PRINTS CHARMING

Updating a home that has been in the family for generations is no easy task, but here some bold design decisions ensure old and new blend in blissful harmony.

- Judy Pascoe

This wonderfully romantic rural property in Victoria’s Western District has been in the same family for three generations. No wonder, then, that the current owner was so keen to respectfully restore its beauty and update it for contemporary living. The house consisted of just a few rooms on an expansive landholding when it was bought by the owner’s grandparents in 1932. After the purchase they engaged an architect to extend the house to its current, much grander scale. Notable for its steep roofline and decorative brickwork surrounding the doors and windows it is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts style.

Having spent considerable time at the house as a child visiting her grandparents the owner felt a deep connection to the property and wished to give it the elegant makeover it deserved. Recommended by a mutual friend, she engaged interior designer Lucinda Kimpton of Kimpton Interiors to mastermind the update. “The owner wanted to give each room a purpose,” says Lucinda. “The home needs to accommodate a plethora of guests and future generations were taken into consideration with every design decision.”

The house has a classic layout with the accommodation wing – four bedrooms and three bathrooms – opening off the central hallway to the right. To the left are the formal sitting and dining rooms connected by a sunroom. At the back are the kitchen, butler’s pantry and two casual living and dining rooms as well as a secondary kitchenette. The library and mudroom, with its external entrance and a corridor leading to another bedroom and bathroom, as well as an office and laundry round out the vast floor plan.