Gaylene and Johnny’s apartment is situated smack bang in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD, located in one of the city’s first tall buildings built in 1924—as an office building in the Palazzo style. It’s even classified by the National Trust as a notable building. In 2001 the offices were converted into apartments and they purchased theirs in 2006.

Wandering the building’s hallway you feel like you could be in an old, generic hotel, but once inside the apartment it’s a a feast for your eyes with color, plants and decor—it’s hard to know where to look first!

With an amazing collection of indoor plants it will come as no surprise that Gaylene is a florist (you can find her on Instagram). You’ll find many plants springing from cuttings and even a mini oak tree or two tenderly grown from acorns.

Many of the furnishings and furniture are precious family treasures, such as the chaise lounge in their bedroom. It traveled to Australia by ship alongside Gaylene’s great-grandmother in the 1870s. Many other items have been sourced from local vintage and antique stores.

Our Style: I am a sentimental maximalist. More is more. A mish-mash of bohemian, street finds, and Nanna style mixed up with inherited pieces and as if all of this has been put inside a greenhouse.

Inspiration: The World of Interiors magazines, ELLE Decor magazines, The Selby Blog, Andie MacDowell’s apartment in “Greencard,” Interiors in Woody Allen movies

Favorite Element: Our books.

Biggest Challenge: Fitting everything in.

What Friends Say: There’s so much to look at.

Biggest Embarrassment: Rusty spots on the window frames.

Proudest DIY: Hot gluing a piece of fabric to the wall behind the bed.

Biggest Indulgence: Plants, books, records.

Best Advice: Make do and mend.

Dream Sources: The Junk Company

ENTRY

• Bookshelves — Found on the street
• Multi-colored Plant Shelves — The Junk Company
• 1950s Vinyl Hall Stand — Camberwell Auctions
• 1950s Black Wrought Iron Plant Stand — Found on the street and restored by a friend

LIVING ROOM

• Stereo Cabinet — Lost and Found CD
• Shelves — The Junk Company
• Blue Vintage Luggage Trolley — We rescued this from a pile of rubble on a building site
• Desk — The Junk Company
• Print of “Il Palio” — Used to hang in Massi restaurant (where we had our wedding reception). We loved it and admired it and when they redecorated, they gifted it to us.
• Organic Spiral Wall Sculpture — Made and gifted by Wona Bae of Loose Leaf
• Bookshelves — The Junk Company SLOW sign — Found on the street

DINING /KITCHEN

• Table — The Junk Company; covered in Mexican oil cloth from Me Too Please
• Glass-fronted Oak Cabinet Used for Glassware and Crockery — The Junk Company
• Glass-fronted Tall White Cabinet — The Junk Company
• Depression Era Kerosene Box Cupboard — Was used for storage in my mother’s florist shop in the 1970s
• Green Metal Light Shade — The Junk Company

BEDROOM

• Antique Chaise Lounge — Belonged to my great-grandmother who brought it with her from England in the 1870s when she emigrated. I am the fourth generation to own it.
• 1960s Pink Chest of Drawers — Lost and Found
• Wardrobe — The Junk Company
• Floral Skirted Dressing Table — Rabbit and Hare Antiques

BATHROOM

• Disco Balls — Hot Potatoes on Smith Street, Collingwood
• Shelves — Built by my dad in the 1960s

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