ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Simple furnishings, white walls and colourful artwork give Emma Cleine’s coastal home its unique identity
A hillside home near Melbourne provided the perfect canvas for this imaginative owner’s vibrant decorating style
When a friend told Emma Cleine about the 1940s coastal property for sale on a hill in Mornington Peninsula she suspected it could be the perfect location from which to diversify and grow her art practice. ‘The house has a view of the beach and a lighthouse,’ she enthuses.
Having lived in the region all her life, the short-distance move for Emma, her carpenter husband Mark, and their two boys, Lenny, 9, and Beau, 5, was relatively undisruptive. The plan was to renovate and expand their new home for Emma to use for her professional practice as a printmaker and artist. ‘Her business, Lumiere Art & Co, produces artworks and accessories with stockists all over Australia. ‘I’ve always been keen to share my knowledge, so I wanted to offer workshops from my home,’ she says.
But before going ahead with the business plan, the couple spent two years renovating the property. ‘It was a simple house with a large kitchen and dining area but had pokey rooms,’ Emma explains. We added the master bedroom and sitting room as well as renovating the kitchen and bathrooms.
The pair found a local architect who understood the coastal location, as well as the materials to suit its period feel. ‘It’s one of the oldest houses in the area,’ Emma says.
The kitchen, with its antique table stretching the length of the space, is central
to the artistic activities of the house. It’s here that Emma teaches her workshops and where students can enjoy the splendid view. ‘We don’t often eat around the long table, but we do use it for food preparation,’ she explains. Instead, the family gather at the round table in the cosy window nook. ‘It’s the most beautiful place to sit any time of day and having a round table makes it feel very inclusive,’ says Emma. The new sitting room is below the main house and accessed down some steps. ‘This gives it a cosy feel with the exposed rafters bringing a lovely sense of spaciousness,’ she says.
Taking inspiration from the landscape, Emma loves being able to watch the changing weather from her hilltop vantage point and the interior is always shifting in its identity. ‘I work in a seasonal way but I never pay attention to trends,’ she says.
Much of the furniture and fittings in the house have been made by Mark. ‘His furniture is simple without decoration. It has an industrial aesthetic and is built to last,’ Emma says. His contributions include the retro-looking kitchen chairs, steel pendant lights and side tables. Alongside these, Emma’s carefully curated palette of turquoise, pink and indigo blue bring a joyful vibrancy in contrast to functional simple furnishings. Ever changing, like the coastal landscape outside, this house is a marvel of colour and artistic expression.
lesson learnt ‘It’s good to take things slowly and live in your home first so you can understand the way the seasons affect the light’