Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Country Style

NOT LONG after the May issue of Country Style hit the stands with a call-out for stories from people who had moved to the country in the past 12 months, I received a photo of the page and the words: “Might know someone! It’ll be a year tomorrow that we arrived in Margaret River!” in my direct messages. It was from my good friend Emma Weir, who I met when we worked together in Sydney. Originally from England, Emma, her husband and their two boys spent 18 months travelling around Australia in a caravan. When they returned to Sydney, I was thrilled. They lived in the same suburb as me and my family, and my eldest daughter would babysit their sons. But I quickly realised they weren’t staying… they were…

WHEN WINTER SETTLES over the tiny town of Mount Beauty in Victoria’s High Country, Lee Docherty, her husband, Craig, and their three children eagerly await the moment they can race up the mountains for a day of skiing. It almost didn’t happen this year, though. “We had a major landslip across the road between here and Falls Creek,” says Lee. “It’s been closed for seven months. We were all a bit worried we weren’t going to get the roads open by winter, but they’ve just reopened it.” The family has called this place home for the last 15 years. Before that, they were living the expat life – Lee, 48, working as an occupational therapist, and Craig, 54, as a safety consultant. They welcomed their first daughter, Kai, who is…

NSW WHEN EMMA STEIN ENTERED the Tiles of Ezra showroom in Melbourne, she had one thing on her mind: sourcing Zellige handcrafted Moroccan tiles for the renovation of her new home about 90-minutes’ drive south-west of Sydney in rural New South Wales. Emma, who was on a work trip at the time, bought her tiles. She also secured the services of interior architect and Tiles of Ezra founder, Georgia Ezra. “Emma had already engaged an architect and a builder for her project and everything was moving at pace,” says Georgia. “She was at the selection of finishes stage and I think she realised, ‘Holy cannoli, I would love some help in this department’.” Which is fair enough – when it comes to finishes and fittings, the sheer amount of choice…

farmhouse classic With walls in Dulux Natural White, and joinery in Dulux Monument, the laundry at Bobby Gordon and Rowena Henry’s house in Gembrook, Vic, has a clean, classic feel. Bobby’s father is Robert Gordon, so the beautiful ceramics, including the wall light, are of course from Robert Gordon Pottery. With three children, Rowena says the laundry – like the rest of the house – is a hardworking area. “It’s been a nice challenge to complement the existing details here without making it kitsch and, at the same time, adding functionality for our family,” she says. And there’s always space for a vase of bluebells and lilacs fresh from the garden. warmth of wood The entry at Bootmaker’s Cottage is a functional space with heritage charm. Owner Mal Osborne-Smith added…

DOWN THE GARDEN PATH SOMEONE TOLD ME RECENTLY that an affinity for roses is like birdwatching – it shows your age. Is the implication that no-one under 50 is typically interested in roses, or birds? Not true! I’m not yet 50 and I’ve had a lifelong love of roses, plus I know some very youthful birders. My first infatuation with a rose involved a pale pink ‘Queen Elizabeth’ planted along the fence in our back garden when I was little, before we moved to the farm. I used to leave notes for fairies beneath those rosebushes and watched closely as the flowers bloomed. I brought them inside by the handful and loved them even more in a vase. I never minded the thorns and have always thought they were one…

COUNTRY COOK SHORT RIBS, THE protein featured in this month’s recipe, are from the flank of the cattle and require long slow-cooking that contradicts their name. There are no shortcuts here (rolls eyes); to get the very best out of this cut, you must have patience. Patience was a trait I had yet to fully develop as a hatchling cook. I recall tossing my white toque in the air with my now-qualified TAFE alumni, in a scene reminiscent of the naval academy graduation in Top Gun. I assumed that the valediction document I possessed declared that I now knew way more about cooking. Fast-forward to the end of that week and I was asked to make the staff meal at the restaurant I was working at. This was a task…

