A Picture-Perfect Country House, Part 1

Many years ago, I photographed a country house for a book; a country house cast entirely in black and white.

It was love at first sight.

This house, which was co-owned and decorated by the lovely Melbourne-based designer Jane Charlwood, was located down the end of an enchanting, holly-covered lane, in a pocket of countryside known for its grand homes and spectacular formal gardens. (The village of Mt Macedon.) The house wasn't grand, or formal; in fact, it was the very opposite: compact, cosy and set in a garden that showed impressive design restraint. But that's precisely why it stood out from the architectural crowd. It was a pearl among all the flashy diamonds.

A month or so ago, I noticed that Fern Vale Farm was on the market. Then last week, I noticed it had been sold. Snapped up by a sophisticated city buyer ( a city buyer with a spare $3 million for a weekender!) who recognises understated elegance when he/she sees it.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this house. It is one of the most beautiful country retreats I've ever seen.

I will try and post more images of it tomorrow, once I find them in my archives. (These are from the real estate agent's website). I'll reveal a little more about the interior design too.

It's beautiful. You'll love it.

{Images via RT Edgar}

Extraordinary Homes of 2011

I should have perhaps said 2010 and 2011, as these were all homes I've come across in the last 2 years. These were all extraordinary places for many reasons, but I've chosen them because – unlike some professionally decorated places that can see slightly "staged" – they all felt very much like cosy, comfortable, put-your-feet-up-and-read-the-Sunday-papers type homes. I like houses that aren't too pretentious: houses that allow for the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life – kids, dogs, stressed-out partners, people traipsing in and out with gardening wellies, in-laws dropping by. And these were very much wonderfully practical, family-friendly places.

Furthermore, they all showed that you don't need a big budget to create an inviting home. Sure, some of the houses may have been expensive, but the interiors weren't jammed with pieces from Sotheby's or the Attic Sale at Chatsworth. They weren't from the Hearst Castle School of Decorating. They were full of elegance, sophistication, imagination, a little whimsy and a whole lot of creativity. Just the kind of homes I love.

THE GATSBY MANSION, LONG ISLAND

(Designer: Jeffrey Bilhuber)

Interior designer Jeffrery Bilhuber's house at Oyster Bay is a grand affair, it has to be said. It's a mansion that would rival Jay Gatsby's. Inside, however, it's far from being a Rothschild-esque mish-mash. Bilhuber (who is Anna Wintour's designer) has used startling colour to create a glamorous but gorgeously cosy home out of this old boarding school. Plum, tangerine, pale turquoise,  lime, pink, granny-smith-apple green... Who would have thought these colours would all go so beautifully together? Yellow umbrellas for the guests? Inspiring. A kitchen and laundry in black and tiffany blue? Unexpectedly elegant. And look at the kitchen garden! Just stunning. The house is as lovely as its owner.

THE BOAT HOUSE, NANTUCKET ISLAND

(Designer: Gary McBournie)

This was a tiny home; a boat house that was converted to an waterside escape for a client and his family. Interior designer Gary McBournie (another lovely man) took his cues from the harbour setting and designed a space that was unusual but quietly inviting. The kitchen floor was painted in marine blue and then splattered with tiny dots of other colours, so it didn't show the sandy footsteps and salt flecks, and its roof was left in its beautifully aged state. The chaise lounges were made to resemble ship's bunks. And the living room was decked out with marine-inspired items, from flags to vintage ships. Just sublime.

THE FARMHOUSE, SHELTER ISLAND

(Designers: Steven Schappacher and Rhea White)

Now these two are a designing duo to watch. Steve Schappacher and his wife Rhea White took a run-down old farmhouse on Shelter Island (now being dubbed "the new Hamptons") and with nothing more than some clever designing and some great flea-shop finds turned it into a chic island hideaway. Look at what a simple coat of black and white paint can do. Rhea found the old French garden chairs in a secondhand barn on the island, the sofas are simple, white slipcovered ones, the poolhouse bedroom was given a lift with some imaginative fabric styling, and the rest of the house is a gallery of whimsical finds. The pool was perhaps the most expensive addition. The house is now worth over a $1M. What a clever couple.

