70 Australian Country HOMES
C
all her trendy, but with a
passion for collecting and
hunting for antiques in her
spare time, South Australian
Linda Sobol was in style decades before
the vintage trend became popular. Along
with her master craftsman husband,
Wallie, the duo complements each
other well, with Linda’s eye for intricate
treasures and Wallie’s talent at creating
stunning old-fashioned pieces for their
Colonel Light Gardens home.
“Wallie and I have been together
forever,” Linda says. “We met when I
was just 17 and now I’m 53, so you do the
maths. We were introduced through my
sister and a friend at the beach.”
Born and bred in Adelaide, Linda and
Wallie spent much of their lives in the
Barossa Valley region before they bought
their fi rst house. It was a contemporary
establishment just south of Glenelg. Then
they moved into their current historic red
brick home, which was built in 1925. They
bought the house in 2001 and decided to
extend the property, which with Wallie’s
background was easy enough except
for Linda who had to quickly learn the
knick-knacks of construction. They have a
daughter called Tess who has a daughter of
her own, for whom Linda and Wallie have
added a bedroom.“She’s our fi rst grandchild,” Linda says.
“So we have a beautiful nursery for her for
when she comes to visit with Tess and her
husband, Tom.”
The house holds sentimental value as
it is believed to have been built by Linda’s
great grandfather in the 1920s, under the
Labor Government’s Thousand Homes
Scheme. The program was a mass-
housing project that allowed hundreds
of families to move into more spaciousThese pages: The couple has spent years sourcing vintage finds from little markets and antique shops in
small country towns, and if they can’t find what they’re looking for, Wallie builds it himself. ›