WRAPPED IN WARMTH Snuggle up in The Wool Company’s lightweight Merino Possum Cable Sweater and enjoy luxurious warmth and softness. thewoolcompany.co.nz EVERYDAY APPEAL Upholstered in durable leather, the Tatum Sofa features oversized cushions to create a casual yet sophisticated urban feel. ozdesignfurniture.com.au PET CENTRAL With stores in Vic, NSW, Qld, SA and Tas, Pets Domain has all your pet essentials, such as the Dan and Sam Lahana Harness. petsdomain.com.au BLOOMING BEAUTY Van Diemen Quality Bulbs stocks Itoh peonies, including the rare Caroline Constable. Add this easy-to-grow flower to your own garden. vdqbulbs.com.au TIMELESS DESIGN Frankie4’s heritage-inspired Lyric Boot is engineered for grounded comfort and elevated style. For 25 per cent off, use code: F4XCS. T&Cs apply. frankie4.com LITTLE WONDERS Children adore Beddie’s premium, pure cotton bedding, such as the colourful…

MAGGIE MACKELLAR Our regular columnist Maggie lives on a merino sheep farm in Little Swanport, Tasmania. Turn to page 33 for this month’s A Day in the Country tale. “The country was the only place I ever wanted to live,” says Maggie, 50, who grew up in Sydney but enjoyed many holidays at her grandparents’ farm in Cudal, NSW. “I love the freedom, the animals and the feeling of purpose each day holds.” Maggie lives in an 1825-built house with partner Jim, son Clancy, 20, and Dusty the labrador, Ethel, James and Joan the corgis, and retriever Errol. “It’s a privilege to live here, though it would be even more of a privilege if we had central heating and a decent phone signal.” In her Country Style work, Maggie loves…

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY ONCE, A LONG TIME AGO, I spent a winter researching for my PhD at the University of British Columbia. My research entailed comparing the experiences of women living on the frontiers of Australia and Canada, and my work was to read their personal accounts (letters, journals, memoirs) and ask how they made a home in an often foreign, hostile place. Each morning, I would leave our small apartment and walk across campus to the tiny room I had been given at the library. There, the books and papers I’d ordered the day before would be waiting for me. I would leave in the dark and come home in the dark, and during the day I would work in a tiny, windowless room surrounded by books.…

GET THE LOOK…

GET THE LOOK…

WINE TIME The cellar door at beloved family-owned winery Tallis Wine, in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, has relaunched as Rye at Tallis. Offering plenty of delicious local drops, Rye also serves up sensational share plates and snacks. Visit ryeattallis.com.au MODERN CHINA Royal Doulton, the heritage British brand that has been crafting ceramics since 1815, presents Maze, a striking new tableware collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay. Visit royaldoulton.com.au PERFECT BALANCE Love coffee, but not milk? Rejoice! Breville’s new Touch Impress coffee machine perfectly froths all milks – dairy, oat, soy or almond. Different milks have varied fat and protein contents, so it’s easy to overheat them – but the Touch Impress creates barista-quality, frothy brews every time. Visit breville.com FRUIT FABULOUS At this time of year, I crave juicy, tart rhubarb,…

KASTURI WREN LAWYER, 43 Kasturi and her partner Katherine Campbell, 37, live in a renovated 1910 cottage in Coolah, NSW, with their four dogs and one cat. Through her creative business, Wren & Whippet, Kasturi has redefined herself as a photographer, writer, interior decorator and Airbnb host. What do you love about living in the country? I was born in Sri Lanka and came to Australia in the ’80s as a result of the civil war. Life in the country has taught me to value time and establish a slower connection with both nature and people. How would you describe your style? An individualistic, country rustic vibe that draws from eclectic European influences. Who are your style influences? Cate Blanchett, Françoise Hardy, Iris Apfel and Zoë Kravitz. What are your…

JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU READ IT HERE FIRST. You won’t see it on Grand Designs, Selling Houses Australia, or even George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, but the builder has measured up, the loan has been approved and it’s all systems go for our new extension. An early idea was to replace the windows overlooking the patio and lawn with French doors. Or perhaps add a second bathroom off the courtyard. But the Kitchen Cascade changed our focus. Maybe we’re not alone in the fact that our Cupboard under the Kitchen Sink is to early kitchenalia what the British Museum is to ancient Egyptian and Greek civilisations. The US has the entire history of America encapsulated in its Smithsonian Institution. Italy is home to the world’s greatest collection of medieval and Renaissance…

