Innholdsfortegnelse for Christmas 2023 i Country Style

CHRISTMAS: a time to celebrate and also a time of immense pressure to have everything ‘just so’. This idea of Christmas perfection came into sharp focus when I read Meg Bignell’s column for ‘A Day in the Country’ (fellow Tasmanian author and Country Style columnist Maggie MacKellar is taking a very well-earned break). Meg writes about how the things that go wrong become the enduring memories. These are the stories that are told over and over, becoming the stuff of family legend. Like the time when I lit the Christmas pudding, as I always do, but in the process I also set the table on fire. There was shouting and chaos as I sprang into action and put the spreading flames out. I could not tell you another single thing…

I READ THAT SOME PEOPLE have a second, less prominent Christmas tree for their ‘dud’ decorations, while their main tree is proudly displayed as an example of good taste. Many of these ‘dud’ decorations were reportedly made by children at school. I’m not about to claim that my children’s handmade decorations are a precious reflection of their darling personalities. Some of them are truly hideous (the decorations, not the children), some are unrecognisable, and others have nothing to do with Christmas (a varnished pastry apple?). But I’m not interested in stylised, tasteful Christmas perfection. Last Christmas, as is tradition in my family, we went for an after-lunch swim in the river. By ‘the river’ I mean the upper reaches of the River Derwent, where platypus and trout thrive. We took…

IN AROW OF TRADITIONAL neighbourhood shops in South Dubbo, amid a butcher and a dry-cleaners, is Foray Design Store. It’s the latest venture in the Central West city from Jemima Aldridge, best known for the fine leather goods brand Saddler & Co she operates with her husband, Bede, and as part-owner of boutique holiday cottage The Repose. The new store has a similar aesthetic to Jemima’s other projects and is only a short walk up the road from Saddler & Co, which added to its charm. “I was looking for a space that still had that feeling of discovery and I wanted people to find out about it by word of mouth,” Jemima says. “But I’m also enjoying feeling that sense of community, with people walking past or…

Editor KYLIE IMESON Creative director SARAH FARAGO Deputy editor HANNAH JAMES Queensland contributing editor CLAIRE MACTAGGART Art directors BERNHARD SCHMITZ, KATRINA MASTROFILIPPO Junior designer SAFFRON SYLVESTER Stylist KATE LINCOLN Features writer REBECCA HOOTON Junior writer LISA EASEY Chief copy editor, Homes Group PETER GRIFFITHS Senior copy editor GRETA DUMBLETON Editorial coordinator ANNA CAMPBELL ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION Commercial brand manager MICHELLE O’HANLON Advertising production manager KATE ORSBORN Director of sales – NSW, VIC, SA KAREN HOLMES Head of direct sales – VIC, SA, WA WILL JAMISON Queensland head of sales JUDY TAYLOR Creative director CLARE CATT Senior event manager CATE GAZAL Head of Directories REBECCA WHITE Data and distribution manager JOSHUA BLANSHARD Production controller KARA STEAD Advertising production controller DOMINIC ROY All advertising inquiries ADVERTISING@AREMEDIA.COM.AU MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Marketing director LOUISE…

AS TORQUIL Fitch drives through the chilly NSW Southern Highlands mornings to his Moss Vale workshop, where he makes furniture that will become part of other people’s stories, he often thanks sweet serendipity for helping him realise his own. “I was born and raised in Perthshire, Scotland in a house full of antiques,” says Torquil, maker and designer at Fitch Fine Furniture. “My parents loved quality and taught me to see the quiet brilliance of an artisan’s hand. Their interest in process, form and excellence instilled in me an appreciation of the mastery required to create an object that’s functional, beautiful and lasts the test of time.” Torquil grew up hoping furniture-making would be part of his story. But after high school he studied engineering, and was lured by the…

WITH A RESOURCEFUL EYE and a flair for decorating, bowerbirds marry beauty and functionality with aplomb. Tess Twigden possesses a similar knack, though her foraging typically takes place on Instagram rather than the forest floor. Based in Ashbourne, South Australia, the photographer and owner of Bowerbirds Vintage has a passion for sourcing second-hand treasures that permeates the home she shares with husband Tom, 36, a firefighter with the Metropolitan Fire Service, and their daughters, Marlowe, seven, and five-year-old Mae. An hour’s drive south-east of Adelaide, on the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people, the timber and rammed earth home is brimming with antique farmhouse collectables that hark back to simpler times and a slower pace of life – both of which the couple craved while living in the city. “We’d…

I’M NOT SURE IF, back in the day, everyone celebrated Christmas like the Cumpers. For instance, did everyone else have a pillowcase at the end of their bed so Santa might chuck in a few small prezzies that didn’t warrant wrapping or weren’t significant enough to go under the tree? Think, a Pez dispenser (with a few spare magazines to replenish it), a yo-yo or even a water pistol if you were lucky. Maybe you received Dracula teeth? Or a disguise kit with a pair of specs, big nose and moustache? Hmm, with the latter, if everyone got one of these disguises, wouldn’t we all have looked the same? Never mind. One might surmise that my pillowcase bounty could have been liberated from any number of carnival show…

THE CONSTRUCTION OF a gingerbread house has got to be one of my favourite childhood festive rites of passage. I have extremely fond memories of making gingerbread houses with my brothers and friends, although my recollection of them being aesthetic masterpieces is probably wildly inaccurate… What I do know, however, is that they were always structurally sound. Not from any kind of design prowess on my part, but rather as a result of my father (a long-time member of the Doing-Things-Properly Club) insisting that they be stuck together with toffee, not icing. He was (and unfortunately, usually is) right. Toffee-glue is far stronger than icing. So strong, in fact, that the toffee foundations lasted much longer than the gingerbread slabs, which, weighed down with lollies, inevitably collapsed after a…

