More From Trelawney Farm

Here are some more shots of Trelawney Farm for those who can't buy Country Style Magazine.

Some of my favourite ideas are:

The bright pillar box red front door

Vintage bits and pieces like the old milk bottles and HRH portrait

Funky fifties garden setting

Metal hospital cabinet used as a bedside table

In Print: Country Style Mag

Kathy used a Porters stain on the new pine floorboards to get that dark chocolate look.

This bath is fully plumbed with hot and cold water and is a favourite place for the family to bathe!

This story about a country house belonging to Kathy and John Collins was an inspiring one to to write.

The Collins are a gung-ho couple with two young children who had a dream and went for it.

They are a couple of city types with a property renovation business who wanted to create an idyllic retreat in the country for themselves.

Kathy spent hours trawling online auction sites to collect the vast array of industrial and country antiques and vintage treasures and her passion shows in the interiors. Here I have included some of the shots that were not used in the article.

See the new issue of Country Style for the whole story.

Which White Paint?

I had an email from a follower in South Australia who wants to paint her house but can't find the right shade of white.

Some are too yellow, some are too grey and cold.

If you have been reading my blog you will know that I have some very strong views on white.

I can't live with creamy whites - to me they look dated. But I once painted a house interior in grey white and it irked me every day.

The best white is a white-white and I recommend shades such as Dulux "White On White" or "Whisper White". This lovely all-white painted house in Brisbane I wrote about in the Australian Womens Weekly (Feb 2011), was painted White On White inside and out. It looks great in the photos and even better in real life. Don't be afraid to paint the woodwork the same shade, just choose a different finish from the flat walls such as satin or semi gloss.

The only other white I have seen recently that I like is on this beach house a few doors up from my beach cottages at Currarong. For an up-to-date look I love this white teamed with a pale grey. Very chic and understated and I wish I had thought of that combination every time I drive by.

For this look I would try Dulux "Lexicon" white - its white but not too cold. If I catch the owners I will ask them what colours they actually used.

What is your favourite white paint?

Cute as a Cupcake

I just had to share this award winning interior design of a cupcake shop in Melbourne by Mim Design. I just love the whole thing, particularly the stools outside painted in icing colours.

See the Australian Interior Design Awards for more cool interiors.

http://australianinteriordesignawards.com/gallery/2011/9/68

Colour Fashion: Fade to Black

It is interesting to watch the changing tides of colour fashion.

For so long we have LOVED white on white and I've been watching black and grey creep slowly in to the rooms shown in blogs and magazines.

This room (top) shows pretty much a whole room in black which looks amazing. I don't know that I could go there unless it was a small room like a library.

Do you think you could live in a black room?

Church Hall Update: The SLOW Building Movement

The old church hall is making slow progress mainly because we have been pretty busy with our other projects. As it does not have a particular deadline, (ie; it's our own house) it takes second place to jobs that have fee-paying clients.

However, the link between the house and the hall has been finished and my husband has been fixing up all the old windows in his spare moments. I think he finds repairing them quite rewarding.

We have also found two sets of gorgeous old french doors which will go either side of the fireplace. There are plenty more waiting for re-use in the shed. I love old windows because of their detailing and patina. Often the glass is so old it is sort of uneven and quite beautiful - a bit like sea glass.

Many of the windows and doors in our collection we picked up for next to nothing off demolition sites or at garage sales. Its also environmentally friendly to reuse them rather than waste new wood and transport.

Our approach to renovating our own house is a bit like the slow food movement I guess. Apart from actually being very slow (haha), we try and use local materials and local craftsmen and trades.

Which reminds me, my slow-food vegie patch needs attention, also!

Berry House In Real Living Mag

This is the view from the back showing the new extension with the old cottage.

The old slab cottage was relocated from Crookwell and rebuilt, piece by piece, using traditional carpentry techniques.

The new wing features a heated concrete slab floor which Paola just loves. Vintage pieces, like the dining table are modernised with a coat of white paint.

Paola, left, and Natasha Marshall, the architect.

The main living room in the new wing combines the natural textures of wood with vintage and contemporary furniture.

The sitting room in the cottage is a cosy parents' retreat. The doors of the master bedroom open out to encompass this area.

Natasha has done a great job meshing the old house with the new as seen in the plunge pool area which links the two sections.

Paola and daughter Chloe.

Chloe's bedroom is decorated with vintage furniture and touches of pink.

I do get a bit excited when a house I have done a story about from my local area gets published. This gorgeous old cottage in Berry with a modern wing extension, was the inspiration of owner Paola Zullian and her partner Nick Anderson.

They were living in Sydney and bought the Berry cottage as a weekender, but like us, found they were spending more and more time down here so eventually did the tree change thing. Like us they also had a young daughter, and it really is a lovely place to bring up children. Nick likes to surf and the beach is only ten minutes away.

Paola worked with local architect Natasha Marshall, a recent seachanger herself, to make a beautifully detailed design for the new wing. It is not a huge space but has lots of nifty ideas.

You can see the story in Real Living magazine - out this week.

Cast Iron Beds

It seems where ever I look I'm seeing cast iron beds. It is a great idea if you want country without being too fussy.

I have a story coming out in the next issue of Country Style Magazine featuring a lovely old farmhouse in Mudgee (about 3.5 hrs north west of Sydney). Owner Kathy Collins used cast iron beds throughout to create a vintage but slightly industrial country look. I prefer them painted rather than bare metal.

There is an old brass and cast iron bed in my shed that I have been meaning to paint for my daughter's bedroom, so I guess I'll have to get busy...