Sommaire pour September 2017 de Country Style

I have several snake stories I’m fond of telling. There’s the one about my mum’s Jack Russell, Piper, who has survived two snake bites, the day I saw two snakes in under an hour, and — the worst of all — the time I was staying with my friend Anne in Bathurst and a snake crawled over the baby’s rocker just after I’d picked him up. (Her brother had to rescue us and was not happy as we hadn’t contained the snake. Tim didn’t accept our excuse that we were busy dealing with four crying children under the age of three.) For years after that experience, I couldn’t even look at a garden hose lying on the lawn. You can tell it would be hard for me to admit that…

Sorry, but you’re doing the dishes wrong HOW TO CLEAN UP THE RIGHT WAY for maximum hygiene, minimal breakage and spotless glasses every time Budgets made easy NUMBER CRUNCHING SIMPLIFIED to ensure you have money left over for life’s little luxuries FOLLOW US facebook.com/homelife.com.au pinterest.com/homelifecomau instagram.com/homelife.com.au twitter.com/homelifecomau…

DAVID GLEESON AND LEAH ATKINS are seasoned when it comes to building homes, so when it came to building their own coastal dream home they had a wealth of know-how to call on. David is a builder in the Milton area, but the new family home on Mollymook Beach, that he and Leah moved into last year with their son Paddy, 11, was a joint effort. “As well as building houses for other people we have done our own projects and have built and sold a few houses together,” says Leah. Before they had Paddy, Leah had owned a homewares store in Milton and now quite enjoys working on interiors, designing and decorating. David and Leah both grew up in this region and had been living in Milton, about four…

THE BEACONSFIELD SHEARING SHED is eerily quiet until the boot-clad feet of 14-year-old Lucy and siblings Peggy, 13, Hamish, 10, and seven-year-old Bess, dash through the sprawling structure alongside Brutus Creek, 19 kilometres north of Ilfracombe, near Longreach. The scent of lanolin is imbued in the timber of the eight-stand shed, but it has barely been used since owners Peter and Kimble Thomas began destocking the 20,000-hectare property three years ago, as western Queensland’s worst recorded drought unfolded. Peter, Kimble and their children moved from Charleville in January 2014, where Peter had worked in rural banking, to take over Beaconsfield from his parents. Unfortunately, their return coincided with the onset of the prolonged drought. “It wasn’t part of the business plan,” Peter admits. “But everyone was going through the same…

Give evergreen garden beds an instant makeover with pots of fast-growing annuals like the nasturtiums in Josephine and Darren Sheppard’s home in Lauriston, Victoria (see page 38 for the full house story). Matching cushion covers are optional.  Inspired by patterned antique tiles, Beija Flor’s vinyl floor mats add a touch of classic European elegance inside or out. They’re easy-to-clean and surprisingly soft underfoot. Designs include ‘Bauhaus’ (left), from $155, and ‘Sofi’, from $119. 90, from French Bazaar. (03) 9555 7956; frenchbazaar.com.au IN THE SWING Garden swings remain a childhood favourite, and Fox Whistle’s classic take, $425, in rope and sturdy blackbutt timber, makes the experience even more personal with your choice of words or numbers carved into the side. (02) 4862 5204; foxwhistle.com.au HATS OFF These eye-catching West African…

VICKI LILEY Working under the moniker China Squirrel, this photographer and stylist produced Tamsin Carvan’s baking story on page 76 . This multi-talented creative got her start in food publishing at the Woman’s Day test kitchen more than 30 years ago. She moved into styling, then learnt how to shoot food by watching photographers at work. “I’m a self-taught photographer, so I’m always learning and I love that,” says Vicki, who believes her strength is her ability to “do it all. That is, develop, create, style and photograph recipes and craft stories.” As well as the creative challenges, Vicki loves the independence her work provides. “I am able to work from home, and that means I can spend loads of time with my little dog, Weetbix.” When she’s not…

PETER STRELITZ JAMS HIS GREY felt hat onto his head as he opens the back door and strides into the late afternoon sun, his shadow falling tall and ragged before him. Grass burned white by the sun crackles underfoot. He jumps into the four-wheel drive and takes off, talking as he goes. Out the window, his hand sweeps up and over hills, his fingers tracing the fence line and pointing out the wildlife corridor, planted as a windbreak and now a habitat for birds, echidnas and koalas, as he tells the story of his place. Milly Hill, a 120-hectare New England property outside Armidale, is home to Peter, his wife Sally and their children, Amber, now 16, Olivia, 14, Zoe, 13, and 10-year-old Sam. Milly Hill is the name of…

STYLE YOUR HOME The Country Style Homewares range will add a touch of classic country elegance to your home with soft furnishings, tableware and home and garden pieces now on sale. Available at madraslinkonline.com.au BOOK IT IN To revisit the stunning country homes and gardens you’ve seen in the magazine, see Country Style’s range of books. For details, visit harpercollins.com.au SOUL FOOD Memories of cooking are powerful. In Country Style Heirloom Recipes, readers share their family recipes, and the stories of the people who made them special. Available at magsonline.com.au/country-style-heirloom-recipes…

