Table of contents for June 2022 in Country Style

I don’t like being cold. I especially don’t like being cold at home. I’ll have the heater on all day, and I’ll be wearing the lambskin slippers I bought in Lucknow, NSW, plus a dressing-gown or jumper (or both, depending on the time of day). On particularly chilly mornings, I’ve even been known to turn the oven on and open the door for an extra heat source. To be honest, it doesn’t have to be that cold for me to do that. There are certainly things I enjoy about winter. I love the dramatic beauty of a bare tree, bracing walks with warm hands and a cold nose, and the food that perfectly suits the cooler months – soups, curries, roasts, puddings. In my house the slow cooker gets a…

to Kelly Papworth, who has won a Grampians Goods Co Picnic Perfect Gift Box, which includes an All-Weather Adventure Blanket and two Paddock Pillow covers, valued at $567. To see the range of blanket designs, visit grampiansgoodsco.com.au Share your thoughts and experiences with us by writing to Country Style, GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW, 2001, or emailing austcountrystyle@aremedia.com.au. Please include your address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space and clarity.…

VIC Four Pillars Gin Distillery After a 12-month renovation, Four Pillars’ brand-new, world-class distillery and gin garden is open for business. Located adjacent to their original home in the Yarra Valley, ‘Healesville 2.0’ includes an airy gin garden, stylish function spaces, a stunning crafted copper bar, and a dedicated gin store – all enclosed by a revolutionary copper ‘veil’ which serves as a heat exchange to reduce energy consumption. Alongside tasting paddles, classic gins and creative cocktails, Beth’s Bar serves snacks concocted by Made From Gin creative director Matt Wilkinson and local chef Caroline Gray. Menu fare includes: duck liver pâté with bloody shiraz gin jelly; bagels with olive leaf gin-cured salmon; and gin-laced potato, zucchini and dill croquettes. Later this year, Healesville 2.0 will launch the Four Pillars Tuck…

THE 2022 COUNTRY STYLE MEET THE PRODUCERS LUNCH WAS OUR BEST YET – BUT IT WAS ALSO THE GRAND FINALE. IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE enthusiasm and excitement for the Country Style Meet the Producers Lunch when all the guests turn up in torrential rain. Just as everyone was due to arrive at the Australian National Field Days site at Borenore just outside Orange, NSW, the heavens opened. A mini river formed along the side of the Style Pavilion where tables were set for 209 attendees, but people remained jolly with umbrellas up, gumboots on and a glass of bubbles in hand. The market stalls showcasing the producers’ wares – everything from honey and jam to wine and flavoured salts – were set up in the pavilion so guests…

IT’S THE ULTIMATE INSPIRATION, and a go-to guide for planning your destination nuptials. And we need you! Did you or someone you know have a beautiful country wedding in the past 12 months? If you would like to tell us your story (and if you can share professional, high-resolution photographs with us), get in touch. Email hannah.james@aremedia.com.au and your wedding may feature in the magazine. SAVE THE DATE! On sale September 26…

AUSTRALIA IS A LAND OF EXTREMES, and while we may not suffer sub-zero temperatures, we do require home heating during winter. “There is no universal solution when purchasing a heating system,” says Kyle Rafter, head of product at Fujitsu General. “The three main points to consider are budget, layout and location of your home, and the number and size of the rooms you’d like to heat.” Installation and running expenses are major factors, as is fuel. “Having access to gas, electricity or free firewood can ultimately determine the type of heater you purchase,” says Colin Jones, category expert at Appliances Online. Here are your options… HEATERS Fixed or portable, gas or electric – heaters come in many forms to suit myriad home layouts. There are fan-forced models that heat up…

Carol Dingle CO-OWNER, DINGLES CAFE BAR “We wanted to create a community and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of.” HOME TO THE DARUMBAL PEOPLE, Rockhampton, in Central Queensland, straddles the beautiful Fitzroy River (Tunuba) and is framed by Mount Archer (Nurim) to the north. With a progressive community of about 82,000 residents, ‘Rocky’ offers a relaxed and affordable lifestyle with close proximity to the vast Capricorn Coast. The ‘Beef Capital’ of Australia, Rockhampton is a leading centre for education, agriculture, art, business and services. The region’s rich pioneering past is proudly on show at Quay Street’s Riverside Precinct, where heritage-listed buildings meet integrated urban design. Close to the CBD is Dingles Cafe Bar in William Street, which Carol Dingle co-founded with her sister, Sue Patterson, after moving…

