18 australiancountry.net.auAT HOME IN THE COUNTRY
bushland and dam was the first thing I loved about the
place, as well as the French doors off every room at the front”
Her excitement was only slightly tempered by the fact
that the house was in dire need of some serious work.
“There were only three bedrooms downstairs and we
knew we would need to put in a fourth,” Jules says. “I was
told there were two bedrooms upstairs, but I use the word
loosely as there weren’t actually any stairs. There were
massive holes in the ceiling for a set of spiral stairs that
were never put in and a look-down from the top floor. We
could see through to the tin roofing. The floor and framing
for the walls upstairs were in place, but never built in.”
The home had been a special project that was never
quite fi nished — designed by an architect for his daughter.
“We found out our neighbours on one side used to be the
original owners and her father was the architect,” Jules
says. “At 94, he is currently the oldest registered architect in
Australia and lives around the corner from us — this was
all his old farmland and our house was the first one built
when it was subdivided into acreage.”
Fortuitously, the original owners had bought an old army
barracks cottage to store hay. With a huge renovationClockwise
from above:
Jules favoured a
neutral palette with
rustic touches; much
of the furniture is
upcycled; 13-year-old
Hollin is in charge of
baking and turns
out a mean scone.