AS YOU DRIVE THROUGH THE GATES and down the drive lined with flowers and lush shrubs to Coromandel Homestead Berrima, you find yourself exhaling. This is the perfect place for large families or groups seeking a relaxing countryside escape. Located outside Berrima in the NSW Southern Highlands, the one-hectare property is a passion project for owners Catherine De Giorgio and Iain Melhuish, who purchased Coromandel Homestead two years ago and have renovated the two residences on site that were built in the 1980s. “We have several projects in the pipeline, including a glasshouse and a big vegie garden,” says Catherine. The Lodge, the larger of the two dwellings, is a weatherboard abode that accommodates up to eight guests, with generous communal living areas. The lounge room – also known…

SUMMER FAVOURITE Explore Zebrano’s collection of new-season garments, including the beautiful Lili Dress, designed for sizes 14 and above. zebrano.co.nz FOOD FOR THOUGHT Gien tableware collection L’Archipel Sentimental, designed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, is available exclusively at Côté Nord. @cote_nord UNIQUE FINDS Monty and Moo stocks a gorgeous range of Australian-made products, gift items, and clothing in classic styles and natural fibres. montyandmoo.com.au DREAMY DESIGN Sleep tight with Beddie’s cheerful Flower Child range of 100 per cent cotton bedding, packaged in reusable drawstring bags. beddie.com.au HAPPY FEET Inspired by nature, Glerups’ soft, warm slippers, shoes and boots are made from pure felted wool and come in a range of colours. glerups.com.au CRUISE HIGHLIGHTS From New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour to the spectacular sights of Jerusalem Bay, experience True North’s…

CLEVER DOLLY Here I am, sitting at the table with the lovely Country Style: Country Homes in Australia book. I cannot believe I have been reading Country Style for well over 30 years. How do I know this? Well, as I turn each page in the book, as soon as I see a photo of the person or couple, I remember their story. My family say to me, “Mum, how can you remember all that by looking at a photo?” I reply: “Pip & Dom – Oyster Farmers; Pip & Norm – Wool Producers; Andy & Matt – Dairy Farmers.” Not bad for an 83-year-old! Dolly Smith, Bathurst, NSW SOOTHING SOLUTION Amid my early morning tossing and turning, I suddenly felt the need to open my Country Style magazine. The…

A STARGAZING BANDICOOT, a kangaroo mid-hop, a friendly scarecrow and a salt-and-pepper snow owl… these are just some of the magical creatures that will fill children’s Christmas stockings this year, each one meticulously carved and painted by self-taught toymaker Eryn Purcell of NOM Handcrafted. “I love the process of starting from scratch and bringing a new personality into being,” says Eryn of her wooden toys, which she makes from the shed and garage of her home in Dayboro, Queensland. A love of woodwork first discovered in school then lay dormant for more than 10 years before Eryn could revisit the creative pleasure of making things by hand. “I was a stay-at-home mum to a two-year-old and five-month-old, stuck in the house during COVID, and I wanted to expand the open-ended…

AS A CHILD, interior stylist Miriam Hannemann often celebrated Christmas with her whole family in a cabin in Kent, England. She recalls those days with an infectious enthusiasm: sometimes there was a dusting of snow, and there was always a huge, traditional Christmas dinner. But every year, those celebrations became quieter and quieter, as members of her family grew up and began to scatter around the world. Miriam’s partner, photographer André Reuter, could tell a very similar story of how his family’s celebrations dwindled. By the time the festive season rolled around last year, the pair, who work together styling and photographing home stories for publications all over the globe, had already decorated and shot plenty of beautiful Christmas homes. So, it wasn’t surprising that they leapt at the chance…

MELISSAH YOUNT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STYLIST, 40  Melissah lives on five hectares in West Woombye, Qld, with her husband Benjamin, 38, and their children, Brooklyn, 19, Peyton, 12, and Lochlan, 10. The family also has two pet dogs, a motley mix of chickens, and five Scottish Highland cows. What do you love about the country? The slower pace of life and the quiet. It has allowed me to tap into my creative side, with space to grow in my hobbies. I love the friendly people, the beauty of the rolling hills, and being surrounded by the sounds of nature. Oh, and the fresh produce straight off the farms. How would you describe your style? I’m a girly girl. However, I did learn fast that wearing dresses around the farm…

FOR THE GARDENER NO DIG Charles Dowding, Dorling Kindersley, $59.99 Dowding’s first book came out decades ago and it was about gardeners’ myths; the theories that soil scientists have since exposed as false. For his 12th book, the publishers have done him proud. The book is beautifully bound in linen with ultra-stylish woodcuts. Dowding’s satisfaction shines forth in every photo as he builds the layers – “you don’t have to weed first”, and mulches with compost – no extra nutrients needed because they’re there in the soil, which you leave undisturbed so that fungi and bacteria can do their alchemy. Who knew that the efforts of the virtuous with their spades could be superfluous to requirement? Healthy vegetables and sturdy flowers grow with minimal energy expended. There are detailed instructions…

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED that it’s Advent calendar time again. Don’t play dumb with me. Christmas Day used to be the pinnacle of retail insanity until the advent of Advent. We owe it to those intuitive retailers the Germans, who, back in the 19th century, created an innocent-looking way to stretch the Christmas spend-fest into an entire season. In the days even before German ingenuity gave us the self-propelled wheelchair, the Aldi discount supermarket chain, the diesel engine, and bratwurst in beer with onions, German protestants created a way to count down the whole month leading up to Christmas. The January Feast of Epiphany was known as Advent from the Latin word for “arrival”, referring to Christmas and the coming of Christ – now better known as the coming of…