WHEN SHE LAUNCHED The Grampians Goods Co. in 2016, Amanda Cochran was only selling a range of aromatherapy candles. But she always knew the brand would grow to reflect the essence of the wild and wonderful place she’s lucky enough to call home: the pristine Grampians region in western Victoria. “I adore the space around me where I live,” she says. “It’s a quiet reminder of how expansive life can be. I love the quietness and sense of calm, as well as the inspiration and creativity that comes from the constant close contact with the natural world – the mountains, the incredible sunrises, sunsets and the clearest skies at night.” Based on a 200-hectare sheep farm with her partner, Will, and their three children, Claudia, 12, Elodie, nine, and James,…

KATE LINCOLN New to the Country Style team, Kate styles our ‘get the look’ shopping pages at the end of our Decorating stories, as well as our Book Club photos. Hailing from England, Kate always went to stay with her nan in Gloucestershire during the school holidays and enjoyed exploring the ancient Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. The 34-year-old’s love of the countryside continued when she moved to Sydney. “I like to get out into nature and go for long hikes. The Australian country is so vast and varied, and there are so many places to visit,” she explains. As a stylist, Kate says, “I love creating beautiful spaces and imagery that inspires, and working with the best Australian designers and craftspeople. And I love that I get…

QUEENSLAND Ag-grow Emerald Field Day, June 23-25 The town of Emerald, in the Central Highlands of Qld, is hosting the 33rd annual Ag-grow festival, with exhibitors from surrounding communities gathering for three days of industry networking, bull and horse sales, working cattle dog trials and colt starting clinics. It’s a fun family event, with a free KidZone and Entertainment Square offering live music, jumping castles, camel rides and food stalls. aggrow.com.au Cooly Rocks On, June 8-12 The southern end of the Gold Coast is set to shake, rattle and roll as the Cooly Rocks On vintage extravaganza kicks off. It’s a retro-lover’s dream, with classic car displays, vintage costumes and clothing markets, plus rockabilly, jazz, blues and swing dance routines. There’s also an appearance from The King himself in the…

PAPER PERFECT The art of decoupage has a long history, drawing on ancient Chinese, Polish and Siberian traditions, then becoming popular in France in the 17th century. Now paint expert Annie Sloan has collaborated with the UK’s renowned Royal Horticultural Society to launch these beautiful decoupage papers – just cut them out, arrange them on your object, and stick them down with Annie Sloan Image Medium. Visit anniesloan.com COOK UP A STORM Baking, basting and braising are all a breeze in a beautiful blue Belling. The brand’s Richmond Deluxe Dual Fuel Range Cooker has four ovens with a total capacity of 224 litres, meaning you can cook up absolutely anything that takes your fancy, and all at the same time. Perfect for feeding a crowd. Visit harveynorman.com.au Fire it up…

WE ARE SNEAKING UP on the shortest day of the year. It always surprises me how early in winter this is. Here in Tasmania, it’s not properly cold yet, there’s just the threat of it. But even if the cold is mild, the light is falling swiftly from the days and the nights are noticeably longer. I love this time of year. I love the feeling of things being birthed in the dark, of things growing in secret, of the creative work being done in the quiet, far away from an audience. Since late summer, I’ve had a space in the vegie patch left fallow. Here, I’ll plant garlic on the shortest days of the year. The bed was dug up by a friend who was isolating in the cottage…

• The pink kitchen is painted in Porter’s Paints Victoriana in half-strength, and the tiles are Perini Meca tiles in Blush. porterspaints.com; perini.com.au • After giving the kitchen a pop of colour, Kirby kept the rest of the house neutral with walls in Dulux White on White and an earthy palette.dulux.com.au • Kirby wanted the house to feel lived in and loved, so picked up second-hand furniture and decorative items from Gumtree, Vintage 216 in Ballarat (@vintage.216), and Kabinett in Kyneton (kabinett.com.au). Kirby combined these with pieces she had squirrelled away in a shed. • The bed linen is from In The Sac (inthesac.com.au), Cultiver (cultiver.com.au), and New Zealand brand Foxtrot Home (foxtrothome.co.nz).…

AMONG NEW SOUTH WALES’S secateur-wielding florists and botanical installation artists, any mention of Craig Scott and East Coast Wildflowers elicits a consistent response. By all accounts, Craig is the loveliest man in flower farming, and his range of native wildflowers can’t be beat. Aside from a short stint as a motor mechanic after high school, Craig’s life has been all about plants. Floriculture is in his blood. The business of flowers can be traced back through his family history, and it’s pushing forward into the next generation. “I’m a fourth-generation farmer, and now one of my daughters is a florist with a store in Paddington, so she is fifth-generation,” says Craig of Bess, his eldest daughter of four. Her floral emporium BESS, located on the boutique-lined William Street in inner…

