ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Simple furnishings, white walls and colourful artwork give Emma Cleine’s coastal home its unique identity

- JULIET BENNING

When a friend told Emma Cleine about the 1940s coastal property for sale on a hill in Mornington Peninsula she suspected it could be the perfect location from which to diversify and grow her art practice. ‘The house has a view of the beach and a lighthouse,’ she enthuses.

Having lived in the region all her life, the short-distance move for Emma, her carpenter husband Mark, and their twoboys, Lenny, 9, and Beau, 5, was relatively undisruptive. The plan was to renovate and expand their new home for Emma to use for her professional practice as a printmaker and artist. ‘Her business, Lumiere Art & Co, produces artworks and accessories with stockists all over Australia. ‘I’ve always been keen to share my knowledge, so I wanted to offer workshops from my home,’ she says.

But before going ahead with the business plan, the couple spent two years renovating the property. ‘It was a simple house with a large kitchen and dining area but had pokey rooms,’ Emma explains. We added the master bedroom and sitting room as well as renovating the kitchen and bathrooms.