My Place: Paula Knight

Artist Paula Knight explains why beige has no place in the bright, eclectic family home she's treasured for 18 years.
My daughter was born in this house. It was an old bach - I have extended it and made it bigger as the family grew, to meet our needs. I really tried to keep the indoor-outdoor flow, and the old bachy, traditional [feel].
I painted the [lounge] blue a long time ago. It worked well with the botanical watercolours I was painting at the time.
I painted the outside blue for a fresh look. I love the look of it with the water and the garden - I love the bright flowers, the reds and oranges clashing with the blue. The colour brings the ocean view into the house.
My style is probably best described as eclectic, definitely colourful.
I like that sort of Moroccan [style], I really love retro, and beachy ... Anything goes, as long as I like it and it's colourful. I like contemporary as well. I don't like minimalist and I don't like taupe or tea. This colour in my kitchen is called wasabi.
I love coloured glass - my grandmother had a pretty amazing collection, and that's where my fascination started. Ever since, I have found pieces in op shops and flea markets. I'm trying to control it, because I'm running out of space.
The mermaid was made for one of my son's birthday parties. Every year I threw a big theme party for his birthday until he was 11. He was a pirate fan, and I always made props. Two of [the hanging ornaments] are Moroccan, the glass one is from Aussie and the floating mermaid is from Bali.
The woven grass mats on the kitchen floor cover up my nasty '80s vinyl. My tables are mostly second-hand - from op shops, that kind of thing.
I've lived here for 18 years. It's been an amazing little place for my kids. [But] they are flying the coop, and I don't want empty-nest syndrome.
It's been a wonderful home, and it would be terribly gut-wrenching to leave, [but] I feel like I need a change.
It's great for parties with the indoor-outdoor flow. We had a party [recently], and small children, teenagers and adults were all dancing together.