Nothing beats a cosy fireplace. And whatever the style of your home, there’s a fire surround to suit it. TRADITIONAL From exposed brick with a timber mantel for the English cottage look, to grand marble columns, cast-iron with tiled inserts, or simple white-painted wood (left), a classic look fits most homes. DOUBLE-SIDED One fireplace, two rooms: not only is this modern look (right) spectacular, it’s cost-effective. SLEEK Streamlined modern fireplaces can be integrated into cabinetry (top left) to give you flames combined with functionality. RUSTIC Crafted from raw natural materials – think reclaimed timbers and rough sandstone or bluestone slabs – this style is perfectly suited to a country home.…

Rockhampton’s major industries include health, education, civil construction and agriculture. The National Institute of Economic and Industry Research indicates that the Gross Regional Product for Rockhampton is the strongest it has ever been, up 4.7 per cent to $5.48 billion, at a rate that is over double that of Queensland’s state average of 2.3 per cent – the first time Rockhampton has exceeded $5.4 billion. (Source id. Economy) Visit advancerockhampton.com. au/Economic-Development/Major-Projects…

BRAND FOUNDER, 39 For Grampians Goods Co. founder Amanda, home is a farm near Dunkeld, Vic, with her partner and three children. How would you describe your style? Lazy! I’d describe it as practical and classic. I love neutral tones and natural fibres – and a hint of nostalgia. When I’m dressing up, I tend to dress for a mood rather than whatever is on trend. Are you interested in fashion? Definitely! I find as I get older I have more confidence and sense of self, and I’m less afraid to take risks with fashion and try new things. What’s the best style advice you’ve received? “Dress to your shape and you’ll always be comfortable.” What are your wardrobe essentials? Jeans, luxe knits, linen skirt, floral dress, ballet flats, Ray-Bans,…

MOST SHIPS SAILING BETWEEN Australia and Europe in the 19th century were made in Britain, Scandinavia or America. There were very few Australian-made ships. The three-masted barquentine Mary Wadley was built for Edward Wadley of Balmain at the Macleay River in New South Wales in 1874. The ship was used as a trader along the east coast of Australia. Sadly, it was wrecked off Tasmania in 1901, but the ship’s figurehead survives in the Maritime Museum of Tasmania. Figureheads, or bow ornaments, have their origin in ancient history with painted, carved images decorating the prow of ships to protect the vessel and those onboard. By the 16th century, bigger ships and more sturdy construction allowed for large carved sculptural figureheads. In a mostly illiterate population, these helped to identify ships.…

WARM AND TOASTY With 79L in both main multi-function ovens, plus a grill and warming drawer, the Falcon Elise 110 cooker can match any recipe. harveynorman.com.au SNUGGLE UP Birdsnest has everything you need to stay cosy this winter, including this Bird Keepers Woolly Knit Tunic, which comes in size 8-22. birdsnest.com.au PLAN AN ADVENTURE Explore art trails in Shoalhaven, including the re-imagined Bundanon Art Museum (use code ARTSIMPULSE for 10% off). shoalhaven.com/art LUXURY GETAWAY Located in Orange’s heritage district, The Byng Street Boutique Hotel combines historical and modern architecture. byngstreethotel.com.au OUTDOOR BEAUTY With the elegance of a wingback chair and handcrafted from Kubu rattan, Fraser looks right at home on the verandah. provincialhomeliving.com.au QUALITY STYLING Plain or striped linen and cotton/linen shirts are now on sale at family-owned PJ Miller…

DO YOU THINK PERHAPS THE BUCKET LIST obsession has run its course? The other day, I browsed through the travel section of a metropolitan newspaper… and found no sign of one of those annoying, cheesy bucket-list pieces. You know the sort of thing – “Before you kick the bucket, you should: 1. Trek the Cloud Forest Trail to Machu Picchu. 2. Play elephant polo at Nepal’s Bardia National Park. 3. Take a canoe safari in Botswana’s Okavango Delta to see wildlife up close… and marine predators up even closer. 4. Board-ride down the side of Cerro Negro, an active volcano in Nicaragua. 5. Leap naked, except for a woollen hat, into the sub-zero water of a hole in a frozen lake in Finland’s Lahti region…” Tour operators bill this type…

SA Tomfoolery Winemaker’s Cottage Wake to birdsong and vineyard views at this gorgeous cottage set on eight hectares at Tomfoolery Wines in the Barossa Valley. Located an hour’s drive north of Adelaide, it’s ideal for a romantic weekend away, with a plush king-size bed, spa with soft bathrobes and slippers, and a spacious living area. Book a two-night stay and enjoy a basket of local goodies, including gourmet muesli, bacon and eggs, fresh juice, beer, wine and cheese. With exclusive use of the property, guests are welcome to explore the vineyard and orchard. Now for the wow-factor: the cottage features an indoor pool, and there’s even a helipad for those extra-special arrivals! tomfoolerywines.com.au…

