Style Insider: A retired milliner and her colourful Wellington cottage.

Retired milliner Ailie Miller has filled her small home with beautiful items, many of them her own creations

Ailie Miller has packed a lot of style into her Wellington cottage. The retired milliner, who founded and ran millinery house Dollie Vardin for many years, has created a haven full of colour and curiosities. But her bowerbird wings have been clipped somewhat since she moved to Lyall Bay from Auckland in 2015. “I’ve stopped collecting. I just don’t have the room for any more stuff,” she says.

The home is small but suits Ailie’s needs perfectly. Her impressive shoe, hat and clothing collection, featuring pieces that range from the sentimental to the sublime, dominates a corner of her bedroom. And while the 70-something no longer makes hats for a living, she has not given up creating beautiful things.

“I find making things calming and enjoyable,” she says. “I make clothes for myself and also enjoy oil painting. Being creative has and always will be an important part of my life.”

Ailie’s creations have always been more timeless than trendy and to this day, nothing brings her more joy than working with fine fabrics. “Whether I’m constructing hats, clothes or whatever, I enjoy the challenge of creating something that’s unique,” she says.

The cottage, built in 1910, still had many of its original features when she moved in. “I wanted to keep things as they were as much as possible, just upgrading the bathroom and kitchen, and adding skylights where needed,” she says. “I love colour, and I chose the soft green for the lounge because I thought it was compatible with the era in which the cottage was built.”

One of her favourite spaces is the sunroom, aptly named for its abundant natural light. “I find it so calming, with masses of peace lilies on the shelves and bright light that streams in though the skylight. What I love about this place is that it really does feel like a reflection of me. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

‘I find making things calming and enjoyable’

THIS PAGE (clockwise from far left) In the kitchen, the red and white striped cups are from Stevens, Ailie bought the white wine goblets in Auckland several years ago and the small jug was a gift from a Lyall Bay potter. The stained glass window in her bedroom was one of the features that attracted Ailie to the cottage. The sunroom’s foliage and natural light is a winning combination for Ailie; the hydrangea oil painting is by her. The large acrylic artwork above the sofa is another one of her works. OPPOSITE (from left) Ailie added a copper light shade and drawer handles to the kitchen, painting the walls a soft green. In her workroom a trio of Dollie Vardin hats sits below a watercolour portrait of Ailie by Derek Margetts.