Name: Pilgrim Lee
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Years lived in: 3 years, rented
While many people would have fought against the original elements of this 1970s home, Pilgrim embraced it with wide open arms. Her love of the late 60s/early 70s fits in perfectly the with house; brightly pattered soft furnishing compliment the amazing original scalloped carpet and the wide variety of artworks throughout are enhanced by huge windows and an abundance of vintage light fittings. Filled with charm, character and color, Pilgrim's home is a reflection of what she and her family love.
One of our favorite parts of Pilgrim's home is how she has worked in so many pieces of furniture given handed on to her by family. If the items were damaged or a completely wrong style, Pilgrim [a self confessed "chronic sentimentalist"] adapted them to suit her home by reupholstering them or painting, but most importantly she found a way to keep those sentimental pieces in the family whilst reflecting her style.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My/Our style: Bold, graphic, eclectic but largely late 60s/early 70s.
Inspiration: Whatever makes me happy, mostly the bold colors and patterns that also inspire my own art and illustration.
Favorite Element: The original features of the house, the light fittings, wallpaper and the big windows etc it could easily have been stripped out in the 80s so i feel very lucky to have a 'near mint condition house'!
Biggest Challenge: As we're renters we can't change much so finding furniture that fits in certain spaces (eg finding storage solutions for the kitchen) have been quite challenging. As it is we have a bathroom shelf and drawer unit to hold our dry goods!
What Friends Say: That it's a comfortable and interesting place that reflects the personalities and tastes of the people that live there
Biggest Embarrassment: I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed by this per se, but I wish I could do more with the bathroom. It feels a bit uninteresting in comparison to the rest of the house. Again, as a renter i can't paint or wallpaper etc so short of buying a whole new set of different color towels I'm a bit stuck!
Proudest DIY: Its a tie between the duvet cover on my son's bed (made from an old sheet) and the shelf curtains in the kitchen (made from tea towels).
Biggest Indulgence: I guess my biggest indulgence hasn't been monetary, but has been my boyfriend letting me have things 'my way'! It's not that he doesn't care or is henpecked he just knows how much I enjoy putting rooms together, and is happy for me to take the reins. Second answer would be the smeg fridge, it came second hand from ebay but was still rather costly. I justify it by pointing out that not many fridges would fit in the 'fridge space' we have.
Best advice: To not worry about trends and just follow your bliss. Decorate with what you love and it will look beautiful to you - and you're the one who has to live with it so that's who you have to please.
Dream source: The worlds biggest thrift market, and I'm the only one there, and I have unlimited cash! Or perhaps more realistically, Space furniture in Richmond and the Chapel St Bazaar.
Resources:
APPLIANCES
Fridge: smeg
Kettle/ toaster/coffee machine: breville
Mixer: Kitchen Aid
HARDWARE
all original
MASTER BEDROOM
bed head: vintage
bedside tables: ikea
chest of drawers: inherited/antique
lampshades: etsy seller drawflowers
lamp bases: target
duvet cover: KAS Australia
mohair rug: adairs
cushions: handmade, vintage fabric.
art: pink and blue babushkas - tsk tsk
pink square rabbit paper sculpture - helen musselwhite
pink and blue letterpress - lab partners
tree swing painting - APAK from Outre Gallery
yellow guitar guy painting - lab partners from Outre Gallery
the greeny print above the chest of drawers - PCP from Outre Gallery
the deer with flowers is a Japanese plastic desk protector i framed because its cute.
