Interiors

The Modern Australian Country Home

What do you do when you outgrow a home that you love? In the current market, it can often make more sense to stay put and renovate, than sell and relocate.

After seven years in this Yarra Valley residence, the clients engaged Chelsea Hing to re-design the home’s layout and refresh interior details, to better accommodate their growing family. We chat with Chelsea about creating this thoroughly modern Australian country home.

Written
by
Miriam McGarry

The Yarra Valley Home by Chelsea Hing. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

The textures and colours echo the surrounding tones on the landscape. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

After living in the property for seven years, the family decided to re-zone the home and upgrade with new furnishings. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

The warm terracotta tones of the kitchen. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

Photo – Sean Fennessy 

A cosy beanbag corner under a textured wall. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

Small details, such as the leather cupboard handles, bring this home to life. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

The painting and chair colour work gently together. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

Eucalyptus tones in the bedroom. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

A bold concrete bath. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

The tones of the painting are reflecting the bedding. Photo – Sean Fennessy 

Writer
Miriam McGarry
29th of July 2019

This Yarra Valley house is in a secluded area, with idyllic views overlooking a vineyard and the mountains beyond. The owners had been in the home for seven years, but in that space of time ‘were already suffering the growing pains of not having enough space for their family’ interior designer Chelsea Hing explains.

Chelsea was presented with a brief to create a private master bedroom, more room for three growing boys to play, and update the furnishings throughout the home. The original footprint was retained, but internal reconfiguring moved the master bedroom upstairs, to make best use of the stunning views down the valley.

The surrounding landscape provided a rich source of inspiration for interiors. Chelsea describes that on her first visit to the house, she was struck by the ‘Ghost greys of the eucalypts, the washed-out greens of the grapevines, the terracotta blush of the soil and the blackened bark of the trees.’ The interiors were built around these colours, where rich terracotta, saddle tan leathers, polished plaster, slate, cedar and sandblasted timber echoes the colours of the landscape through the windows.

While the home maintains many traditional Australian country home elements, Chelsea has also introduced contemporary touches. Graphic elements, such as the Patricia Urquiola tiles are used to wrap the kitchen walls and island bench, and terracotta bricks are introduced in the rumpus room.

Chelsea describes this interiors project as a ‘complete overhaul of an Aussie beauty’, where a traditional country home is given a new lease on life, connecting old and new though a refreshed materials palette, and an overarching connection to the landscape.

This remarkable project from Chelsea Hing is a finalist in the Interior Design category of TDF Design Awardsclick here to see the full list of dream interiors in this shortlist  !

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