Australian Country Homes Issue 17

Dear reader, It’s 2022 — and the year ahead is full of promise and hope. With summer in full swing, I’m spending a lot of time outdoors with those I love, and I’m more grateful for this privilege than I ever have been before. In my home, I’ve been spending more time on the little things. After spending so long in lockdown in 2021, I’ve found a new appreciation for my garden and have continued this desire to nurture in the new year. I’ve also found time to have more picnics — a pleasure and a privilege I’ll never take for granted again. Of course, this has all been done while working on this latest issue of Australian Country Homes. I’ve found some gorgeous seaside properties that will have you beach dreaming,…

GIRONA MONTGRI FRUIT BOWL IN GREEN Bring a sense of serenity into your home with the Girona Montgri fruit bowl in green. This gorgeous bowl is handmade from Spanish local Empordà clay and is hand-painted, too, ensuring each piece is unique. The bowl measures 38cm and is a wonderful addition to any home. sunpots.com.au OLBIA Keep your home warm with the OLBIA from Euro Fireplaces. This easy-to-operate heater produces warm air almost immediately after it is lit, with the stones ensuring heat is retained long after the flames go out — saving you money when it comes to firewood. With a heating capacity of 280 square metres, this is the perfect product to invest in now to ensure you’re ready for the cooler months which are just around the corner. eurofireplaces.com.au DORSET MANDALA ROUND RUG The Dorset…

Fourth Beach on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard is one of the country’s most desirable spots, as evidenced by the summer months when South Africans — not to mention international tourists — flock to it en masse. For Leon and Jann Saven, and their daughter Gabriella, who live in one of the oldest bungalows on the beach, it’s not just a summertime romance. The couple moved in 12 years ago after an extended stint in California. And for Jann, in particular, it was a double dose of coming home: she grew up in this house. “We absolutely couldn’t believe that we were living here on Fourth Beach but we quite soon realised that we needed to make the home ours,” says Leon, an architect with his own practice in Cape Town. “Certainly the…

Just as shag piles and chandeliers have experienced a revival, so too have old beach shacks, with those dating back as far as the early 1900s experiencing renewed interest. They are the new antiques. Not everyone loves them, but those who do are restoring them to their former glory — and stats show that such enthusiasts are paying whatever it takes to satisfy this yearning for yesteryear. The real estate market on the New South Wales south coast was not always like this. In the 1970s and 80s, fibro and weatherboard cottages that were built as cheap holiday homes in preceding decades were knocked down to make way for newer developments. Council heritage advisor Robin Graham concedes that such coastal dwellings weren’t well appointed. “But they had charm,” he says. “They…

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” The sign in the living room of Matilda Heveldt’s home pretty much sums up all she’s learnt from the past decade. The adage informs the laid-back lifestyle Matilda, her husband, Michal, and their children, Lani and Evie enjoy in the central Queensland city of Rockhampton. Matilda, an HR consultant who’s previously studied international business, grew up in Rockhampton, where the population of 110,000 primarily services the surrounding agricultural and mining industries. As with many of her school friends, she moved to Brisbane for university, and then work took her to Perth and back to Brisbane. Along the way she met and married Kiwi-born Michal, whose career as a machine operator means he lives the FIFO (fly-in, fly-out)…

Is your home a beachside cottage filled with character and warmth? A contemporary urban abode with cutting-edge style? A house in the ’burbs you are renovating? Or perhaps you have an eco-chic dwelling that pays homage to the natural environment? No matter what your home’s style, there are many components that make up its exterior appeal and overall presentation, including walling, cladding, roofing, windows and doors. It’s a wrap Cladding is the material that is fitted to the external wall system of a home or commercial property. There are a few different wall systems in Australia, the most common being a structural single timber stud system frame. On the inside, internal cladding like plasterboard is fitted, and on the outside, external cladding materials such as brick, fibre-cement or weatherboard are used. Brisbane architect Shaun…