THE COLIBAN RIVER RUNS through the bottom of the garden, and so gave the River House at Lauriston in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges its name. There’s a sense of peaceful seclusion on the shady banks of the meandering stream, and two years ago Josephine and Darren Sheppard chose to tie the knot there, on a little wooden jetty above one of its deep pools. It was their union, and the blending of their respective families — Josephine has Olympia, 16, and Angelo, 13, while Darren has a 21-year-old daughter, Hannah — that prompted a significant expansion of the River House. Darren, who works in the finance industry, built the first section of the house — or “the cottage” as he calls the front wing — along with a swimming pool and…

sweep the board As a farmhouse cheese, Maffra cloth-aged cheddar is an expression of the terroir of the farm in East Gippsland, Victoria, where it has been produced by cheesemaker Ferial Zekiman since 1997. To what does she owe her success? “We have different herbage than other dairy farms, mostly clover and rye grass, and a cool climate,” says Ferial. “Make this cheese anywhere else and it would be completely different.” (03) 5145 1022; maffracheese.com.au MEET THE PRODUCERS Ron and Maria Kemp, Southern Forest Green Tea, Northcliffe, WA Talk of growing green tea around Manjimup,WA, started back in the 1990s when the Department of Agriculture and Food (now the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) planted a trial crop. Ron and Maria Kemp thought it might work for them…

THE GROUND THAWS, THE SHOOTS SPROUT, the shadows get shorter and the aromas of the industry of Mother Nature permeate, heralding spring across our country. Here in Tassie, we greet the arrival of spring as a bear would, emerging from our hibernation, shaking off sleep’s last embrace, ravenous for food and craving sunlight. The seasons here are so profoundly different that I really look forward to the changes, but they occur slightly later than on the mainland. In spring, the weather is highly changeable and, in anticipation of its apparent contrariness, it’s common practice to put on several layers of clothing before leaving the house in the morning. Perhaps it’s the unpredictable weather that has made Tasmanians the resourceful lot they’re known to be, especially when it comes to the…

SHANNON FRICKE INTERIOR DESIGNER AND STYLIST, 48 Over a career spanning more than 20 years, Shannon has developed a unique style. How has your style changed since moving to Bangalow? I’m originally from Bondi, Sydney, but my mother’s family were born in Kyogle — an hour inland from Byron Bay. I’d spend most holidays there with Nan and Pop so the move to Bangalow (also inland from Byron) felt natural. I’ve always had a casual style, opting for jeans and shirts with the occasional gyspy dress thrown in on my feminine ‘dress up’ days. On occasion you’ll find me sporting a little bling just to keep me on my fashion toes. I like to be comfortable but still relevant, so every season I’ll invest in pieces to keep me up…

I BOUGHT THESE pretty jewellery boxes in Oxford, England, in 2000 for about £50 each and I am hoping you can tell me more about them. J. Sherman, ASPLEY, QUEENSLAND Pretty boxes like these were made, often in sets, for a dressing table. One of yours is a gilt-metal powder box with imitation stone and pearl decorations on the lid. The other is a jewel box in the shape of a baroque cabinet, into which rings might be placed at night. We are most familiar with cut-glass and crystal sets, but more elaborate and expensive examples were made in electroplated metal, silver, and even gold. Your boxes were made in France where craftsmen continued the tradition of making small luxury items throughout the 19th century. MY MOTHER WAS…

“BREAD, SAUSAGE, TOMATO SAUCE AND OPTIONAL ONIONS ARE INDEED COMPONENTS OF AUSTRALIAN DNA.” WE DUCKED INTO TOWN ON SATURDAY for a couple of life’s necessities — brake pads from Supercheap Auto and a folding trestle table from Bunnings. “Well I don’t think I’ll need to cook dinner tonight,” said The Chosen One on the way home.“Couldn’t eat another thing,” I agreed. “Whose did you think was the best?” Business was buzzing at both places and this augurs well for both the recovery of retail trade in Australia and the economic growth of the country itself. Now, retail business surveys tell us that the retail environment responds to process simplification, consolidation of central functions and outsourcing of ‘non-core’ functions. Somehow, they’ve overlooked the sausage sizzle — the very strategy that has…

INSTAGRAM Our Instagram followers loved this image as much as we do! Meet Flirt, one of the beautiful horses from @hiddentrailsbyhorseback, a family-run Tolmie-based travel company that takes people on a variety of horse treks in the magnificent Victorian High Country. Follow us on Instagram @countrystylemag Our July issue celebrated the best of the season with winter escapes, landscape designer Paul Bangay’s snow-covered garden, a year in the English countryside and beautiful homes, including this one on the cover, a beautiful 1930s farmhouse in Ballan, Victoria. Photography Lisa Cohen Styling Ruth Welsby SISTERLY LOVE Thank you for publishing an article about my sister Carlie Oates’s move to the country. I’ve been living in London for the past year and the day your July issue came out, I moved to a…

