This makeover involved freshening up the existing space and embracing the home’s Tudor-style heritage.

THE ORIGINAL APPEAL OF THIS KITCHEN HAS BEEN ENHANCED BY A COAT OF PAINT AND PIECES COLLECTED OVER TIME.

“A fresh coat of paint was all it needed. It really gave it a whole new look.”

BRIDGET MCINTYRE FAVOURS a timeless country style so when she and husband Anthony Mcdonald began extensive renovations on their Tudor-style home in Narbethong, Victoria, she pinpointed the kitchen as an easier project. Apart from a fresh coat of paint, little has changed in the space, which boasts an open hearth with exposed bricks and a splashback of imported blue-and-white French tiles. “When we bought the farm the kitchen had yellow pine cupboards and heavy black hinges,” Bridget recalls. “It was hideous but the rest of the house was such a huge job that we just painted the walls and cupboards in Porter’s Paints Donkey Grey half- and quarter-strength, including the black hinges, put in some new benchtops and a sink… A fresh coat of paint was all it needed. It really gave it a whole new look!” Bridget, a former TV travel presenter, has also added “bits and bobs that I’ve collected on my travels, and at markets and country stores throughout Victoria”. A blue-and-white vase came from a trip to Italy while she picked up an antique sodawater siphon at a flea market in Buenos Aires. Wooden drawers from an old Singer sewing machine hold garlic and onions. The result is a welcoming space for family to congregate around the wood-fire stove. “It’s a Stanley from Ireland, and we use it to cook and for heating. With three boys and often a houseful of guests, there’s many a pancake or a batch of bacon and eggs being rolled out in here!”for more about Bridget’s home in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, turn to page 38. >

DECORATING KITCHEN MAKEOVERS The kitchen’s existing red-brick hearth and tiled splashback were maintained in the renovation of this Tudor-style home in Victoria.