The Design Files: Creative director Annie Price restores a mid-century gem

Who: Annie Price, Jamie Paterson and their daughter Dorothy

Where: Beaumaris, Vic.

What: Restored mid-century home.

Vintage Dutch wallpaper from Etsy, fibre optic lamp from garage sale, curtains and small teak table from eBay. Photo: Eve Wilson

Colour and pattern make Annie Price happy. “We just couldn’t live in a minimal, clean, white box,” the creative director says. “I know it’s not for everyone, but patterns and colour rock my world, and the more the merrier.”

This passion for colour and pattern has found a perfect outlet in the home Annie Price shares with her husband Jamie Paterson and their daughter Dorothy in Beaumaris.

Here, in the bayside suburb well known for mid-century architecture, a much loved 1960s home has been restored to its vibrant former glory.

This vibrant, joyful family home in Beaumaris has been a labour of love for mid-century design enthusiasts Annie Price and Jamie Paterson, and their daughter Dorothy (Dottie), aged 5. Photo: Eve Wilson

The couple have faithfully restored their beloved mid-century home over the past five years – even spending one full year living together in a single bedroom while completing their renovations. The house had to be stripped back to the framework; even the roof was replaced.

“It was probably more work than a new build,” says Price with hindsight, though nothing would have deterred her from retaining the home’s original features.

The family salvaged what they could, including the original Oregon beams, handrails and even the ceramic kitchen cupboard doorknobs. What couldn’t be saved was replaced with carefully sourced details, like the original ’60s tiles for the kitchen, found as “new old stock”, and required remeshing where the backing paper had disintegrated.

Vintage wallpaper from The Bitch is Back in St Kilda, divan couch by Anderson Furniture Australia. Photo: Eve Wilson

“It wasn’t an easy route, as most tradies don’t get it and favour modern fixtures and fittings, but it was a labour of love for us and well worth it in the end.”

Absolutely everything here has a story. “Most things we own are from op shops and vintage stores, or trawling the local garage sales every Saturday morning; there are no sleep-ins at our place,” says Price.

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Finding their Hans Agne Jakobsson timber veneer light fitting was a proud moment – $4 from a local church fete. In contrast, the Milo Baughman swivel chairs were an indulgent and impulsive splash-out from Northcote vintage store, Grandfather’s Axe.

The dining area with a planter from Glen Waverley Vintage shed. Photo: Eve Wilson

Despite their passion for authentic mid-century design, Price and Paterson are not purists.

Their home celebrates their love of all things retro and vintage, but it’s also relaxed and fun, full of quirky, sentimental pieces, and odd bits thrown in that simply took their fancy at garage sales, op shops or hard rubbish piles.

“Lots of timber, lots of colour and lots of humour,” Price summarises, when asked to describe her home. “There’s no point living somewhere that doesn’t make you smile.”

The living room has Milo Baughman swivel chairs and Cadovious shelving from Grandfather’s Axe. The coffee table came with the house, Kartell stool from eBay and Price made the cushions. Photo: Eve Wilson

The Design Files guide to decorating with pattern

Incorporating pattern in an interior can be daunting. Take advice from Annie Price, whose colourful Beaumaris home makes perfect use of retro wallpapers and bold textiles.

• Seek inspiration from designers and brands from all eras – Orla Kiely, Marimekko, Rae Eames.
• Consider what patterns can be created using tiles, soft furnishings and floor coverings.
• If permanent decisions are overwhelming, incorporate pattern via more flexible means – textiles and bed linen are great places to start.
• Rules are made to be broken. Annie Price believes it’s much better to have a go at something and decide later to change it, than to be afraid to try.