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AS LYNDA GARDENER and Mark Smith have discovered, there’s a lot to love about Trentham, the charming picturebook village snuggled in the forest on the crest of the Great Divide, 95 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. Sometimes shrouded in mist or blanketed in snow and then in summer, transformed into a refreshing retreat — reminiscent of a 19th-century hill station — it’s a place the couple have spent a lot of their time since opening bespoke accommodation and events property The Trentham Estate in 2015. “It’s such a sweet little town that has one of everything,” says Lynda, a Melbourne-based interior designer who has created a succession of beautiful spaces including The White House in Daylesford. “We are invested in this town spiritually and emotionally,” explains Mark, former marketing and events director of Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market. The couple, who met while working in the fashion industry three decades ago and have been together for eight years, now divide their time between Trentham, temporarily based in a sweet cottage called Acre of Roses, and their Melbourne warehouse home. It’s no surprise then to find that they have recently put their stamp on another of Trentham’s old buildings, the 1880s former National Bank of Australasia in High Street, now revamped into Trentham General. This time though, the project to create a contemporary take on the traditional general store has been driven by Mark’s long-held dream to try his hand at hospitality. That, and their shared love of the old bank building itself. “I have always loved the façade of this beautiful old bank,” he says. “It’s the nicest building in the street. All my life and in my career in retail and marketing, I’ve thought about a café, a little hole-in-the-wall café, and then coming to Trentham all those things have collided.” There was already a café in the building and, for Mark at least, it was too good to be true when they finally had the chance to take the reins. For Lynda though, a self-confessed hoarder who closed her renowned Melbourne homewares store, Empire Vintage, two years ago to concentrate on her design and accommodation businesses, warming to the idea of creating another retail space took a little longer. “The building has a warm and inviting feel, and so after >