This is the lifeDes, a visual merchandiser, uses the house as the setting for his burgeoning business, Unique Shopping Experiences. He specialises in collecting and selling vintage fashion and homewares, making his home a perfect showroom. Its lock-it-and-leave-it style is ideal for the couple, who often spend weekends at the nearby Gold or Sunshine Coasts.
Australian styleWhen the Mannions’ cottage was built in the 1930s, backyards were for clotheslines, kids, vegie patches and chooks. Des and Sandra decided to maximise the ‘living’ potential of their home, converting a back bedroom to extend the kitchen and create a covered rear patio. Decorated with typically indoor elements such as mirrors, a sofa and dining setting, the patio has become a favourite area to spend time with family and friends.
Rescued furniture and pre-loved ornaments ensure this renovated Art Deco cottage in Brisbane is true to form and an absolute joy to live in.
Australia may have been a decade or so behind the northern hemisphere’s Art Deco movement, but the style was wholeheartedly embraced when our soldiers brought the ideas home following World War I. There are still plenty of examples of Art Deco buildings to be found around Australia, and their elegant proportions, plus pure nostalgia value, ensure they appeal to plenty of cluey renovators.
A renovation is just what Brisbane couple Des and Sandra Mannion had in mind when they bought this 1930s cottage 17 years ago, leaving behind a lovingly restored Queenslander home in a neighbouring suburb. “I cried the day we moved in, thinking what have we done?” says Sandra, laughing at the memory. “One of our cats died the day we moved, the other cat scratched us to shreds in transit, the house was a wreck and I thought – this is just a disaster!” But slowly and surely, the couple has transformed their cottage into one of Brisbane’s sweetest addresses.
Their home belongs to one of the city’s first ‘property estates’. Neighbouring houses in their street, which encircles a leafy park, share similar Art Deco influences.
“Luckily we only needed to make a few structural changes,” says Des. “We knocked out the wall between the kitchen and a bedroom to open up the back area and give better access to the verandah; we converted half the sunroom into a bathroom; plus we opened up the front of the living room with new bifold doors – making the most of the great views across to the park.”
Add a kitchen revamp, fresh coats of paint and a garden makeover and their work was done. When quizzed about the gorgeous green tones throughout the home – inside and out – the pair look at each other, mystified. “Green isn’t necessarily our favourite colour,” says Sandra, “but it was a popular shade in the pre-war period and the scheme just evolved through our collecting. It’s a very relaxing colour and easy to match things with – pieces don’t have to be exactly the same shade to still look great as a whole.”
Both Des and Sandra had acquired some great Art Deco pieces during past renovations, but the distinctive look of this home helped the couple’s collection really take off. “People are always offering us things they’re getting rid of!” Sandra says, with a laugh, “but it’s Art Deco we really love.”
Story & styling Danielle Dunsmore Photography Steve Ryan