Innholdsfortegnelse for February Issue#2 2018 i Australian Country Homes

Welcome to our second issue of Australian Country Homes. Thanks to you, our lovely readers, who responded so enthusiastically to our first issue, we have been encouraged to make this a quarterly publication. And so we have gathered together some of our all-time favourite stories from Australian Country magazine and are thrilled to be presenting them for your enjoyment. We’ve also added inspirational pages at the end of each story, to make it easier for you to achieve a look that appeals. The adage that the kitchen is the heart of the home is especially apt in the country where generations of passionate cooks and bakers have honed their skills to perfection. Cooking for family and friends is second nature in the bush, where the nearest restaurants and takeaways are…

There’s a tangible country vibe in Vanessa Goulmy’s home, which is unexpected given it’s a stone’s throw from inner city Brisbane. It might have something to do with the fact that there’s a barn in the backyard (more on that later). Or it might be her collection of carefully curated vintage finds that lends a homely warmth as you amble from room to room. Fretwork archways beckon you to pass through, to pad further along the old hoop pine flooring that’s felt a thousand footsteps before. It’s easy to see that every detail of this renovation has been pondered, planned and pondered some more, before being carried out. “When we purchased the house it was liveable but small, with just two bedrooms and one bathroom,” Vanessa says. “The workers’ cottage…

Baths with a view From tucked-away tubs in Tasmania’s Bay of Fires to beachy bathing in New South Wales’ Byron Bay, these are the country’s most blissful outdoor bathrooms. Bay of Fires Lodge, Tasmania If ever one deserved a good scrub in the tub, it’s after bush-bashing. This was just the thinking that brought about the Bay of Fires Lodge, an award-winning eco spa designed as a retreat for guests taking on the four-day Bay of Fires Walk. Masterminded by the Tasmanian Walking Company, the team sought to create a restorative retreat with added wow factor that would relieve walkers’ tired muscles. Enter the outdoor bathroom, an open-air wooden pavilion with a freestanding tub surrounded by stunning national park and overlooking the Bay’s crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches and…

As Shannon Garson recalls her teenage years growing up in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, she couldn’t wait to get out of town. The big wide world beckoned and her hometown of Maleny didn’t see her heels for dust as soon as she graduated high school. “I went to art college in Brisbane and then travelled and worked overseas for a few years,” she recalls. “I’d been lucky enough to work for Brisbane ceramicist Clairy Laurence when I was at college. She let me come and decorate her work pretty much as I liked and I now realise how incredibly generous that was. She pretty much changed my life by showing me that a creative life could be a career. I saw a lot of artworks while I was overseas and…

The beautiful bouquets of flowers that sit on the tabletops, benches and mantelpiece in Shannon and Steve Yeardley’s home provide a magnificent sense of tranquillity, happiness and warmth. Shannon’s appreciation for the impact of flowers is ever growing and, as founder and managing director of charity The Flower Project, she is able to share this appreciation with members of the community who most deserve the pick-me-up that a beautiful bouquet can provide. Shannon’s love affair with flowers is visible from the driveway of their Cedar Creek home; a home surrounded by gardens that feature roses, tropical heliconias, camellias and magnolias, and a vast array of other plant life. Though not traditionally an area for cottage gardens — Cedar Creek is largely made up of rainforest and national park — Shannon…

Idle is not a word in Dani Venn’s vocabulary. When Australian Country caught up with the self-taught cook and 2011 MasterChef Australia finalist, she was juggling the joint responsibilities of running her own food consultancy and raising her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Harlow. She was also in the throes of organising her wedding to her long-time partner, construction manager Chris Burgess, helping him and a couple of mates launch a bar in Melbourne’s inner north and arranging to host two wellness retreats in Bali. In her “spare” time she adds that she’s gearing up for her busiest time of year as an awareness ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia (OCA). “I do feel like I work a lot,” she says. “But I’m fortunate that I can pick my hours so I work when…

If, as IT entrepreneur and Apple founder Steve Jobs maintained, the only way to do great work is to love what you do, designer Lisa Day has it nailed. Every piece she creates is made to her own specifications, to suit her personal style and whatever natural, organic components take her fancy on the day. She says she’s just lucky that her loyal band of customers and Almost_Indigo Instagram followers happen to share her taste. She pretty much sells all her creations, from jewellery and display cabinets to wall art, planters, stools and chests of drawers, as soon as they are completed. “I just do what I like,” she says of her somewhat unorthodox business model. “Initially I didn’t set out to make money. I just made my own jewellery…

