From the moment guests walk through the door, they are greeted with a sensory immersion into a world apart - the clean country air, the thoughtfully designed changing rooms, and, of course, the coffee machine ready to soothe any early morning grogginess.
Read MoreJobbo was struck by the creative power of barbering, “with building I was always adding, but with cutting hair I was always subtracting. It’s very sculptural.”
Read MoreHello Autumn, you gorgeous thing! With the turn of the leaves pending, we enter the most beautiful time of year.
Read More“Staying at Crofters Fold is an immersion. Besides the stunning ancient granite landscape Crofters Fold is set upon, the property seems to have a magical hum about it.
Read More“You want to give them something that you love or that you think they will love and you want to bring them happiness and I think that's really beautiful.”
Read More“I would describe my style as boho-country or modern-country with a hint of coastal. I love India a lot, I love their homeware so I’ve even got splashes of that style in my work. But we work with anyone on whatever style they like from industrial to provincial.”
Read MoreThese days, the Garden Tap Nursery is encouraging the local habitat as much as the symbolic romance of flowers. “It’s brilliant to see people interested in growing their own food, they’re asking for more fruit trees like citrus trees,” explains Mary.
Read MoreIn the heart of Daylesford, the historic building houses a special story for anyone with roots to the community of Vincent street. Whether it’s Koukla cafe on the corner, the old Frangos & Frangos restaurant turned artful cocktail bar or the boutique hotel upstairs, there’s no denying Hotel Frangos is a Daylesford institution.
Read More“There’s nothing like getting that tingle. I love being in those sorts of spaces. There’s just something about proportion, scale and light that affects your soul.”
Read MoreNestled among the lush fauna of the Macedon Ranges, Camp David Farm offers a bucolic escape, disguised as a slice of the country, on a picturesque garden estate.
Read MoreIn Les Miserables, Victor Hugo writes “A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” The lyrical power of Paul Bangay’s gardens allow the wanderer to lose themselves in dreams sculpted from the divine.
Paul Bangay is working from a private studio in his country residence Stonefields, “My mother was a great gardener. She was very involved in design back then, very much a native focus. She used to work with Ellis Stone, the famous landscape designer. It was a garden that evolved all the time, that’s what I loved about it,” explains Paul, nostalgically. “I grew up in the outer Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, we had ten acres so I had my own collection of ferns and a big vegie garden.”
Read MoreAt the end of a beaten track, a white timber building shines among fairytale gum trees. The Little Church on Spring Hill maintains a charming aura that stands the test of time.
“It was originally St Marks, Church of England, it was built in 1890 and served the locals as both a place of worship and Sunday school up until 1959 when it was deconsecrated,” explains Nicky Thomas, co-owner. “I’ve heard the Sunday school teacher used to ride their bikes from Kyneton to take their classes. That probably doesn’t seem that extreme now, but the old bikes wouldn’t have had gears and Spring Hill is atop a rather large hill.”
Read MoreThe Italian designer Massimo Vignelli once said, “Good design is a language, not a style.” Bowen & Kenneth’s interiors don’t just conjure an artful voice, the homes they furnish become flirtatious conversations that highlight the luxury of living.
Amongst Egyptian chandeliers, French provincial porters chairs and a hand-carved Indian Mandala; a myriad of ornate furnishings illuminate the imagination of designers Johanathan Kenneth McMahon and Samuel Bowen Pridmore, co-founders of the Bowen & Kenneth boutique in Daylesford.
Read MoreHow does it feel to live as though you are at one with nature? The answer might be nestled high on Wombat Hill in Daylesford; Hardwood House. The country home represents a sanguine escape that captures the mood of the respective culture through design that is drenched in history.
Read MoreIn Andrew and Trevor’s property “Maggies at Trentham,” what reads like history on the outside blossoms with imagination within. The regal Victorian home neighbours St Mary Magdalen Catholic Parish Church and was dedicated to the local priest by the archbishop of Melbourne in 1906. Three years ago, the property was metamorphosed by interior designers Andrew Danckert and Trevor Salmon - the result has blossomed into a carnival of wonder.
Built in the late 19th century, Maggies was originally commissioned over one hundred years ago for the local parish Priest, who serviced not only Trentham, but also Kyneton and the surrounds. These days, the interior offers accommodation for up to eight guests in four bedrooms that dissolve the stately posture of faith with a quirky aesthetic that foregrounds fun.
Read MoreOver a glass of chenin blanc, local architect Robin Larsen lyrically draws me in. “Architecture, well they say it’s frozen music,” suggests Robin, shy and eloquent.
His partner JoAnne Stephenson laughs with the charm of Diane Keaton from early Woody Allen films. As a board member for the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, she was winding down from their recent tour of Daylesford. “This is the seventh or eighth year they’ve toured Daylesford,” she tells me, before spilling secrets about their plans in Daylesford next year.
Read MoreLegacy is a labour of love. For Cathy and Michael Wagner, Musk Farm is more than a country escape—their spontaneous purchase was a life a affirming bloom. As you drive into the motor court of their home, you’re greeted by a stone boy playing the trumpet. Water pours from the instrument’s mouth into the pond below, and the sound feels like the crescendo to the garden’s movement.
Read MoreWhere we choose to live can sow the seeds for what it means to be a family. For Jeremy and Jeannie Quinn, building a home in Glenlyon set the foundations for life’s blind-sighted moments—the stuff memories are made from.
We meet at Jeremy and Jeannie’s latest property in Richmond, an architectural splendour of the late Victorian boom style, that was once owned by Eureka Stockade rebel turned politician Peter Lalor. “We’ve always lived in Richmond, so we’ve never really had a backyard,” explains Jeannie, “We had a bit to do with boomerang ranch because the girls love horse riding.”
Read MoreNick Andrew is a Beaumaris boy. He has that air of a kid who grew up by the sea. He has limbs slightly worn from battling against the windsurfer and a big upfront voice from talking against the wind. But Nick was an observant kid and took in all those canter levered block houses in the sand dunes as he rode around on his BMX. Those preposterous Australian modernist creations with floor to ceiling windows, flat rooves and mixed mediums where brick, steel, wood and aluminium collided to create a new form of Australian architecture. He saw it all.
Read MoreLynda Gardener has an infectious enthusiasm. Her eyes light up as she describes a house she is styling or the new small hotel she is working on. The interior stylist, with her broad smile and signature mane of untamed hair, is an unmissable part of the local business community.
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