.
Hi Emma,
That artwork is by Rhys Lee. We have 2 of his. He is a fabulous artist. I’m not sure who represents him these days but I think maybe Tim Olsen gallery in Sydney… maybe?
x
Hi Jane,
Yes it was existing timber lining which we painted. You can see what it was like in either the stairwell shot or the family portrait. It was really beautiful so we have kept it in spots but the vastness of it in the top living room actual gave the space a very wooden boat nautical feel which I was trying to dumb down a bit by painting. xx
Truly lovely and an inspiration.
Feeling the serenity and warmth! So so beautiful. Point Lonsdale is a spesh place but I’m a little bias, just moved to Queenscliff.
I can’t think why I didn’t comment on this one before. It is absolutely gorgeous! Love it!
I really like the warm blue wooden panelled walls – makes such a nice change from all the stark white you see everywhere. The combination of the cement and wood panelling is also good. Point Lonsdale has its good and bad points: mosquito-ridden and can be humid in summer as it’s in a ‘dip’, but it’s quiet (a bit too quiet actually – in a slightly odd way), and has a great beach.
Hi Kate, absolutely love your stunning home! Delightful colours ! We painted a sample of Nova Scotia however it looked dark grey purple? Not the blue like in your home pictures…. is there something we’re doing wrong? Or need to do differently? Thank you kindly x