Irene & Peter’s Amazing Art Deco, Art-Filled Australian Home

Name: Irene Grishin Selzer and Peter Selzer
Location: Victoria, Australia
Size: 1200 square feet
Years lived in: 8 years; Owned

Irene, Peter and their two young children live in a bay-side suburb near Melbourne in an amazing Art Deco house, which they have restored and renovated into a spacious family home. Irene and Peter are the duo behind Iggy and Lou Lou—creating beautiful ceramic jewelry and homewares from their home studio.

Outside of Iggy and Lou Lou, Irene also creates beautiful ceramic paintings and sculptures, which can be seen throughout their home—almost like mini art installations. She is preparing for a show later in the year so we are lucky to get a little sneak peak of the work pre show. The original home has been restored with the fabulous original art deco ceiling roses seen in the living and dining rooms.

Irene and Peter added on to the rear of their home giving them an extra family room and workspace upstairs, as well was the separate studio out back. Special mention goes to the amazing indoor plants in their ensuite and bathroom. Also to their 2 young sons who lovingly arranged their lego display and dollhouse scene especially for our photo shoot. You can follow both Irene and Iggy and Lou Lou on Instagram too.

Our Style: hmm…. We never really think of it as a style. Home to us is a creative space where people, plants and ideas evolve, grow and change together. There’s a real beauty in that. It’s the evolving we love—a connection to a space over a passage of time—there’s never an end or desire to be on trend.

Inspiration: We’ve always liked things that are hard to define (which makes it hard when you want to write about them!) But I guess we look for a certain feel rather than a particular look—places that use space creatively and are full of personal treasures and lots of greenery.

Favorite Element: The Art Deco features we inherited with the house and studio and watching our plants grow around them. Also love filling the space with the many swaps we’ve made with other artists and makers around the world.

Biggest Challenge: Shoehorning the SUPER HEAVY large marble and wood French cabinet into the little lounge room. It was originally built for a hotel in France, so with all its use and travels it was scuffed up enough to make it affordable and practical (it hides a TV, computer, ugly cords, chargers and other computer things) But it can’t move without a small crane and about eight friends helping!

What Friends Say: Our friends say they love our home, its character and seeing what’s changed in the garden. They often end up in the studio talking about new work and negotiating Christmas presents!

Biggest Embarrassment: Our laundry is tiny and built under the stairs. We haven’t organised it properly yet (after eight years!) so if we open the laundry door to throw something in, there’s always a pile of laundry on the floor to kick away to be able to shut the door again.

Proudest DIY: That’s really hard because we’ve completely changed the house, studio and gardens over the past eight years and it’s still evolving. But maybe the en-suite, as it was the first time we cut through a wall and there was a great deal of planning to create a practical bathroom that looks good in such a small space. (There was a family of rats that were living in the space as well—so it was also a psychological challenge for us!)

Biggest Indulgence: The Kilim rug in the lounge room. The history of nearly 100 years all pieced together is something really special. We also love how our boys see the different patterns as maps and roads for their cars and building blocks.

Best Advice: Be confident about making decorating choices. Try not to be told what to like—really think about the things that make you happy and interested as an individual or family. If you are buying something, make sure you are buying it for yourselves to live with and not for someone else to see.

Dream Sources: Art galleries and second hand shops/markets all over the world, and for handmade pieces a little closer to home—Mr Kitly, Craft Victoria, Modern Times and Outre Gallery.

• Painted white throughout

• Driptopia Vases – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Vase (front right) – Iain Dean
• Artwork – Irene Grishin Selzer
• Cabinet – Second Hand / Vintage

• Ceramic Faces – Louise Kyriakou
• Ceramic Paintings – Irene Grishin Selzer
• Planters and vases – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Couch and chair – vintage reupholstered
• Side table, coffee table and cabinet – vintage / antique
• Large Etchings – G.W. Bot
• Large Portrait Painting – Natasha Grishin
• Botanical print – Nicholas Kolenda
• Large Painting – Nicholas Ives
• Ceramic vessels on Mantel – Shino Takeda
• Lamps on Mantel – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Porcelain Bears on wall – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Ceramic Skulls – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Light Fitting – Schots

• Driptopia Vases – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Ceramic Paintings – Irene Grishin Selzer
• Early century extendable table – first piece of furniture Irene’s Grandparents bought when they arrived in Australia!
• Mid Century Dining Chairs – Vintage
• Framed Photograph – Marie Strauss
• French Patisserie Print – Alice Oehr
• Toy Animals – Arranged by children

• Vase – Iain Dean
• Planter – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Vintage mid century bar stools – Garage / Yard Sale
• Step Stool – Ikea
• Ceramic sculptures and figurines on shelf – Irene Grishin Selzer
• Planters on shelf – Jessica Hans
• Vintage finds and shells collected over time

• Patchwork Rug – Loom
• Ceramic Vase – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Vintage Dollshouse – Irene’s Grandfather
• Artwork on Wall – Vintage, their Children
• Large Print – Heisuke Kitazawa
• Prints – Louise Kyriakou, Beci Orpin, Jun Takahoshi, Tony Sowersby
• Linocut – G.W. Bot
• Drawing – Courtney Brims, Genevieve Castree, Auf Wiedersehen
• Wall Sculpture – Anna Davern
• Watercolor – Mary MacQueen
• Lithograph – Joseph Farington
• Vases above windows – Iggy and Lou Lou

BEDROOM

• Painting above bed – Irene Grishin Selzer
• Bedside Vase – Sophie Jane Moran
• Bed Linen – I Love linen

• Bunk Beds – Domayne
• Cabinet and shelves – Ikea
• Artwork – Madeleine Stamer and Children’s drawings and paintings
• Plane and Car – Handmade

• Plant – Devils Ivy
• Driptopia Planter – Iggy and Lou Lou
• Tapware – Ideal Standard
• Square bevelled edge mirror – Bunnings

• Work in progress – Irene /or Iggy and Lou Lou

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