THE BARN-STYLE BEACH HOUSE, LONG ISLAND

(Designer: Rick Livingston)

A truly extraordinary place, this barn-style beach house sits right on the sand at Long Island's charming village of Quogue  and is the weekend escape of New York designer Rick Livingston and his partner. They rented it for 10 summers before deciding to finally buy it. But instead of knocking it down, they simply updated the simple timber dwelling with some imaginative decorating. Vintage ladders, white shutters for wardrobe doors, a fabulous rope chandelier from Mexico, inspiring artwork, cosy seating, a restrained colour scheme, and of course the all-important deck for luncheons overlooking the sea. Down to earth decorating, indeed.

THE FAMILY HOME, MARTHA'S VINEYARD

(Designer: Paula Perlini)

From the outside, this house seems enormous – intimidating even. On the inside, however, interior designer Paula Perlini has worked magic to create cosy, intimate, human-scaled rooms out of enormously-proportioned spaces. And surprisingly, much of it has been achieved with oversized pieces, which seem to draw the rooms in while providing eye-catching focal points. The folk art mermaid on the stairs, the vintage Orangina poster, the antique bird houses and the Bloody Mary-red library (which elegantly showcases the owner's photographs of Africa) are just a few of the dazzling ways Perlini has carved an intriguing home out of a beachfront mansion. I always love red in a beach house, and this shows why it looks so fabulous.{Image at the very top is also from this residence}

[Images from my book Coast: Lifestyle Architecture]

Christmas from NY to Savannah

I love seeing how other people celebrate Christmas. Many years ago I lived in Denmark in Scandinavia, where Christmas is cherished as an annual event. Imagine real trees, cut down from yours or a neighbour's forest and then dragged home through the snow; endless feasts of fabulous Scandinavian food; gallons of home-made schnapps (some of them with names that reflect their high-alcohol potency, such as "Grandpa's Underpants"), and a lot of dancing around trees, singing, laughing, and toasting each other with the word "Skål" – many, many times. Nothing has ever compared to those extravagant Christmases experienced in Denmark, but it's still lovely seeing how others accessorise their trees, decorate their homes, dress their pressies and generally gear up for this wild, cypress-lined end-of-year celebration. {Top image via Tricia Foley's book White Christmas}

Christmas in Savannah, Georgia, USA

Well, it's actually Christmas on a tiny island off the coast of Savannah, called Tybee Island, which has to be one of the prettiest islands in America. These Christmas images (below) come from my friend Jane Coslick, who is not only one of the country's most creative designers (her work is on the front cover of Coastal Living this month) but one of the funniest and loveliest. Her decorations are always bright, colourful and a little whimsical, which is just what you want in a beach house! {Via janecoslick.blogspot.com}

Christmas on Long Island, New York, USA

Christmas at the home of another friend, interior designer, stylist and bestselling author Tricia Foley. Nobody does Christmas like Tricia (below). Her decorations are simple, natural and beautiful. As she says, she simply buys green wreaths and roping at the local farmstand and then adds lots of berries and branches to add texture. She'll also harvest privet berries from the hedges, plus snips of cypress, and tuck them into the wreaths or baskets for the doors. The scent, she says, is as much a part of Christmas as the sight. And she should know – she's published a book on Christmas style! {Via www.triciafoleyinthecountry.blogspot.com}

Christmas in Washington D.C., USA

Christmas decorations in the countryside are always special, but these are particularly lovely (below). They're from one of the most charming homes in America's Pacific Northwest; the gorgeous country farmhouse featured on the equally gorgeous blog acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com. Take a look at Trine's blog for some of the most beautiful images of rural life (and Christmas) you're likely to see.

