This sweet two bedroom Victorian house in Albert Park has been home to Lynn and Geoff Clay for just under three years. It’s one of four small single fronted terraces, built together with the same bricks, charming old doors and lead light entrances, standing side by side on one of Albert Park’s super wide leafy streets.
Lynn and Geoff have made a few simple updates to their home since moving in. The house originally had only an outdoor bathroom and toilet, so it was a top priority to create a new bathroom inside (!), in what was previously a study. In the kitchen, the pair also reluctantly replaced the original kookaburra stove with a new cooker, installed an industrial sink, and tiled the kitchen walls in 6″ square white tiles. Floorboards were sanded, and walls painted white throughout, with the exception of one standout peeling brick wall in the dining room – the perfect backdrop for Lynn’s artwork collection.
Lynn’s beautifully curated retail stores showcase her distinctive vintage-inspired aesthetic, and this unique sense of style inevitably spills over into her home life too. Her home is furnished with much loved antiques and vintage finds – she particularly treasures her Art Deco French bed, and the fabulous depression drawers in her loungeroom, made from rare 1930s tins.
‘As I have got older I prefer a comfortable simple life with less stuff’ Lynn says. ‘Everything I have in my home I love, be it the pieces I’ve had for 30 years or the simple water glasses and plain linen teatowels from six months ago. Not having much space makes you choose to keep only what you use and love.’
Lynn has Scarlet Jones stores in Albert Park and Hawthorn, and she has also recently started a linen clothing label with her daughter, called Metta Melbourne.