MAGIC HAPPENS… … and it certainly did to me! Two days before heading to Launceston for a holiday, I was in the Creswick, Vic, library – a sweet, small country one with few shelves but many books to borrow and some issues of magazines. I picked up a random one, Country Style, which jumped out at me with its attractive cover – and, fortuitously, the line “Tasmania awaits”. How lucky I was, because although it was an older issue (August 2022), the content still applied for my forthcoming Launceston trip. We visited Stillwater restaurant, featured in your “Book a Table” section, and it proved to be a great recommendation. And thanks for the Hobart and environs coverage – an added bonus since the second part of our trip was to…

AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, Ireland-born Nick Geoghegan met Australian Jannene while they were both working in London. “She was coming back to Australia, and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll come for a year or two,’” he says, laughing. Almost 30 years later, with a marriage, three children and a thriving business in rural Orange, NSW, it looks like he’s not moving back. The family didn’t start out in the tight-knit community they’re living in now, though. “We got fairly settled in Sydney, but around six years ago we got sick of all the traffic and the amount of time we’d spend getting the kids to soccer practice on a Saturday morning, looking at the back of other cars,” Nick explains. Having travelled to visit friends in Orange on the June…

COOLAH NSW A CREATIVE RETREAT FULL OF writers, stylists and photographers, held on a farm in rural New South Wales in 2019, sparked a change in Kasturi Wren. At the time, her life looked a little different. She was living in Sydney’s Inner West, with a “very demanding, consuming” legal career and had been in a long-term relationship since her early 20s. She’d done everything she felt she was supposed to do. “I was following a path that I didn’t question much. Coming from a Tamil Sri Lankan background, we were often expected to be a lawyer or doctor,” Kasturi, 43, says. “I also found myself deep in the practices of a very conservative, fundamental Christian religion that dictated nearly every aspect of my life.” A yearning to explore her…

ROBERTSON NSW THE PULL OF THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS proved impossible to resist for interior designer Jessica Halvorsen and her husband and business partner, James Parker. They spent idyllic weekends at Kangaloon, visiting Jessica’s parents. “James and I never wanted to go home of a Sunday evening. The space, the fresh air, the rolling hills and dry-stone walls reminded us of the English countryside where James grew up. I always felt so free to be creative in the country,” Jessica says. At the time, they were living in Sydney’s Cremorne Point and decided to transition their roles to suit a country lifestyle. James, 42, ran a business in marketing and sales, while Jessica operated her design company from Neutral Bay. The opportunity to work on large estate and country homes appealed…

GEMBROOK VIC SINCE PURCHASING THEIR Gembrook homestead on three hectares of rolling land four years ago in the foothills of Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges – on the traditional lands of the Bunurong and Wurundjeri people – Bobby Gordon, 43, and Rowena Henry, 41, have dedicated countless weekends to reviving their untamed green spaces. “We were inner-city dwellers, and this is the first time we’ve had acreage,” says Rowena, an architect who heads up design practice Gordon & Henry Architecture. “Thankfully, we’ve discovered we love gardening.” For the couple and their three children – Harry, 11, Gus, nine, and four-year-old Quinn – it is also a return to the town where Bobby grew up. His parents, Robert and Barbara Gordon, opened Gembrook’s Pack Track Pottery in the 1970s, following in the footsteps…

IT’S HUMAN NATURE TO try and pin responsibility for our miseries just about anywhere other than our own chests. Neglectful parents. Fluoridated water. The positioning of the stars at the moment we were born. Gluten. Even the way our planet spins in outer space. Then there are the genuine, uncontrollable circumstances that can affect us, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder. Otherwise known by the entirely appropriate acronym SAD, it’s a kind of depression that takes hold at the change of seasons – most commonly at the onset of winter. The connection between darker days and darker moods is deeply ingrained in popular culture. When you see a character in a movie staring pensively out a window streaked with rain, you’re reasonably confident they are not about to break into a…

WITH A POPULATION OF AROUND 2500 people, Molong, just 25 minutes’ drive from Orange in the Cabonne Shire of New South Wales, is considered small by most standards. Ask the locals, though, and they’ll confirm that what the town lacks in size, it more than makes up for in a generous and unpretentious community spirit. In fact, business owner Kate Redfern, 37, says one of Molong’s best features is its “not too big but not too small” size. Kate and her friend and business partner Sally Brazier, 36, own Lime and Stone, a cafe-cum-homewares store on the town’s wide and inviting, heritage-listed main drag, Bank Street. Kate and her husband, stock and station agent Ben, 40, live on a farm outside of town with their two children, Mitch, seven, and…