The School House

One of my most re-read books is Paul Bangay's "The Enchanted Garden" about the building of his garden and renovation of the old school house at St Ambrose Farm, Woodend. Paul Bangay is one of Australia's most successful and talented garden designers and his gardens can be seen all over the world from East Hampton to St Tropez to the Caribbean.

Paul has sold St Ambrose Farm this month and has bought another property nearby in the Mt Macedon area of Victoria called Stonefields where he is creating a new garden in a more open, rural setting.

It is serendipity that just as St Ambrose has sold, I have my own school house project approved by the authorities and ready to go. My husband Rob and I have wanted to extend our old farmhouse at Sky Meadow since we moved in nearly 5 years ago. As it is heritage listed, we are obliged to build a separate pavilion and we secretly wished we could find an old church hall or school house to move to the property instead of building a new wing. Well, totally unexpectedly, an old school hall found us. It was going to be demolished to make way for a new building which was such a waste so we offered to recycle it!

The school house is a timber weatherboard-clad building which is almost a perfect match for the age, scale and materials of our house. It is going to be moved sometime in the next couple of months on the back of a giant truck and will become our living and kitchen wing. There are really two buildings and they will need some work once they arrive, but will end up with a screened porch, kitchen with scullery, laundry plus living and dining area.

Hunting Lodge Style

This week I flew down to Melbourne preview the new Meizai concept store in Richmond. Meizai is a collection of unique designer accessories and furniture for the home and until now was a name familiar only to (and available only through) decorators and up-market retailers. 

Pick of the rooms was what I call the "explorer's den", a masculine study with shabby leather chesterfields, industrial tables and lights, brass desk ornaments and framed fossils and specimens. It's a look Ralph Lauren did very well back in the 80s and 90s and has recreated this season with the Indian Cove Lodge Collection, pictured.

I am no fan of hunting but I do like the interiors!

 

I will be doing my version of this look updated with pieces of industrial-inspired furniture. You'll be seeing it at In My House soon...

Choosing Paint Colours

I have been trying out ideas for a colour scheme for the three "Seafarers Cottages" we are renovating in the quaint seaside village of Currarong. (It seems I have a bit more time than anticipated as our renovation plans have been held up by the local council).

I really like a slightly darker than bright red for the central cottage. This is an unusual colour here in Australia but I have seen a few photos of old port houses painted deep reds in Scandinavia and on the east coast of USA.

Now as an art director I am right into colour and not afraid of trying daring shades, be they very dark, murky or very bright, but it is always a challenge to find just the right shade. I apply the same advice I give to other people - Have a theme. Then create a mood board of photos of all the houses or rooms you really like for this project.

My theme is "Nautical" as the cottages are called the Seafarers Cottages after the local festival which is held right in front in the beachside park. The history of the area also gives some clues - there were quite a few shipwrecks over the years as the headland juts right out into the Pacific Ocean, so I am inspired by nautical and stormy colours, driftwood and the reds used on lighthouses.

BTW... There is one famous story about a shipwreck of an old steam ship called the Merimbula that ran into the rocks in a storm in about 1928. The ship was wrecked but everyone on board was saved.

The other interesting factor is that the walls of these old cottages are fibrous cement sheeting which suits strong colour with a matt finish. I like to use a paint by Australian brand Porters Paints (now available in USA under name "Sydney Harbour Paint Co") called Stonepaint Fine on fibro. It s a more expensive, hand made paint but the results are worth it.

I am thinking of painting each cottage a different colour, though the two smaller ones will be similar shades.

The best way to try out paint colours for exteriors is to buy some sample pots and paint up sheets of masonite or anything laying around the building site such as fibro or even plasterboard. Pick sheets that are at least waist height. You can then move them around to different spots to see how the colour looks in light and shaded areas. When you think you have narrowed it down to say, two colours, get a small amount mixed up in the actual paint and try that directly onto the walls of the house.

Abigail Ahern

I have been looking at what coffee table books to buy for the shop and found Abigail Ahern's book "A Girl's Guide to Decorating"which many of you bloggers may already know about. What great style and a sense of humour this girl has! 

Love the moody backdrops with punches of fluorescent colour and the mix of old and new, rustic and slick.