Arose by any other name would smell as sweet according to Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet, but for interior designer and stylist Rachael Leslie, finding an appropriate moniker for her house in the Victorian spa town of Daylesford was of ultimate importance. As a long-time musician and inveterate traveller, Rachael knew the importance of a catchy title to ensure the success of a business. Although she initially had no intention of opening her home to paying visitors, she did feel strongly that a “good fit” was essential when it came to naming the property. So it seemed a stroke of serendipity when in 2008, about the same time as Rachael was establishing her Daylesford property, she heard about the work of celebrated Sydney photomedia artist Anne Zahalka through a friend who was…

We first met Ellie Ramsey, owner of the iconic Paddington store Blake & Taylor, when we visited her country property Fat Ted Farm in Harlin, a small town 90 minutes drive from Brisbane. This time we visited Ellie’s city abode, a stunning renovated timber and tin Queenslander in the inner-west suburb of Toowong, just a short drive from her store. “When we first saw the house it was a dump,” Ellie recalls. “It had been added onto so much over the years it was almost impossible to see the original, splendid 1906 home itself. It was covered in security grills, ramps had been added and the verandas had been closed in. It started as a lovely, grand home but along the way had been a boarding house, then cut into…

From traditional and contemporary to unusual and rustic in style, For Ever Bouquets in Oberon, NSW, has your event and everyday needs covered. Whether you’re looking for fresh flowers or the finest-quality artificial blooms, trust For Ever Bouquets’ experienced florist to come up with the perfect mix for every room and occasion. foreverbouquets.com.au This Rockabilly halter-strap dress pattern comes with Vintage Made magazine and is a great full-size pattern pull-out (sizes 6-26). As well as being inspired by the styles of rockabilly and rock ’n’ roll, this issue features sewing tips from Tara Moss, high fashion from Dior, cars, guitars and recipes (we LOVE the ice-cream!). A single issue is $15. One- or two-year subscriptions are available at a discount. artwearpublications.com.au Your caffeinated morning pick-me-up will be all the more…

You have been warned. There’s probably nothing in Lyn Gardener’s emporium in Melbourne’s Albert Park that you actually need. However, whether you can live without the unusual decorator and functional pieces, custom-made clothes, hand-crafted jewellery, rustic furniture items and industrial wooden wares she has assembled under the roof of a former suit hospital is another matter entirely. Lyn has that nebulous skill sometimes referred to as “an eye”. In her hands the ordinary becomes extraordinary. She has that fantastic knack of taking an old piece of tat and teaming it with the right accessories to turn a nondescript corner into a talking point. It’s a skill the self-confessed “hoarder” has been honing for most of her life. “My mother’s a total modernist, so I don’t know where my passion for…

The wondering gardener. That’s me. Wondering where to start. It’s been 13 years since we bought our farm, and eight years since we moved onto it. When my husband proposed 23 years ago, I asked where he thought he wanted to be in 20 years — mainly to see if he’d thought further than getting married in six months’ time. “Living on a small farm with a wife and a few kids,” he said. That was both vague and specific enough for me. As his long-term goal was a flying job out of Sydney, I imagined an undulating block near Bowral, a modest renovated farmhouse with a squeaky swinging gate and roses. The Sydney job eventuated and transferred us to Melbourne, where we found our designated spot 45 minutes north…

Aldona Kmieć left Poland in 2004 when the country joined the European Union and doors were flung open to the West. A decade on, she finds herself living and working in Ballarat where her photographs, particularly her portraits of fellow migrants, have drawn attention to the city’s rich multicultural fabric. She has also found time to renovate a large 1875 cottage in the historic inner city suburb of Soldiers Hill. Step inside Aldona’s double-fronted Victorian cottage and it is the light that you notice. From the soft, delicate and sophisticated lightshades to the natural light spilling into the hallway, light plays a subtle yet central motif in this home. Given Aldona’s northern European origins and her work as a photographer, it makes sense. She works from home, and follows the…

Houses, like people, places and pets, have moods. Some are warm and inviting, others are cold and unsavoury. It’s not something you can put your finger on immediately — sometimes you don’t know what mood a house has until you’ve left. This is not the case with Diane Perkins’ house at Culburra Beach on the south coast of NSW. Her domain has an instant effect — it is tranquil, appealing and comfortable. It’s a place that you don’t want to leave. “We moved down from Sydney last year,” Diane says. “I retired and my husband works from an office in the house. The crazy thing is that we seem to be busier than we ever were in Sydney, with friends and family coming down regularly for visits and the activities…