Photography: Armelle Habib
There are always visitors to this Mornington Peninsula home. Family and friends, of course, as well as a steady flow of rather persistent neighbours. “The property is bordered by pasture land, so we regularly have all these beautiful shaggy cows turning up at our fence line,” says the homeowner, adding with a laugh, “You never feel lonely because they’re always popping by! One of the wonderful things we’re so grateful for is that, while we’re only on a one-acre holding, we’re surrounded by 100-acre-plus properties, which cannot be broken up. So we get to enjoy all the borrowed views without having to manage them.”
Who lives here?
A couple with two adult children who no longer live with them.
What inspired the style of your home? We’ve been very influenced by modern country American barn-style homes, but also by traditional English design. I love wallpaper and the bedrooms in particular are quite English in style.
Do you have a favourite space? It’s a toss-up between the powder room and the beautiful big deck.
Which pieces do you cherish most? Probably the Greg Stirling dining table, which we’ve had for about 25 years
The vista wasn’t the only drawcard. “My husband grew up holidaying on this part of the Mornington Peninsula,” says the owner. “The property used to be belong to his parents when there was a simple little cottage here. We purchased it from them 15 years ago, so it’s an extremely sentimental place to us and we both feel very connected to it.”
Parents to two adult children, the couple were living in Singapore in 2021 when they made the decision to return to Australia and their special corner of the world. “We initially thought about renovating the old cottage, but it just didn’t make structural or financial sense,” shares the owner. “Ultimately, it made much more sense to demolish and rebuild.” With Rod Hannah Design drafting the architectural plans, the couple enlisted the expertise of Montique Construction for the 12-month build.
“We made the very happy decision to go with Joel Dempsey and Aaron Grover and their team at Montique,” says the homeowner. “The best thing about the house is the experience we had building it. It meant that we moved into the house with such a positive energy and light spirit, which I know is not everyone’s experience.”
When it came to decorating – everything from the organic material base to the panelled joinery, the soft furnishings and flourishes of green – the owner discovered she was in her element. “I don’t have any formal training in interiors, but I think if you have a real passion for something and spend a lot of time researching, it hones your ability to make decisions,” she says.
“There are thousands of decisions to make when you build a home, but the devil really is in the detail. This is definitely now our forever home.”
Kitchen
The heart of the home offers plenty of room to cook up a storm and the owners haven’t wasted any time doing that. “For our first Christmas in the house just a few days after we moved in, we had the most incredible deluge of rain and the valley was covered in mist – we could have been in Scotland!” the owner says. “But it was wonderful to have everyone here.”
Living
It’s difficult not to be captivated by the view, but there’s also much to please the eye within.
“My husband chose the black steel plates on the ceiling beams, and he very proudly points that out to people when they walk in the house,” says the owner. “They do say you need some black to ground a house.”
“We wanted to create a very layered home, not only from a soft furnishing point of view but also with some unique architectural details.”
Homeowner
Bedrooms
In the couple’s retreat, blue and white shine. A custom bedhead covered in Manuel Canovas ‘Bagatelle’ fabric marries with a Golran ‘Grand Palais’ rug, a vintage handmade Ikat throw and Designers Guild cushions.
Bathrooms
We love…French pattern
In the guest bathroom, Pietra Di Ostuni Avorio floor tiles from National Tiles are laid in an always-elegant French pattern. This pattern, also known as Versailles pattern or Roman pattern, is so named due to its similarity to the pattern of tiles found on the flooring of European palaces and is a point of interest in the bathroom. For details, visit nationaltiles.com.au.
“In every room we have different lighting, some of which are vintage pieces.”
Homeowner
Laundry
Completely enveloped in cocooning colour, there’s nothing simply utilitarian about the moody laundry. The walls are in a custom Dulux paint to match joinery in Polytec ‘Topiary’, with Volakas Arabescato marble from Surface Spectrum topping the bench.
Building design Rod Hannah Design, rodhannahandassociates.com.au
Builder Montique Construction, montiqueconstruction.com
Joinery design Ryan Gregory, 3dhd.com.au
Joinery DMA Kitchens, @dma_kitchens
Source Book
Landscape design Ashley James Gardens, ashleyjamesgardens.com
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