Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 2 - 2024 i Country Style Specials

My best friend is from a cane farm in Broadwater in the NSW Northern Rivers. Her father is a lovely man – a very hardworking farmer who is practical, honest and full of good advice. One particular pearl of wisdom sticks in my head: “Your home is your greatest asset, so invest in it”, or something to that effect. He is, of course, correct. Homes require maintenance and updating, especially the rooms that work the hardest: your kitchen, your bathroom and your laundry. These rooms also happen to be the most expensive to renovate. On the upside, they add the most value to your home. But in these times of rising prices, there are lots of ways to update your kitchen, bathroom and laundry, and this special issue of Country…

KITCHEN INSPIRATION COSY CORNERS You’d never guess this charming country kitchen in a heritage homestead resides in a busy suburb of Sydney. The knotted pine floors, V-groove-panelled cabinetry and ceramic relief-tiled splashback all hint at a more bucolic setting. Lauren Mahoney and Steven Zahra of interior design firm Studio Trio designed this kitchen for a family of five, taking care to make the space as beautiful as it is practical. “The custom rangehood and freestanding cooker really set the tone for this kitchen,” says Steven. “It’s a place to cook and enjoy long or short meals.” Brass light fixtures, tapware and cabinet pulls, a farmhouse sink and pretty blue fabric blinds add to the homely feel. “The corner nook is a wonderful place to sit and take in the morning…

BLUE WONDER Small rooms like laundries, mudrooms and bathrooms offer the perfect opportunity to deviate from the rest of your home’s decor, and it was with this in mind that Karen and Stuart Miles decided to introduce some colour into the laundry of their heritage-listed cottage in Oatlands, Tasmania. “The wall and joinery colour is inspired by the beautiful muted blues and greens of Provence, as well as an original 1830s wallpaper remnant that we found while restoring the property,” says Karen. A beautiful antique French tap and farmhouse sink helped to bring some of the history of the cottage into the new extension. This being Tassie, there also needed to be a mudroom for taking coats on and off and leaving muddy boots to dry, “but that doesn’t mean…

QUEENSLAND HOME Tim and Lauren Sayce never planned to live on a farm with horses, cattle, chickens and pigs. But when they spied a beautiful vacant block in Mount Marrow, near Ipswich in Queensland, while visiting family, an idea began brewing. “We just thought, ‘Well, wouldn’t this be nice?’” recalls Lauren, 40. The couple, who were living in Brisbane at the time, made an offer and let fate determine the outcome, agreeing that if the sale went through smoothly, it was meant to be. “It went through trouble-free!” Lauren says. The sale might have been simple, but Tim, 37, and Lauren describe their move to the country as a “journey”. They kicked it off by building a modest two-bedroom home on the 16-hectare property – on the traditional lands of…

Sometimes, starting from scratch is the best way to achieve what you have in mind. This is what former professional hockey player David Jones and his wife Kimberly Vaage Jones decided to do when they realised they wouldn’t find the ideal property for them and their three children Ronan, nine, Greta, six, and Hugh, four – plus their Boston terrier, Leonard. So once they’d found the perfect block of land in North Vancouver, Canada, they decided to build their own home. “We sought a level of privacy, and the home backs onto a green belt, which offers a peaceful, quiet backyard, overlooking a stream and large cedar trees,” says David. “In designing the home, we hoped for a timeless yet approachable feel, and I believe it was achieved.” With its…

QUEENSLAND HOME Kara Rosenlund is rushing to catch the ferry to North Stradbroke Island, in Queensland. The fine-art photographer is heading for the 1970s A-frame she bought with her husband Timothy O in 2018. Back then, her bags were filled with paint samples, fabric swatches and second-hand finds from eBay. Six years and two children later, the contents of those bags are more centred around the needs of the children, Edie and Alby, rather than the latest renovation. “We’re always racing to catch the barge,” she says. “I usually have flowers or branches on my lap to make the trip that bit more challenging, or vintage furniture in the back, and the kids are sandwiched between boxes of supplies.” This 45-minute ferry trip from Cleveland’s Toondah Harbour is a welcome…

GRASSY VISTAS Rich stained timber, sandy, speckled marble and moody grey concrete echo the everchanging landscape of this rural escape near Trentham, Victoria. And from the vantage point of the bathtub, which is anchored by an expansive window overlooking the surrounding green paddocks, the owners, a retired couple from Melbourne, can watch the weather turn in the distance. Perfectly formed ceramic basins, brushed brass tapware and a decadent rain shower enhance the luxurious nature of the space. This bathroom, along with the rest of the home, serves as a gift for the couple, the perfect escape from their busy city lives and former desk jobs in Melbourne, which they love to share with their friends and family. “Being outside has really awakened our senses,” says the owner. “You just realise…

QUEENSLAND HOME The small village of Mount Glorious, sitting high on the D’Aguilar Range in South East Queensland, is enveloped in rainforest. Piccabeen palms, quandongs, alocasia, figs and ferns provide dense habitat for local wildlife, including bower and rifle birds, as well as noisy pittas and honeyeaters. It’s a world away from the hustle of Brisbane, which takes 40 minutes to drive to – and that’s the appeal for avid birdwatchers César and Hannah Puechmarin. The couple spend hours exploring forest trails with binoculars or noting the wildlife that flits through their garden. “Birds and nature are where Hannah and I connect the most,” says César, 31, who is studying veterinary science and works part-time as a wildlife nurse. “We live in a subtropical rainforest surrounded by some of the…

QUEENSLAND HOME Narrowing down ideas from a wealth of options is probably one of the hardest tasks for an interior designer and architect who are building their own home. For Leigh Boswell, principal of Brisbane-based design studio and retail store Highgate House, and her architect husband, Lachlan Walker, the property in question was their beach house on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The couple had been searching for that perfect house or plot of land for years, before finally coming across an empty block in a quiet area abutting a beachfront nature reserve. That proved to be the easy part. Designing a home when the couple had so many ideas percolating in their heads was more difficult. “Two designers having to agree on details was a bit of a challenge,” admits Lachlan.…