Editor’s letter

Welcome to the very first issue of ele HOME. Sitting down on a sunny Saturday afternoon to write my very first Editor’s letter, had me reflecting on the inspiration for my lifelong obsession with all things home and design.

I was raised by parents and grandparents who shared with me, from a young age, a passion for beautiful homes and gardens. My favourite memories are afternoons spent in my Nan’s garden, where she would hand me a pair of secateurs allowing me to pick a bunch of flowers to take home for my bedroom. For five-year-old me, this was better than being let loose in a candy shop. I’d mix roses with geraniums, dahlias with daisies and my favourite, hydrangeas, in blues and white. I would spend all night arranging and rearranging until I had what I thought was the perfect vase of blooms. There is no doubt, their early influence instilled my love for home and design that lasts to this day.

I grew up watching my parents spend all of their free time working to make our family homes warm, welcoming and stylish, even when we didn’t have a huge amount of money to spare, building homes where everybody seemed to congregate. My father especially, loved his garden and spent countless hours creating and nurturing. Both sets of grandparents had acreage plots, busily cultivating huge vegetable patches ensuring most of what we ate was directly from the veggie garden to the plate. Generations of love and pride in one’s home and garden and welcoming others to the table, has left me with a love of entertaining and hosting friends and family in my own home.

My parent’s and grandparent’s legacy has been not only an innate gratitude for what I have, but the ability to enjoy the little things in life. I was taught that expensive is not always the best, decorate with what you love and not what others tell you is ‘in’. These valuable lessons have led me to where I am today, editing a home and garden magazine, that I hope you are both inspired by and can relate to.

In this issue we feature some beautiful and diverse homes from around Australia, showcasing some of the most gorgeous spots our country has to offer. We visit a cosy and welcoming home right on the beach at Bruny Island (pg 36), just off the coast of Tasmania. Bruny Island is a place I hold dear to my heart, being the first holiday spot I ever shared with my husband, nearly a decade ago. We also visit the cosmopolitan and stylish coastal town of Noosa (pg 56), then head to Northern NSW (pg 48) where we visit a playful and colourful home set amongst a sugar cane plantation.

I hope you enjoy this magazine as much as I have loved bringing it to life. Grab a cuppa (or a gin), find a cosy spot and sit back and enjoy.