“Floristry is not only for those who can afford to buy flowers. It is for all of us to enjoy and it’s about so much more than arranging some stems in a vase.” One of the greatest joys of playing and experimenting with flowers is that it opens your eyes to the flowers and foliage growing around you. You start to notice them. Like words you’ve just learned the meaning of, you start, as if by magic, to see them everywhere. There are writers who say one of the greatest, unexpected consequences of writing is that you become a better reader. Just as, I would say, working with flowers can help you become a better observer of nature. And anything that helps you focus on what is beautiful and interesting…

DAWESLEY IS A RURAL hamlet tucked away in the Adelaide Hills. Like many other settlements in this region, it was once on the main thoroughfare until the South Eastern freeway blazed through in the late 1960s and 1970s bypassing the town. From then on Dawesley became, somewhat idyllically, a little more off the beaten track. “It’s a beautiful little town with no services, no post office, just a cluster of homes, but it’s got a really rich history,” says Alia Elaraj. Alia and her partner, Scout Edwards, fell in love with the little settlement, in particular one of its early buildings, four years ago. Alia and Scout had been searching for a place to call home; a place where they could bring up their sons, Oliver, 10, and Arlo, four,…

I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR SIMPLE CAKES. They are the cakes of our childhoods, with those evocative names — the pound cake, the sponge cake, the butter cake. They are never too sweet. They don’t need icing. They are yummy with icing. They are classics; they never date. Simple cakes are elegant and resourceful. Few ingredients, in easily memorised proportions, a beautifully resolved solution to the problem of what to make when there isn’t much, or of how to use up what one has. Simple cakes are generous; they are about others, not ourselves. They don’t try to impress, their job is to nurture and nourish. They are not a grand announcement or a social media sensation, but a thoughtful gesture; a homely affirmation of love. These are the…

Bring a little bit of spring indoors with fresh flowers that fill the house with natural beauty, colour and a sweet fragrance. A subdued colour palette allows the textures and patterns of handcrafted wood, cotton and ceramic pieces to stand out.…

LIGHT FLOODS THE WHITEWASHED SPACE at the rear of The Collective — a local hotspot, complete with a café, florist and fashion shop — on Lords Place in Orange, NSW. It’s here, in the large open space of a former printery, that husband and wife team Libby Spencer and Rene Reimers have set up shop as florist and landscaper. You arrive at Botanica Flora, Libby’s flower shop, and Rene’s Botanic Landscapes business, via Maddy and Toby Howell’s café Good Eddy and locally run fashion shop Belle Armoire. The space, resplendent with parquetry flooring and colourful art on the walls, is crowded with vessels and vases filled with flowers and foliage. Waxy dark green leaves of Grandiflora magnolia contrast with the slim, silvery leaves of the olive sprays alongside. Branches of…

OLD FAVOURITES Theatre Royal This 1850s cultural icon shows mainstream and arthouse films. Plus, there’s live music, a café and bar. 30 Hargraves Street. (03) 5472 1196; theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au Castlemaine Art Museum A unique collection of Australian art and artefacts reflecting the early history of the district. 14 Lyttleton Street. (03) 5472 2292; castlemainegallery.com Buda Historic Home and Garden An authentic grand home and garden surviving from the gold rush era. 42 Hunter Street. (03) 5472 1032; budacastlemaine.org Castlemaine State Festival This 10-day arts celebration, held biennially, draws on the distinctive culture of the central Victorian goldfields region. (03) 5472 3733; castlemainefestival.com.au Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens A biennial spring festival that sees a variety of local gardens open, from the large and rambling to cottage gardens. festivalofgardens.org SHOPPING The…

NEW DIRECTIONS For almost 40 years, Kazari has been known for its Japanese antiques and is now integrating high-quality contemporary furniture and textiles into its range. (03) 9510 2528; kazari.com.au DESIGNER FIRE Architecturally designed and Australian-made, Fire-Away fire pits incorporate three pieces of steel, that interlock to support each other, creating a sculptural form. 0425 235 825; fire-away.com.au GET COOKING Ilve’s 120cm ‘Quadra’ cooker features double electric ovens with a choice of six cooktop combinations including teppanyaki, induction and gas cooktops. The ovens are self-cleaning with safe, triple-glazed doors. 1300 694 583; ilve.com.au WHIP SMART Protect your garden from whipper snipper damage with EverEdge. This easy-to-install flexible steel edging will help you maintain a tidy garden. 0488 010 203; everedge.com.au RURAL RECOLLECTIONS Made from reclaimed pine and whitewashed timber, Provincial…