Big Vintage Weekend

Today is the start of the Easter holiday weekend and a busy time for me with guests at all the beach houses and a frantic time at the shop in Berry.

I have been sourcing lots of great vintage stuff for the shop in time for this weekend, so if you happen to be passing Berry, drop in and say hello.

People always ask me where I come across these vintage "finds" but really they are everywhere, you just need to know how to re-invent them. When I pick up old things at op shops and garage sales, sometimes they just sit in my shed for a while why I think of how they can be re-worked. Sometimes its just a coat of paint, sometimes its new fabric on a lampshade or upholstery on a footstool.

The photo here from Bed Of Flowers B&B in Holland is something I look to for inspiration. I love the use of old things and traditional floral prints mixed with bright colours.

Schoolhouse 3-Rochford Lodge

I have found a third example of a re-worked schoolhouse to add to my inspiration collection. The first was the former home of garden designer Paul Bangay, St Ambrose Farm at Woodend. The second was interior designer Stuart Rattle's country retreat at nearby Musk. This one is in the same part of the world in the Mt Macedon area and has been converted into a holiday rental.

Rochford Lodge is an old brick building with separate Principal's house.

Though the school house is quite a different style of building, is still intriguing to see how other people interpret the spaces.

Inside Musk Farm

For those who missed this issue of Country Style featuring Stuart Rattle's Musk Schoolhouse, here is the story.

	Look inside >
Magnificent obsession

Schoolhouse Re-Inventions

I have to say that having a few hours pulling weeds in the vegie patch in my country garden today made me dream of what the garden around the school hall could be like.
Probably the best example of how well a property like mine and a building like my school hall can be re-born is designer Stuart Rattle's country home, the former schoolhouse at Musk just outside Melbourne.
I can only dream... How glorious is the entrance? I am definitely inspired by the garden pavilion with the red striped curtains. Will I be able to keep up with all that hedge clipping? The challenge is on.

In The Garden Today

Ever since I was a child I have loved picking flowers from the garden. In every garden I've had, even in the tiny one right in the city in Sydney, I have always planted something I can cut and bring indoors. I love the casual style of garden flowers in a vase.
Today I am heading out into the garden to do some much needed autumn maintenance. The roses are looking gorgeous - a last flush before the cooler weather comes. My vegetable garden, however, is totally out of control after the heat and rain of the past few months. My Tahitian lime tree is overdue to be harvested and I'm looking forward to filling a bowl full of fruit in every shade of lime.

Planning The New Laundry

My new/old church hall has a small annex which will house the laundry, scullery and a small bathroom. As these will be the first rooms to be renovated I have to make some design decisions asap.
One of my favourite laundries is in Jenny Larsen's Brisbane house, the photo of which did not make the cut in the article I did for Real Living last year. Love the dark grey cabinets with butler's sink and the wicker baskets hung on the wall.
The sink shot is from Martha Stewart's basement laundry. She is the go-to girl for tips on setting up a laundry, is she not?
I like the look of open shelves above the bench, too and the boarded cupboard doors echo the wall linings in the main room of the building.
BTW I must admit that doing the laundry is the only household chore I really enjoy doing so I was happy to discover that one of the best views from the new building is from the laundry door out over the paddocks to the mountain, framed by a giant conifer.

Great Old Chairs

I have a few old armchairs out the back of the shop at the moment, just sitting there patiently waiting for make overs.

Old upholstered chairs can look fabulous if you pick just the right fabric and can give some personality to a room that lacks the wow factor.

I love the blue and white chairs Anna Spiro had done up for her shop recently. I had the striped ones covered in a french deck chair fabric for my shop a while ago and when I look at this photo again wish I hadn't sold them!

Sometimes they benefit from a coat of white paint on the woodwork and sometimes just a polish will do.

What To Do With The Hall?

The carpenters are working away at my newly transplanted St Michael's Church Hall which is now in my backyard. In case you missed the post on this, we have been looking for years, never thinking we would find, an old timber school or church building we could use as an extension to our farm house. 

Well it happened to come up a few months ago as the school was wanting to demolish it to make way for more play areas. It had to be moved by Christmas but our local demolition man rose to the challenge.

It is a great big space and will house our living, dining and kitchen. I am at the fun planning stage where I'm thinking of how to make such a big space work.

This photo is not unlike what I have in mind - the big stone fireplace at one end, raked ceiling, deep sofas and big armchairs...