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“I rescued the apricot velvet curtains that one of my friends was throwing out, for the guest suite. Things other people don’t want seem to fit beautifully here. New colors and new furniture look quite wrong.” The staircase looks across to a magnificent stone wall in the hall that had to be completely rebuilt. “We were terribly lucky to find a Scottish stonemason who understood the technique used to build the original walls.” Dominating the living room is a massive table made from a section of an old red gum log found in the cellar. “1 had to wait until I had six strong men on hand in order to get it up here,” says Jenny.
One major restoration feat was lifting into position a huge, heavy beam to support the main bedroom ceiling and to take the load of the attic bedroom above it. The attic bedroom has a beautiful stained glass window featuring kookaburras. “I’d bought this old frame years ago,” says Jenny. “The window was made to fit it.” The cellar has been converted into a superb guest wing, where textures of stone, timber, thick wool carpet and recycled mellow old silks and velvets combine to give a feeling of warmth and welcome. The apricot velvet curtains in the guest living room belonged to a friend of Jenny’s, who was throwing them out. “Things other people don’t want seem to fit in beautifully here,” Jenny says.