cuckoo clock and weather house: souvenirs from Hahndorf in South Australia
teal birds: vintage
pink poode: vintage
KIDS ROOM
bedframe: vintage
sideboard: vintage
toy drawers: ikea
book shelf: ikea
chair: vintage
duvet cover: vintage/handmade
cushions: handmade from orla kiely tea towels
lamp: adairs
clock: matt blatt
large framed print: shinzi katoh
medium silver framed print: tim biskup/gama go
art work surrounding the moon light: lab partners, green bear monster by matte stephens and framed print behind monkey by (me, draw! pilgrim)
small leaf print by ubiki
ENTRY HALL/HALLWAY
chairs, table and chesterfield sofa inherited and reupholstered
lamp: was a gift
orange ceramic jar: also a gift
cushions: either vintage from a now closed etsy store or from freedom
framed print above the red chair: mary maki rae
large framed print above blue chesterfield: tim biskup
large canvas painting (in the hallway): by me, draw! pilgram
print of the girl (in the hall way) tim biskup, from outre gallery
LOUNGE/DESK AREA
ottoman: dare furniture
sofa: freedom
red dot patterned pointy backed chair: oz furniture design
orange corduroy chair: vintage reupholstered
yellow kartell nesting tables: vintage
tv sideboard: ikea
red bookshelf: ikea
yellow bookshelf: inherited/vintage
desk: ikea
chair: ikea reupholstered
drawers: ikea
all cushions are from 2 now-closed etsy sellers :(
lamp by the tv: ikea
print above tv: mary maki rae
yellow lamp: vintage
print above ottoman: sanna annukka
desk lamp: ikea
apple containers: house & heim
DINING
dining table and chairs: vintage
shelves: ikea
print: its pop its art
items in the shelves are largely vintage, with a couple of jonathan adlers in there!
CARPETING/FLOORING/WINDOW TREATMENTS
carpeting, tile and stone: all original
window treatments: all original
OTHER
♥ follow me: http://twitter.com/pilgrim_lee ♥
(Thanks, Pilgrim!)
Images: Pilgrim Lee
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
Soda Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
i've always wanted a dark blue 'velvet' couch. jealous!
also...if i didn't have a husband that hated pink, my bedroom would look just like yours!
i have a lot of the same pictures on the wall too...i can see it now =)
Unbelievably pretty without going overboard. I love the mix of colour and pattern reflecting the 70's without being too slavish about it.
Love the 70s and I love your place! Your bedroom is gorgeous! Also jealous of your fun vintage finds. This is my kind of place!
love it! i loove all the art on the walls as well.
i think the house would look even more amazing with hardwood floors though! i am not a fan of carpet at all.
What an amazing eye for color! I'm not ordinarily a fan of the period she loves, but she puts together such ravishing palettes and clever combinations that I just love it. If those are her own works on the walls, I can see that her talents are well-applied.
beautiful! love all the textiles. thanks for sourcing your lampshades.... i'll have to spring for one.
What a fantastically happy home!
You really worked it! Wow!
The prints..the colors... makes me rethink my ideas I had for my bedroom and the "no pink and reds" policy...hmm... Not sure my guy would go for it. But you make it look so good.
Also that velvet couch. Love it!
Gotta love the exbidit ikea bookcases! I am rocking a few of those myself...
The toy collection is great! I spy a Peleda wind-up, a Petit Astrolapin, and plenty Wish Come True toys! It's sometimes hard to display those sorts of things so that they are incorporated into a space. Yay!
This would be a great place to come to dinner... or watch a movie... or tip back a couple glasses of wine. So cheerful and homey.
This is a home full of happy hearts.
This is my favorite! So cute!!
One of my favourite tours ever. LOVE your place!
I collect photos from these tours to use for my own inspiration. This is the first time I've actually saved an ENTIRE tour! Bravo!
wow, everyone thanks so much for your lovely comments. i'm so thrilled people are digging my place! everyone over for cakes and cocktails!
tekakwitha - the headboard is wicker/cane (a macrame headboard would be wild though!)
Love it.
Its cheerful. Not my style however.
You have an amazing gift of colour relationship. Very clever. I have seen a few 70's houses lately and just see the negative, but you have opened my eyes to how much light and freedom of colour/patterns the 70's offered. Might just dig out my v-in-the-knees jeans!
Sheils from Brunswick, Australia
This is my favorite house tour in a long time! I love the fun and cozy vibe and all the color. If this home was a shop I might buy everything in it!
I especially love the painted wicker bed, so cute.
So many nice touches, and the art is lovely. Thank you for letting us take a peek inside. : )
Well done, you! Absolutely love the color/pattern/texture combinations you have assembled. So bright and cheery without looking overdone. Fabrics are fantastic, especially the dining chairs.
RE: your bathroom...
On the one hand, it might be nice to keep it subdued as a change from the more hi-intensity look of the rest of the place.
On the other hand, all it would take is a pile of hot pink and orange face cloths (not all new towels) or a few brightly colored smallish vases on display to being a little pop of color to the room. I'd include bright turquoise to go with the wallpaper, and maybe lime green and hot pink and orange... or whatever you can find.
