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Great ideas you’ll love
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KITCHEN INSPIRATIONS
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MODERN
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YEARBOOK WEEKEND REVAMP
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easy ways to give your kitchen a fresh new look
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romance Recipes for
& wine to make you blush
COOKING OUTDOORS
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Vol 3 No 10
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GREAT DINING LOOKS FOR EVERY STYLE
In the lounge room the furnishings sit low, and are simple and streamlined, yet homey and comfortable. Katie’s gorgeous retro pottery and glassware bring the space to life.
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MH | A VISIT WITH MARK AND KATIE
STYLE REVIVAL Inspired by the retro style of Australian holiday home living, this renovated weekender mixes classic design with contemporary style to create a unique experience. PRODUCED AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY TIM NEVE
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COLOUR CODE
The kitchen was given a new lease of life with clean white cabinetry and functional open shelving displaying a range of colourful, eclectic wares.
The distinctive look of the home’s exterior was achieved by painting it Smoked Trout, while inside a cool white colour unifies the rooms. Dulux Lexicon would give a similar result.
Dulux Lexicon
Wallpaper: ‘Drake’ in green mist on white from Publisher Textiles.
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W
hile deep in planning mode for her upcoming wedding, Katie Heath encountered a recurring dilemma. As her husband Mark is English, his relatives and friends planned to travel from overseas for the nuptials, but there was little in the way of accommodation for them – especially places that were in a great location and captured the essence of her hometown of Newcastle, New South Wales. She had unintentionally identified a gap in the market, and that’s when Cooks Hill Cottage was born. It was an easy find, as Katie lives on the same street as the cottage in the popular beachside suburb of Cooks Hill. The area offered a serenity that fit her vision of creating a private haven that she could feel proud for guests to stay in. From her own personal travel experience and stays in boutique-style accommodation overseas, Katie knew she wanted to produce something unique and stylish. “We were looking to construct an accommodation ‘experience’, not just a place to stay,” she explains. In doing so, she’s not only revived the home but also reintroduced holiday living from a bygone era.
FLEXIBLE LIVING The property has come a long way since Katie acquired it. “Originally, it was a mishmash of dated elements that didn’t match,” she remarks. “It had a ‘boxy’ layout, a red-brick backyard, unflattering aluminium windows on the facade and dirty carpet throughout.” Instead of going for a ‘knockdown-andrebuild’ process, which is becoming increasingly common in the area, Katie opted for a renovation. With the help of EJE Architects, who redesigned the house, she was able to get an extensive but costeffective renovation that took just over six months to complete. The result is a flexible, light, open-plan home linked to a vibrant outdoor living space. Now the overhauled exterior is quintessentially ‘Cooks Hill’ in style but with a modern edge – a bold green front door melds with heritage tiles, new wooden windows and a stylish stone-step landing. Trees ‘built into’ the footpath bring character to the home and hold the promise of more as they continue to flourish. Fresh paintwork in Smoked Trout lifts the
SAFE, BLAND INTERIORS WERE AVOIDED – INSTEAD SHE OPTED FOR DISTINCTIVE, MEMORABLE FEATURES.
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building into the urban streetscape, with oversize industrial zinc house numbers completing the look. Inside, period features such as ornate ceiling motifs hark back to the building’s original era, but appear far from fussy painted in shades of cool white. In fact, the neutral wall scheme ties each room together and enhances the spacious feel throughout the modest two-bedroom property. The raked roof over the large deck was inspired by a 1950s holiday home, and its design allows the ever-present coastal breeze to flow across the roof of the house and keep it cool. The kitchen was given a new lease of life with clean white cabinetry that’s offset with chrome accents. Clever architectural touches, such as open shelving in the kitchen and bathroom, reflect the ease of living Katie was aiming for. An innovative touch is the large bi-fold kitchen window,
which opens onto the adjoining exterior breakfast bar, completing the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor living. Quality white plantation shutters on the bedroom windows let light in, while ensuring maximum privacy from the close street frontage. The remodelled bathroom has had a complete makeover and shines with stunning metallic Italian tiles from Bisazza.
MODERN RETRO When it came to furnishing, Katie hit her stride. She playfully mixes second-hand finds with design classics. Safe, bland interiors were avoided – instead she opted for distinctive, memorable features. Her choices also reflect the hip, edgy feel of the neighbouring Darby Street arts and shopping precinct. The result is a funky design haven that is both young and vibrant, with the light
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A large bi-fold kitchen window opens onto the adjoining exterior breakfast bar, blending the indoor and outdoor living spaces.
woods of the Scandinavian-designed classics bringing an easy, tranquil tone. Katie says her aim was to create “a stylish and eclectic personality” for the house. In the lounge room the furnishings sit low and have a streamlined simplicity, yet they retain a homely and comfortable feel. A Jardan three-seater lounge covered in Dutch wool fabric joins with a funky Koskela coffee table, and Bond swivel easy chairs are set beside a vintage Parker buffet. However, it’s Katie’s selection of gorgeous retro pottery and glassware that brings the space to life with luminous colours. The kitchen features an industrial-style chrome table over which hangs a Jorn Utzon Lightyears Concert Pendant Lamp. The chairs echo the warmth of the renewed floorboards to ensure the white space feels far from cold. The twin master bedrooms are a funky oasis in their own right. Interior designer Karen Akers helped Katie choose a wallpaper for the feature in each – screenprinted by hand in Leichhardt, New South Wales, by Publisher Textiles. The Art Decoinspired, metallic beauty of Drake in green mist on white is a contrast to the geometric Bugsey in white on bold yellow in the facing bedroom. Each room is styled to maximise these choices, the bedsides completed with mod tulip tables and Parker cabinets, lit with white AJ table lamps. The office area is filled with light – from a newly cut skylight above – and adjoins the lounge room through sliding glass doors, giving the option of creating greater flow when open, or closing the room off for privacy.
ECO-CHIC Katie wanted to ensure she could make use of eco-friendly innovation wherever possible. It was the main reason she first considered giving vintage furniture a new lease of life – and why new furnishings were selected from
BEHIND THE SCENES
With so many unique design features throughout the property, it was hard for Katie to pick her favourite! Even though the renovation was completed within the confines of a budget, the finishes were of the highest quality.
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The raked roof over the large deck was inspired by a 1950s holiday home, and was designed to allow the ever-present coastal breeze to ow through.
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TOP TIP Katie fell in love with the wallpaper she chose, but never imagined installation would be so difficult. Local tradespeople currently have a six-week waiting list to hang wallpaper, no doubt a sign there is indeed a boom in interior prints. In the end, Katie had to hire workers from outside the region, so she recommends booking help as soon as possible to avoid delay!
suppliers with environmentally friendly production methods. In the same spirit, a Bosch washing machine and a dishwasher were chosen for their environmental grading and their 15minute eco cycles. Guests can also use locally bought eco toiletries straight from an in-shower dispenser, which reduces packaging waste. However, the most innovative feature of the renovation is the addition of a raked canopy over the deck. Raised above the level of the home’s roof, it allows sea breezes to flow through a designed airway, eliminating the need for artificial cooling systems in summer.
LEFT: Bold yellow adds graphic appeal in wallpaper and soft furnishings, along with plantation shutters in cool white. ABOVE: The remodelled bathroom glimmers with stunning Italian tiles from Bisazza. OPPOSITE PAGE: The Art Deco-inspired metallic beauty of Drake wallpaper in green mist on white creates a funky adult oasis.
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