JOHN VAN KLAVEREN immerses himself in the electic decor of Heather McFarlane-Kolb’s Villa De Mar.
LITTLE pieces of the world fill bayside Villa De Mar.
It’s a far cry from when Heather McFarlane-Kolb first moved into the two-storey red-brick Drumcondra house, occupying a prime position on the waterfront.
“The place was pretty empty when I first moved here,” Heather reflects on beginning life with late husband Othmar.
Some 30 odd years later the home is filled to the brim with items of interest, curiosity and rarity.
Heather’s Austrian-born husband liked to visit family in his homeland often, with the trips also taking in a variety of interest-points along the journey. The travel bug has since continued for Heather.
“I’m not sure I’m a collector,” she smiles.
“I think I’m more of an accumulator.”
But there is no doubt Heather has an eye for the quirky, unusual and odd, as well as good taste in the artistic, the well-designed and the eclectic.
“It makes you feel good about your surroundings. It’s like going on a holiday every time I come back to the house,” Heather philosophises.
Indeed, moving from room to room evokes completely different flavours, from Indian-themed upstairs dressing room to the Austin Powers movie memorabilia in the shed-cum-garage.
But the strongest influence is Heather’s own unusual background, pieced together gradually as she grew up on a dairy farm but spending copious amounts of time at her great-uncle and aunt’s Airey’s Inlet property.
While understanding that she was adopted, it was only later in life that Heather discovered her birth father was from north-west Pakistan, near the Afghan border.
It explains, Heather concedes readily, her predilection for the oriental and sub-continental, including a Buddhist shrine in the entry.
But her antecedents have by no means defined her as Heather points out porcelain collections, delicate embroidery and elaborate wood carvings.
“Some items were bought at auction, some in op shops and markets, some are centuries-old pieces like the French period furniture,” Heather indicates.
Part of the collection is an appreciation for the artistry of the many handcrafted and hand painted pieces, a stark contrast to the cheaply manufactured items so freely available in our culture.
But that’s not to say popular culture has been eschewed entirely – Heather’s shed contains an equally eclectic array of pop art, movie memorabilia and the weird and wonderful, such as the ultimate garage fridge disguised as a Mobil petrol pump.
With roller doors installed at either end, the linear garage also houses a Bentley and a BMW, although neither are Heather’s usual drive.
“I can appreciate having the opportunity to collect such a variety of pieces,” Heather says.
“Not only do they hold a lot of memories but they embody the personal touch that I think we have lost to a large extent.”
The opportunity came about by way of worked in an almost a wide a variety of roles, from nurse to researcher, fashion designer and property developer.
Heather even wrote a dissertation on falls prevention, accepted for publication in a respected international nursing journal. Part of her travels included a stint as an exchange student in Michigan in the US.
While property development was largely the province of her late husband, Heather has taken up the baton, building a retreat in bushland in Lorne called The Qii, meaning energy inspired by nature.
It means her travels have gravitated more to the Great Ocean Road for now but Heather promises she still has more accumulating to be done.
