Colourful CHARACTER

A TOOWOOMBA FARMHOUSE GETS AN INFUSION OF COLOUR AND DESIGN TO CREATE A FRESH, UPLIFTING INTERIOR

- CLAIRE MACTAGGART

MOVING STORY

The le Roux family on the front steps of their charming country home near Toowoomba in south-east Queensland. Ten-year-old Charlie stands behind parents Sally and Pieter, with Jake, 12, who holds Michael the dachshund, and Angus, nine. The background is Le Manach 'Palmyre' fabric by Pierre Frey (try Milgate), which is used for the dining room curtains. Their century-plus house (below) is named Pindari (an Aboriginal word for high ground) and was shifted from near Queens Park in Toowoomba to the farm about four decades ago. Pieter and Sally bought Pindari in 2020. "We wanted a classic, yet fresh and colourful home that would stand the test of time and complement the country setting," says Sally. "We love our little oasis in the country with a point of difference." To recreate a heritage country exterior, try James Hardie's Linea Weatherboard, which can be painted any colour you like.

Sally le Roux has fond memories of visiting the Pindari farmhouse as a teenager, as it was the home of a childhood friend. Set on 26 hectares around 35 minutes' drive west of Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs, the homestead was surrounded by gardens filled with jasmine, salvias, camellias, towering tibouchina and jacarandas. "The house was always stylishly decorated, beautifully maintained and always felt welcoming," recalls Sally. "It was such a lovely place to visit; a bush sanctuary."

Many years later, Sally and her husband Pieter had returned to Toowoomba from time spent in Brisbane and Perth, and were living with their children, Jake, now 12, Charlie, 10, and Angus, nine. Pieter, a doctor raised on a sheep property in South Africa, and Sally, who is practice manager of their medical clinic, hoped to one day live out of town with some land, an old farmhouse and livestock. That chance came in late 2020.