Country Style Australia — November 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY

DAMIAN BENNETT

STYLING

LIZ KAVANAGH

2016 HOME AND GARDEN

MAGAZINE BRAND OF THE YEAR

There are some stories that stay with you and

bring back good memories. For me, one of them

is the story we did on the Penton family of

Meringandan, Queensland, when I first started at Country Style. I vividly

recall talking Cathy Penton out of painting her kitchen white before the

photographer arrived — her husband Geoff preferred the stripped boards

and was standing his ground. I didn’t want our shoot to cause any problems!

Nearly a decade later, the Pentons still love to renovate and their latest

project is on this month’s cover. They have restored Meringandan’s old

courthouse, next door to their 1880s railway cottage, turning it into a home

for their daughter Kirstie. “Every time I walk in, I take a deep breath and

have an ‘a-ha’ moment,” says the 24-year-old, who has inherited her

mother’s love of decorating. “It was definitely a family effort and we’ve

really worked hard for what it looks like now.”

Another person in this issue who’s passionate about their home and

what they do is Sarah Price. We visited the NSW Southern Highlands to

cover a typical day in Sarah’s life, which involves running a homewares

business that sells the beautiful Dash & Albert rugs and spending hours

at the stables with her daughter Izzy, who is a keen rider. In his story on

page 16, writer Steve Dow included a text message he received from Izzy

a couple of days after interviewing the family. “Mum has an absolute

heart of gold and she pours blood, sweat and tears into her work and

family life,” she wrote. “I admire the way she perseveres through all

situations, even when the odds are against her.”

When I started this letter, I intended to write more about decorating,

but every story I read came back to family, which just goes to prove that the

most important thing about creating a home is the people who live in it.

Until next month,

4  COU NTRY ST Y LE NOVEMBER 2017

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Victoria Carey

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