LIVING IN RURAL AUSTRALIA equips you with an appreciation of the age-old art of mending what you have rather than buying something new. Britta de Laat, founder of furniture restoration company Dumped & Ditched, has spent decades honing the skills required to transform unwanted furniture into treasured items for the home. While studying fine art in London in the 1990s, Britta sourced inspiration from discarded objects she’d find around town. “It fascinated me what people would throw away,” says the 45-year-old. “From sofas to warehouses filled with shoes, I could see the potential in these pieces – but, at the time, I didn’t have the knowledge to do much with them.” But she does now. After completing her degree, Britta worked on film sets, where she learnt how to transform…

NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS did Jessica Eggleston dream that she would be selling her home in Melbourne and moving her young family to Tasmania, let alone buying a beach house, but in 2019 a chain of events began that set her on exactly this path. “It’s a bit of a funny story,” says Jessica, a criminologist and psychologist. “We’d been living in Yarraville and loved it, so the decision to move to Tasmania came quite out of the blue. I was doing sleep school with our youngest, and my husband, Fred, walked in and said, ‘What do you think about a tree-change to Tassie?’ Obviously, I was sleep-deprived and I said, ‘Sounds amazing!’ And it has been amazing.” Moving to the Apple Isle a few months later with their…

VISITING HARTS LANE HAUS IN DAYLESFORD is an invitation to step inside Simon Carver and Stuart McKenzie’s life story. The 19th-century miner’s cottage with a modern edge is layered with special pieces that unlock memories of the couple’s time together. “Our house is like our sketchbook or our photo album,” says Simon. “It all has a historical connection to a period we’ve been together.” It’s a fitting sequel to the cottage’s own history, which was built in 1865 by two Welsh men seeking their fortune in Victoria’s Golden Triangle. The men claimed to be brothers, but as Simon reveals, it’s likely they were lovers keeping their forbidden relationship undercover. “We can’t say for sure... but it’s an interesting story. Daylesford has always had a queer, alternative vibe to it,” Simon…

THERE’S NO ELEGANT WAY to start a conversation about worms. Misunderstandings abound, and although my beloved husband has been dreaming of a “worms” licence plate on his ute for years (he often checks its availability), our children have unilaterally declared they will move out if he ever goes through with the purchase. I suggested “earthworms”, but it’s taken. It also doesn’t sufficiently send the teenagers into apoplexy. Worms (by which I mean earthworms) are a gardener’s best friend. They turn food scraps into gorgeous soil, improve the nutrient availability of your garden, and boost the soil’s aeration and water retention. We’re big fans of worms at Buena Vista and have spent years providing places for them to multiply, working to increase their numbers in our gardens. We have stackable worm…

MILK-POACHED WHOLE CHICKEN Serves 4 1.5kg whole chicken 100g butter 1 medium leek (350g), trimmed, cut into 5cm lengths 8 cloves garlic 6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked 2 fresh bay leaves 2 cups (500ml) whole milk 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind 1 tablespoon lemon juice 100ml thickened (heavy) cream 25g butter, extra ¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves ¼ cup fresh sage leaves Season chicken all over. Heat 30g of the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken, breast-side down; cook until lightly browned. Add another 30g of butter to pan, turn chicken over; cook until lightly browned. Transfer chicken, breast-side up, to a 5.5-litre (22-cup) slow cooker set to low. Place remaining butter in same saucepan with the leek, garlic, thyme and bay leaves;…

STEPPING INSIDE A GENERAL STORE in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley at the turn of the last century must have given more romantic shoppers a shiver of excitement. In the small town of Tatura, Flanagan’s Store was a place brimming with treasures. So, too, is The Storekeeper’s House, built in 1905 by Thomas Flanagan, the owner of that same store. Fresh white boarded walls and stripped floorboards are the backdrop for carefully curated objects and furnishings that give a cosy, homey feel to your weekend break. Much-loved leather armchairs that are worn to just the right degree, aged brass lamps and collections of oil paintings all draw the eye, and delightful curiosities in every corner repay closer attention – there are antique oil lamps and weighing scales; jumbles of kitchen implements in…

THE DELIGHTS OF DAYLESFORD need no introduction: superb food, lovely places to stay and spectacular countryside. JoAnne Stephenson knows all these qualities intimately, having run a shop in the Victorian spa town since 1997. Back then it was Ex Libris Prints, but in 2012 she and her husband, architect Robin Larsen, bought the former haberdashery they had been renting for the shop premises, gave it a floor-to-ceiling renovation and reopened it in its current incarnation, as eCasa. “Until the last couple of years, we would go to the Maison et Objet [interior design trade fair] in Paris every winter,” says Jo. “We’d go down to south-east France as well to see all our stockists. So when we moved into homewares, we renamed the shop eCasa, because most of our suppliers…