Amidst the many perfectly appointed and utterly unattainable minimalist homes out there, designer and stylist Sibella Court's Sydney studio fantasyland is a refreshing, sumptuous mess. Located in a corner apartment building built in the 1800s, the space feels like a free-wheeling gypsy lair, though it's actually the outcome of painstaking renovations: the stylist has reinstated the bathrooms and kitchens with Victorian-era appliances and spent years collecting the home's treasures. In all, it's a house primed for a riotous game of I-spy, so without further ado, here are 14 unexpected elements that can inject any space with a bit of stylish hoarder flair:
1. Chalkboards strung up in precarious places.
2. A collection of old-timey scissors.
3. An antique life ring pilfered from an old ship (they don't need it, right?)
4. Nautical everything.
5. Rope. Also stolen from an old ship.
6. Apothecary-style glass jars filled with ... anything.
7. Paper Hedwig!
8. Mysterious needlepoint art. Is that a mouse trap? A matchbox?
9. A ladder in repose.
10. Branches 'n' bramble.
11. The perfect messy-chic library.
12. This stylish gentleman.
13. Vintage shop and flea market-scored teacups, saucers, and pots—the dustier the better.
14. A Victorian-era sink, purchased at The Great Gatsby prop sale.
· Sydney Home: Sibella Court and Ben Harper [The Design Files]