THE MUNROS’ PLANS FOR CHRISTMAS
• “We use things we’ve found around the farm for table decorations and napkin rings,” says Brooke, of native grasses, kangaroo paw, interesting pieces of wood, and even branches from pine trees. “We also always make a giant-sized wreath for the wall.”
• “We decorate our house the first weekend of December after the hunt for our tree. We always have a real tree but the search for the perfect one, on our property or even by the side of the road, can take some time. It’s always great fun looking.”
• “We have some decorations that come out every year — some from our travels, some handmade craft ones the girls and I have made. We have some clear baubles we love, and every year we put recent photos of the girls in them, or something beautiful like a feather that has taken our fancy. Presents are wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, or in paper decorated by the girls.”
• “Arkie and Ruby are the right ages now to really get into Christmas, and we leave Santa his beer and biscuits, and carrots for the reindeer. The girls have sacks that Mum and I made when they were born from beautiful red and cream fabrics, remnants from Colin’s mother — they are very precious. Mum also gives us one of her Christmas cakes.”
• “My sisters and I always watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation to get us in the mood. There’s always lots of nonsense, laughter, eating and drinking, and Colin dresses up in his dad’s old Santa suit, which we all love.”
One of them, Beth Macdonald of blog Babymac, began posting pictures on social media, “A ‘look what my clever friends Mr and Mrs Munro made for my birthday’ sort of thing’,” says Brooke fondly. “Suddenly, it seemed people were really liking what we were doing, so Colin and I decided to run with it and haven’t looked back since.” With work of late taking them in a more sculptural direction, Mr & Mrs Munro recently opened a retail and studio space in nearby Robertson. Their property, set on the periphery of Morton National Park, is an old flower farm that sits alongside a transit track used by loggers in the 19th century to haul cedar trees up to the Southern Highlands from Kangaroo Valley. Partly cleared and part bushland, with potential for Colin to farm fallen trees for their business, the couple loved it at first sight. The dilapidated 1970s farmhouse was another matter though. “It should have been a knockdown,” says Colin, who is now at the end of the home’s two-year renovation. “It was rotting at the seams, full of mould and damp within the floor and walls, and with huge holes that let the daylight in. But I think as makers, we could see its potential no matter how hidden.” With Ruby, now seven, and Arkie, six, at school, and Brooke continuing to host workshops and make light shades, wreaths and baskets from foraged bush materials such as wire, sticks, vines and grasses, the renovation was a big task. Colin stripped the timber house and rebuilt the floors, walls, ceiling and roof. He reclad to create a single living space downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs, and cleverly devised space-saving storage areas under the couple’s handmade bed and in the pitched roof. The couple scoured the area for reclaimed doors and windows, and Colin constructed the circular staircase, sliding barn door, shelving, cement worktops, and even the kitchen sink. Brooke designed her home with a black-and-white colour scheme to add light and give a feeling of space, and to allow the family’s eclectic collection of favourite paintings and special bits and pieces to shine. The result is a tiny but perfectly proportioned house to suit their family, as they prepare to celebrate another Christmas following age-old traditions. “We always go a bit overboard dressing the house for Christmas and every year I make a new wreath for the wall,” says Brooke. “On Christmas Eve we celebrate with friends and family at the pub before returning home and feasting on a ham by our fabulous local butcher, Maugers Meats. Christmas Day is spent eating, opening presents and playing games, and then we head down to my parents’ house at Narrawallee on the NSW South Coast to spend a few days recovering.” For more information, visit mrandmrsmunro.com
“We always go a bit overboard dressing the house for Christmas and every year I make a new wreath for the wall.”