Escape time

WELCOME TO THE ULTIMATE COUNTRY RETREAT, A SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS WEEKENDER WHERE THE ONLY CHALLENGE IS BRINGING ONESELF TO LEAVE

- SHELLEY TUSTIN

Between the demands of work and raising a family, life can be a bottomless to-do list, but with their children grown, Sydneysiders Kate and Gary could finally consider carving out a country retreat in the NSW Southern Highlands.

Minimally landscaped and with dated finishes and a polarising terracotta facade, the charms of their dream home weren’t immediately obvious to all, but Kate was smitten. She says, “I hadn’t even walked inside – we just walked to the front door and I said to Gary, ‘This is it.’ He thought I was joking, because it needed so much work.”

They contacted design and construction company Cadence & Co to do a minimally invasive but transformative makeover on the space. “Originally, the brief was to bring a modern freshness to the interiors, with a more tailored approach to a country aesthetic. It was a light touch in terms of structural modification but as the project developed, more opportunities became apparent and the scope grew,” says Cadence & Co design principal Michael Kilkeary. “Creating an enclosed link between the existing garage and house enabled a secondary, informal entry, which allowed some new thinking in terms of the overall spatial layout. It also provided a more private enclosure in the rear garden.”

This change in the nature of the back garden, from open space to cocooning secret garden, with exquisitely crafted design by landscaper Myles Baldwin, completely altered the home’s relationship to the outdoors. The French-inspired garden makeover inspired a rethink of the main bedroom suite. It was reconfigured to include a large and light dressing room, an adjoining bathroom was pinched to become the new ensuite, and a whole wall of windows added to the bedroom, so Kate and Gary can wake up to a dawn-lit garden.