A bit bright for my taste, but it works really well. Nicely done!
Definitely my favorite house tour in a long time! Makes me want to work on my condo some more!
Lovelovelove this tour! I'm absolutely a big fan of the 60s and I'm drooling over every little detail. Bookmarking your blog! Thanks for sharing!
It's very different from my own personal style but I think it is gorgeous. I love all the colours & unique details. I love that "Love Radio".
I must must know where you got that "Love Radio" radio... I desperately need one. Is it vintage? Does it work? Do tell....
I just love the colorful bedding!!
Love it!!! First house in a looooong time that has inspired me! Some one else who loves pink and orange!!
Heather (from Chris and Heather's Happy Hippy Haven)
so, the 'love' 'radio' are two separate radios, i just stacked them because its difficult to display them any more interestingly. they do both work, and i got them from ebay. 'radio' is quite easy to find, its made by isis, but i've not seen another 'love' radio (i think its a cheap knock off, there is no brand on the back or inside, its just 'made in hong kong'). but keep an eye on ebay - who knows what will come up!
sherrybinNH: good ideas, i think i'm just waiting to find the RIGHT little treasures to put in the bathroom (as well as fighting off the urge to just splurge on new towels) i'm definitely leaning towards the aqua & olive green palette! i just can't get enough of those colors right now.
thanks to everyone who's commented, its so much fun reading what you have to say :)
Yummy, yummy, yummy colors! That first pic of the chair is my fave.
So cute! I'm usually not into the '60s/'70s decor themes, but it seems like everything good from the era was pulled together here into one very pleasing home. Especially love the little boy's room, which reminds me of Mary Blair's artwork.
I want to live there! This is my favorite house of all so far. I love the colors and the fun. Every picture made me smile
Thoughtful, creative, consistent. I'm not usually into the 70's era but your home has won me over. It just glows with loving care. I instantly felt like I would be welcome if I just popped over for a chat. Then I read your comment about 'everyone over for cake and cocktails' and it became clear that your personality really shines through in your decorating style. I am completely envious about your velvet chesterfield. Now I shall have to go to confession. ;0)
I love love love your bathroom!
Love the bolster pillow on the master bed! Grew up with those sheets and still use them for guests. Such a crowd pleaser! Congrats on having such an inviting home.
Although this is not my style at all , i found it to be fun, happy and some of it evoked nostalgic feelings of the late sixties. Some of the patterns and colors are nice but the mixing with all types of pillows is over doing it and ruins the look you have managed to create in certain areas. some of the materials are too much . loved the sheet in the children's bedroom loved the various sofas but would have evoided the myriad of patterns and colors and it would still be groovy.
i am going to come your house and steal the awesome pink chair!
i actually really like the calm bathroom too. don't know why she counts that as one of her embarrassments. I have always thought that bathrooms should be muted tones and calming.
Stunning and spectacular - makes me feel very happy. And the pink chair is amazing (drool)
Fun, fun, fun! I really like the green living room carpet. It makes a nice "lawn" for all of the brightness and flowers to bloom from.
Oooh, I just really love it! So cheerful and bright ... not a piece of taxidermy anywhere!
Someone pinch me ... I'm turning soft in the head.
Not usually something I would like - but it all works! Love the master bedding you've pulled together. You must be a happy person - it shows! Thanks for sharing!
I really adore the colors and vintage feel. Fabulous.
The bathroom is an embarassment? I love it! The monocromatic really makes the tiles look great... pulls out the blue instead of letting them turn grey or green. Its a nice "break" from the vibrant colours everywhere else. Not that they're overwhelming. I think this house is so much fun... definitely harder to pull off than you're making it look! Way to go.
i didn't say the bathroom was an embarrassment, i just wish i could do more to personalize it, but it certainly isn't ruining my life. the house is pretty much perfect, i just thought i'd sound arrogant saying as much.
maybe some taxidermy would do the trick haha.. (i'm running away now!)
Love it too. Visually amazing, but also happy and unique and personal. Reminds me of Wary Meyers.
The color of that couch is swoon-worthy. The chid's room is so cute. I like the Peter Max colors in the bedroom.
Oh and that sculpted carpet is too funny.I don't like carpet but I wouldn't be able to rip that out even if there were hardwood floor underneath.