The Design Files: Inside the eclectic home of discerning collector Greg Irvine

WHO: Artist and collector Greg Irvine

WHERE: South Melbourne

WHAT: The eclectic home of a discerning collector

A visit to the home of Melbourne artist Greg Irvine is a “down the rabbit hole” experience. This is a truly magical space that feels a little like stumbling absent-mindedly into a sort of alternate world. It’s an experience completely at odds with the comparatively unremarkable exterior of this three-bedroom Victorian home in South Melbourne.

The house is heritage listed – a 150-year-old weatherboard, and one of the oldest free-standing houses built in South Melbourne. Greg has lived here for 12 years. When he bought the house it was, he says, “a dump”. He engaged a builder to restore it and make a few minor updates. The main living and kitchen areas were opened up to form one large living space.

The bedrooms and living spaces were painted, but the hallway and front room were left in original condition, with their raw timber panelling and iron fireplace. Greg was keen to retain as many of the original features as could be salvaged – doors, timber floorboards and wall panelling. Incredibly, the bathroom is also in near-original condition, with bath, bath surround, shower head and decorative pressed metal ceiling intact. “Every effort was made to maintain the integrity of the house during the modifications,” says Greg.

Endearingly tattered at the edges, this well-loved Victorian provides a fitting backdrop for Greg’s endless collections. Antique tableware, glassware, enamelware, tortoiseshell and Bakelite objects, vintage fabrics, suitcases, decorative boxes, jewellery and antique purses are displayed en masse, to spectacular effect.

But don’t be deceived, this is not the home of a hoarder. Greg’s collections are tightly controlled. The rule is “If I can’t display it, I don’t own it” – he’s not interested in simply amassing things and squirrelling them away. Each collection is carefully considered, and artfully displayed. To Greg, these are installations – curated and meticulously kept. There is not a grain of dust to be seen, either. Greg takes “house-proud” to new heights.

Collecting is an extension of his artwork – collecting, displaying and being surrounded by beautiful objects is paramount to his practice. Indeed, there is a great deal of crossover between Greg’s eclectic home and his meticulously detailed paintings. His favourite household objects often find their way onto his canvases, while vintage fabrics often influence the patterns and colours in his works. If not surrounded by beauty, he reasons, he “might as well curl up in a ball and die”. Passionate words, from a very passionate aesthete.

The Design Files guide to collecting

In these days of small-space living and Marie Kondos-inspired “decluttering”, there’s a rebellious joy to be found in collecting.

Take some cues from artist and collector Greg Irvine: The key is not so much what you collect or the size of your collection, but how you choose to display it.

1. Collections should be themed at point of purchase. If you can’t see a home for an item when shopping, don’t buy it.

2. A collection must be consistent. Unrelated objects can look untidy and cluttered. A safe bet is to choose all one type of object, or all one colour/material.

3. Collections are to be seen, not archived. As Greg says, “If you can’t display it, don’t own it”. There is no point in hiding your treasured pieces away; the enjoyment is in the viewing and admiration of each item, and recalling the stories they tell.