My Houzz: A Musician and a Maker Create a Home With Good Vibes
A young creative couple take the bare necessities and some maker magic to turn their home into something truly special
Michelle Jarni
24 April 2016
Houzz contributor, photographer and blogger based in Melbourne
Matt Walters of Parlour Gigs and his industrious partner Liz Hamer have spent the last two years collecting pieces that are both practical and unique for their two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote. Walters uses their rental home as an office and creative workspace, running his business that brings live music into people’s homes across Melbourne; he also produces his own music there.
On the other hand, Hamer – who is an up-and-coming architect – has put her design skills to the test making her own furniture, including the couple’s bed frame and bedside tables. Here, the two have come together to create a space that looks (and sounds) like a happy home.
On the other hand, Hamer – who is an up-and-coming architect – has put her design skills to the test making her own furniture, including the couple’s bed frame and bedside tables. Here, the two have come together to create a space that looks (and sounds) like a happy home.
Upon returning from months of overseas travel, the two quickly needed a home and settled on this little gem, a rental property in Northcote. With an aim to ‘do it on the cheap’, Walters and Hamer looked for only the necessities, and used them to optimise their minimal space. Hamer and Walters have found a lot of their furniture on eBay or in hard rubbish, and what they couldn’t find they have made themselves.
The couple came across their home after several months of travelling around Europe and the US, when they needed a place to settle into pretty quickly. “We were looking at apartments as they were all we could afford and then this place popped up,” says Walters. “We loved the street immediately – it’s a dead-end, so it’s super quiet, and everyone knows each other. Also, it’s only a minute’s walk from High Street.“ Walters also loves that the couple across the road have chickens that roam the street and scratch in their front garden.
“The house itself is pretty humble. It’s small and quite rundown, but it has everything we need really, and has the important bits like good light and large operable windows,” says Walters. “We walked in at the inspection and it was the first place we had seen that we thought felt like home.”
Green velvet sofas: eBay
Green velvet sofas: eBay
A musical theme resonates throughout the home, thanks to Walter’s production background. The reel-to-reel tape recorder, which was once usable, now sits here as a purely decorative feature.
Walters’ favourite room in the house is his study/music room, which he says has a very peaceful vibe. In here, he produces music and runs the back-end of Parlour Gigs.
Desk at back brick wall: designed by Hamer
Desk at back brick wall: designed by Hamer
Hamer loves their outdoor room where they installed a bath in the light well. “There’s a fig tree and our other plants and you can stare at the stars from a hot bath,” she says. “On an indulgent day you can pick figs and eat them in the tub.”
When it comes to a hot design tip to pass on, Walters insists that having a green outlook can make a world of difference to a space. “It can make a small room feel open and spacious. We’ve found that hanging plants, pots and creepers are great if you don’t have the space for a big garden,” he says.
The couple are very resourceful and Hamer regularly makes things for the home. They both agree that their style is born out of necessity. “It’s pretty random – we salvage and collect lots of bits and pieces,” says Walters.
What they both love about decorating in this style is that it transforms the house from something relatively pedestrian to something unexpected and beautiful.
Bedside tables and bedframe: designed by Hamer
What they both love about decorating in this style is that it transforms the house from something relatively pedestrian to something unexpected and beautiful.
Bedside tables and bedframe: designed by Hamer
Both Walters’ and Hamer’s favourite piece in the house is their bed. “It might be the most comfortable bed in the world!” says Walters. The timber frame was the first thing Hamer designed and built as a fledgling architect. It used to be raised as a mezzanine level in the house she lived in when the couple first met, and has been along for the journey with them ever since.
Clothing racks: designed by Hamer
The single-level terrace has the necessary foundational elements to make it a great home. These are also what Walters notes as being the most important aspects of the home. “The bones of the house are the most important thing,” he says. “You need good light, good ventilation and good flow. Once you have you have those things you can play all you like.”
The bathroom is simple, with added greenery from the pot plants and a green outlook from the window.
The pair did replace the kitchen door in an attempt to bring in more natural light and open the space to the outdoors. “We open the house windows and we can have music and have long chats with whomever is cooking in the kitchen. It’s like our own bit of luxury,” says Walters.
Walters and Hamer have tried to transform their concrete garden into something more warm and inviting by incorporating pot plants and small garden beds. They also used some bamboo coverings on the back fence for privacy and to soften the wire fence. Reinforcing that idea of bringing the outside in, Walters and Hamer agree that even though their home is small, the outside areas make it feel more spacious.
The pot-plant collection started as a few gifts from Hamer’s mum and continued to grow in abundance, creating an ideal outdoor space for the couple to spend their afternoons.
TELL US
What do you love about this Northcote-based home? Let us know in the Comments section.
MORE
Meet My Houzz: The Hughes
Meet My Houzz: The Coys
Meet My Houzz: The Phangs
TELL US
What do you love about this Northcote-based home? Let us know in the Comments section.
MORE
Meet My Houzz: The Hughes
Meet My Houzz: The Coys
Meet My Houzz: The Phangs
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The bed does seem like one of the most comfortable bed in the world. I love it
It is great to see good design and innovation on a tight budget for a change, instead of all the dream houses far beyond the reach of most of us.