Christmas on Harbour Island, Bahamas

The Landing hotel and restaurant on Harbour Island is one of the most atmospheric little boutique hotels I've ever stayed in. Owned by a lovely Australian and a Bahamian I know and decorated by India Hicks, it's a sublime slice of tropical delight that's equal parts chic and casual. I haven't spent a Christmas or even a New Year on Harbour Island (when the Junkanoo parade brings the streets to life), but I'd love to one day.  It would be the perfect place to put your feet up, drink some of the hotel's Afro Head rum, read a good book and go for long swims in that stunning blue sea. {Via www.harbourislandlanding.com}

Musk Farm Garden

As part of the ongoing series of posts about beautiful gardens, I thought I'd show you one of my favourite Australian gardens, Musk Farm, an enchantingly sweet country garden near the village of Daylesford, in western Victoria.

I first came across this garden when I interviewed the owner, the renowned Australian interior designer Stuart Rattle, for the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspaper's Sunday magazine. It was for story on city professionals who had moved to the countryside. He told me that when he first set eyes on the old dilapidated school house that would later become his home (above), it gave him something of an architectural shock. "I was expecting Howard's End," he confessed with a laugh, "but this looked like the World's End". But then he returned at twilight and in that shimmering golden light, the old house made his heart skip a beat. "I no longer saw the reality," he said, "but the fantasy."

Having fallen head-over-welingtons with the idea of country weekends with roaring fires and lots of whisky, he set to work on restoring the building and overhauling the grounds. It took a herculean effort, but according to Stuart it was worth every breath. Others thought so, too. In fact, when he was finished, the place looked so stunning that many design writers were astonished. The BBC included the property in a documentary about outstanding international gardens. Other publications, such as Vogue Living and Country Style, rushed to feature it in their magazines. And when Stuart opened the property to the public on a special spring Open Day, the place was inundated with visitors.

The house, which was inspired by New England architecture, has now been transformed from a run-down school house to a dignified gentleman's retreat, while the surrounding 35.6-hectare estate has been rejuvenated and turned into a productive farm. It even features a herd of rare British whites, a breed beloved of Winston Churchill. Not that Rattle's transition from city to country has been completely smooth. "I'm still waiting for tractors to come out in automatic," he told me, with a wry smile.

Here's a look at his magnificent house and garden at Musk Farm.

{Last two images via Vogue Living and Country Style. I'm not certain of the photographer so if these images are yours please let me know and I'll credit them. The remaining images are my own.}

Meeting Miss Tricia (Foley)

It's always lovely when you meet a renowned interior designer and they turn out to be just as beautiful as their rooms. Tricia Foley is one such person. Charming, gracious, wonderfully hospitable and extraordinarily talented, this New York-based interior designer, stylist, author and former magazine editor can put together a space like nobody I know – and then turn around and (just as quickly) whip up a stylish spread of food and drinks to entertain people in it.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Tricia Foley at her Long Island hideaway last year. I spent the day with her, photographing her glorious riverside cottage and garden. Later, we had dinner together at a fabulous little restaurant owned by friends of hers in a village nearby. And as we were chatting, I remembered, with one of those serendipitous flashes, that her book, The Romance of British Colonial Style, had been the first design book I'd ever bought. I loved that book when it was first published, and now here we were together, sharing stories of our photo shoots, and magazine careers, and where we hoped to be in another ten years. It was one of those days, full of laughter, conversation and inspiration, that lingers in your memory for some time afterwards.

I want to share some of my images of Tricia Foley's house, which were featured in a book called Coast: Lifestyle Architecture. It's been featured around the Blogosphere before, but here are some new angles, for those who love its elegant lines and surprising details. Tricia's signature look is, as you can see from these images, derived from using an understated, mostly monochromatic palette. She's not big on colour, preferring to draw her inspiration from the classic, pared-back simplicity of early American colonial and Shaker styles. Black, white and natural tones dominate here, creating serene spaces of calm and sophistication. Vintage is mixed with modern, and high-end pieces with flea-market or hardware finds. The result is a home that has all the elegance of a styled photo shoot, and all the comfort of a much-loved weekender.

www.triciafoley.com