In Melbourne I think some of the places that use second hand things the best are cafes and restaurants. There’s no cafe look I love more than an eclectic mix of second hand/home-made tables and industrial-ish/institutional/random chairs. And the places that go for this look generally also have a bit of a collection of something. Like 1980s pottery or, as with the Convent Bakery at Abbotsford Convent, interesting lights. See?

And I always notice these types of lights because my mum (also a collector, you might recall) has similar ones in her house … See?

And more of my mum’s lights. And more Convent Bakery lights.

The Convent Bakery fireplace.

My mum’s fireplace.

The fireplace at mum’s is a cracker right? It came with the garden and mum has somewhat disguised the fake bluestone by covering it with plants and paraphernalia. But the funny thing is, the house two doors down has the same fireplace. Clearly the master-concrete-craftman shared his talent up and down the street. But knowing there’s at least two of these in the world (and maybe more?) makes this one a bit less and more kitsch and definitely more interesting.  And actually, an outdoor chimney/fireplace/BBQ/planter is pretty handy. It makes BBQing in winter bearable … and the grandkids get toasted marshmallows …

And while I am on comparisons between mum’s house and the Convent Bakery I will leave you with these images.

1. A school table that has been tiled?

2. A wooden stool that has been carpeted?

A bit odd? A bit weird?  Fun!