The Bruten Family

We feature Australian homes of all shapes and sizes, but I can safely say today is the first time we’ve featured the home of a family of seven!

This bright and cheerful home in East Malvern belongs to Ruth Bruten (aka Gourmet Girlfriend) her husband Guy, and their five boys Jasper (17), Max (15), Oscar (12), Gus (9) and Archie (7). It’s bold, and bright and full of creative energy!

Written

Lucy Feagins

Supported by Dulux

The East Malvern Home of the Bruten family. Above – family kitchen, including vintage French tin sign from Camberwell market, Milk Bar sign from Waverley Antique Bazaar, hand turned candlestick and bowl on kitchen bench made by Guy. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

(This kitchen is in the newly renovated part of the home, and is especially for use by teenage kids!). Marc Newson dish rack from Top3 by design. Roadside salvaged kitchen bench, hand turned wooden bowl on kitchen bench by Guy. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Ruth’s trademark clogs (these ones by Marimekko) beside pantry door. Handmade Turkish ‘Seeing Eye’ wall hanging above door was a gift from Ruth’s mother on a recent trip to Turkey. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

A view from the living area to music studio. Wooden flooring was made using timber boards that were salvaged from one of the outdoor sheds, ON AIR light form Empirical Style, banjo stand handcrafted by Ruth’s brother. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

All five of Ruth’s children play instruments and music is a huge part of their lives, so building a space for them to play (and to house the various instruments) was a really important addition to the family home. Ruth designed wall bracketing to house some of her LP collections on display. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Ruth standing in front of her new three metre sliding shed door in her back garden, which she made from recycled timber. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Necklace board made by Ruth, fiddle leaf fig tree from Julian Ronchi Garden Design. Salvaged doors found by Ruth’s builder. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

‘Love’ sign by Queensland artist Alan James, bed linen by Bedouin Societe and Kip & Co. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

TinTin wall mural by Ruth (one of 5 murals around the house). All other art by her son Gus. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Little clay treasures made by Ruth’s children. Each child also has a Rob Ryan tile dedicated to them. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Original cast iron bed which once belonged to Ruth, now belongs to Archie. Washi tape love heart above bed made by Ruth. All other art by Archie. Photo – Annette O’Brien. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Writer

Lucy Feagins

29th of September 2015

Keeping a happy house humming along with five growing lads all under one roof is no mean feat. Ruth Bruten makes it look easy! The house she shares with husband Guy and their five boys is bright and beautiful, full of life and love and creative chaos.

The Bruten family home started life as a typical Melbourne three bedroom red brick Californian bungalow, built in 1924. It was in original, quite rundown condition when Ruth and Guy bought the house at auction 8 years ago.

‘It had not been touched since it was built’ recalls Ruth. ‘I could see past the holy floors that were like trampolines, and the musty carpets and dark rooms – admittedly this was more of a challenge for Guy, but he encouraged me to go for it and trusted me to make it into something we would love’.

Tight on both time and budget in the early years after purchasing the property, Ruth and Guy’s initial renovation simply involved the removal of one interior wall to make a large combined dining/kitchen/lounge room. Their family (then with 4 kids) squished into the 3 bedrooms and that was that. The family happily lived like this until 2 years ago, when a long overdue extension was finally added on.

‘The timing was perfect, as all of a sudden our 3 eldest children were adult sized (towering over me!) – and squeezing 5 children into two bedrooms was proving to be very tricky indeed!’ says Ruth.

The addition inside and out was designed entirely by Ruth, right down to the very last fitting, though she was supported by a wonderful builder (Damian Cox). ‘I wanted to make the addition a part of the original home, with connections to the old building – but we also wanted it’s design to stand alone’ Ruth says. Incorporating a new living / rumpus room, second kitchenette, music room and two new bedrooms, the extension has almost doubled the footprint of the home.

Ruth is not only a major foodie (as you know if you read her blog!), she’s also a keen creative, as is evident in the various creative flourishes seen all around her home. In her spare time she makes ceramics (not sure where she finds any ‘spare time’ at all!) and she is also great at salvaging and restoring second hand furniture and materials.

‘The thing I love most about living here is that my favourite people in all the world are here with me, and that we get to live in a house that reflects the things that we find important’ says Ruth, when asked what she loves most about her home. ‘This home really is living document of our family – it is messy, it is cluttered with objects that tell our story, it is full of colour, it is full of people, it doesn’t always make sense, and it is filled with the happy noise of life being lived.’