RETURNING HOME
OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE TRAVELLED ALL AROUND AUSTRALIA TO FIND THE BEST RURAL HOUSES — HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITES.
From Nellie Dawes’s Bobadil House in the Hunter Valley to the Penton family’s Queensland railway cottage, we revisit some of our favourite country homes.
JAMESTOWN, SA North Bundaleer, which we featured in January 2013, is a relic from a more gracious time. The property is utterly breathtaking and romantic, from the first sight of the sprawling Queen Anne homestead at the end of the long drive, to the incredible interiors with original Lincrusta wallpapers and painted decoration so authentically restored by the owners Malcolm Booth and his late wife Marianne. The couple offered luxury accommodation at the 1901 homestead, which is now for sale.
GLENLYON, VICTORIA First built as a weekender, Gabion Hill (above), which we featured in February last year, soon became the permanent home of Jeremy and Jeannie Quinn and their family. The pavilion-style building sits well in the environment and has great energy-saving features such as north-facing windows, thermal insulation from the gabion wall and solar power. MERINGANDAN, QUEENSLAND This lovingly restored 1880s railway cottage (below) is home to Cathy and Geoff Penton and appeared in Country Style in March, 2009. We travelled to Queensland’s Darling Downs to shoot the house after catching a glimpse of it on a Swedish blog!
BURRAWANG, NSW It wasn’t just the airy, open-plan extension on Michael Lynch and Patsy Peacock’s former home (top) in the NSW Southern Highlands that impressed us in February last year. It was the clever way the couple captured views out to the neighbour’s rolling green pastures and their devotion to supporting and showcasing the work of local creatives. LISMORE, NSW It’s rare to come across such a meticulously curated house interior such as this northern NSW home (above and left), which featured on the cover of our relaunch issue in March 2008. Mother of pearl buttons in jars, soda syphons, walking sticks — Simon Robinson’s collections create a unique abode.
LOWER PORTLAND, NSW This disused church, built in 1880, is on the edge of NSW’S Colo River and is now home to Elise Pioch Balzac and Pablo Chappell. “It was just a shell, even the church bells were gone,” recalls Pablo of the day they bought it. Lots of hard work later, the building we ran a story on in October 2014 is a home they both love — they were even married there in June 2012! Turn to page 120 to read about Elise’s style philosophy.
MURRURUNDI, NSW Nellie Dawes’s great-great-grandfather John Sevil lived in Bobadil House (above) with his 11 children so it’s fitting that a member of the family still resides in this two-storey property. Featured in our March 2008 issue, this home at Murrurundi in the upper Hunter Valley was built in the 1840s as a Cobb and Co stage post. Today, Nellie’s husband Michael Reid has an art gallery in the grounds. COOMA, NSW Our first response to seeing Kate Litchfield’s hammam-style bathroom (below) was ‘wow’. The space, which features a textural mix of copper, concrete and marble — not to mention a statement bathtub — is testament to the Monaro-based artist and designer’s creative approach and eye for detail. Her home appeared in October, 2016.