FAMILY TIES

HOMES

Surrounded by old fig trees, the Kennards’ new-build farmhouse has a warm, lived-in feel thanks to the beautiful antiques and personal touches inside.

“WE WANTED EVERYTHING to feel like it had been there for 100 years,” says Jackie Kennard of her home outside Gerringong, NSW. And she’s succeeded – it’s hard to believe construction only finished in 2018. The classic weatherboard is fringed with stately 400-year-old fig trees, and beyond the dam at the front of the 44.5-hectare property is a convict-era rock wall, giving the place the character and charm of a much older residence.

Indoors, however, the heritage feel is thanks to Jackie’s careful curation of vintage items. “I spent a couple of years scouring different places to collect vintage objects to give it warmth, character and the family feel, rather than having everything brand new,” she says. Focusing on making the place “really homely and warm”, she searched timber and reclamation yards for time-worn architectural elements. “The beams in the living room are all reclaimed timber from a railway bridge in Queensland,” she recalls, “and the mantelpiece is from a wharf in Wollongong.” She found the Sydney sandstone for the hearth rather closer to home: next door, in fact. Happily, their neighbour, Adam Stewart of Broughton Stonemasonry, has a huge stock of stone that Jackie could pick from.

Inspiration was also drawn from further afield – in particular, from the Kennard family’s tradition of spending a year abroad in France. The whole family – Jackie, 41, husband Rory, 46, plus children Lucy, 12, >

Heidi, 10, and Andie, eight – love the cosy interiors at the Chalet Savoie Faire, a retreat in the French Alps that’s a favourite holiday spot. “It’s got a rustic, Alpine-chic feel, with chandeliers and sheepskin rugs,” says Jackie.

These French sojourns didn’t just provide Jackie with interiors inspiration, but a business, too. When her sister-in-law, Anna Kennard, was living in Annecy with her husband, Cameron, and their three children, she became addicted to visiting brocantes, or flea markets. She took Jackie to a brocante during her visit last year, and: “The idea for Dusty Luxe just bloomed,” says Jackie. The pandemic put their plans on hold for a time, but now Anna and Jackie’s buyer – a friend in France who Facetimes them late at night, Australian time, to get the go-ahead on her market purchases – regularly sends over shipping containers brimming with antique finds.

So it was via Dusty Luxe that Jackie found her most treasured items. “I always had a vision of copper pots hanging over the kitchen island. I looked for ages but could never find the right ones. As soon as we started Dusty Luxe, we found plenty. They’re so quintessentially French.”

Not content with one business, Jackie is busy planning another. Currently home to Angus cattle, the property is being turned over to a flower farm. But mostly, this property is for loved ones. “It’s all about spending time with friends and family,” Jackie explains.

Shop online with Dusty Luxe at dustyluxe.com.au

A settler-era rock wall lends the home a sense of history. FACING PAGE In one of the old fig trees sit (from left) Andie, home-owner Jackie, Lenny the retriever, Lucy, Louis, Ava, Heidi, Lottie and Anna. Anna is Jackie’s sister-inlaw and Dusty Luxe business partner, and mum to Louis, Ava and Lottie.

Lenny gazes out from the mud room. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP Antique bread paddles from Dusty Luxe ornament the Steves Joinery cupboards. The painting is by Bibi Barba; in the living room hangs an artwork by Michelle Cawthorn, Jackie’s art teacher at UNSW.

In her kitchen, Jackie focused on brass, copper and timber for warmth. Her husband, Rory, built the brass hanging structure over the oak island, and the copper pans hanging from it are from Dusty Luxe. A Carrara marble benchtop adds a touch of luxury, and underfoot is more marble in the form of tiles from Aeria Country Floors.

CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE, LEFT Designers Guild wallpaper lines a bathroom; a Dusty Luxe chair contrasts with the wainscoting and bagged brick walls in the living room; Lenny rests on the Basket Weave flooring from Antique Floors; above the Miller Furniture dining table are Il Fanale lights. FACING PAGE A chandelier from Moss Nest in Berry hangs over a Domayne bed. The walls are Nettle from Porter’s Paints.

A table from Amara Home in Berry sits on the verandah. FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP A lavender bush provides a fragrant entrance; cousins Lottie and Andie climb one of the property’s fig trees; the country lane leading to the house.