Lisa ran a craft shop for five years and, as a result, became a huge fan of traditional country style. “That’s where my liking for it came from,” she explains, “and my home had it all.
Dark timber, dark burgundy walls and the diff erent greens, rag dolls, baskets and patchwork – even dado rails and wallpaper borders through the whole place.”
She and her husband, Brad, built their four-bedroom house 12 years ago in an outer suburb of Sydney, and Lisa decorated it and filled it with her country treasures. Somehow, however, the effect didn’t seem to ‘do it’ for her as it had previously. Something was wrong, but she wasn’t sure what, so she simply got on with life with Brad and their two sons – Benjamin, now 13, and Joshua, eight – in their lovely new home.
FULL-ON COUNTRY
Lisa’s shop stocked not only the materials to make craft pieces but the finished items as well, and she enjoyed arranging them to look appealing in the store. Naturally enough, many of them ended up in her own abode and she found she had quite a fl air for creating a stylish decor – which is exactly how the place became the very essence of a
traditional country home.
“A friend of mine had a shop in the next arcade” Lisa relates, “and her decorating theme was French provincial, but I wasn’t really into that at the time. I do remember that after walking into her shop and her home, the eff ect was softer and prettier than mine. So guess she inspired me to go that way.”
After two years of wondering why her interior decor wasn’t working for her, Lisa took drastic action. Out went the burgundy tiles and walls, all the dark green things and dado rails, and instead, the place was bathed in a soothing light mocha colour. All the woodwork became American Antique White and the only dark timber was on the kitchen benchtop and the dining table.
“Yes,” she admits. “I painted all that dark wood white – the furniture as well.” Now, that was very brave. People do it these days, it’s true, but there seems to be something almost sacrilegious about taking a paintbrush to varnished mahogany or oak – even though now, few would give it house-room in its original state.
A FRESH START
Lisa’s new passion is French-provincial style and now she says her home is light and airy – and very relaxing. “I did the painting myself,” she exclaims proudly, “and Ben helped me with it.” Amazingly, the makeover also involved changing all the burgundy tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen to the light mocha shade to match the new walls.
“It wasn’t that hard,” says Lisa brightly, “but they were a yellowy colour before, so it had to be done. The fl oor in the main living area is tiled too, and I kept those and we put real timber floating floors in the front lounge room and our bedroom.” Not surprisingly perhaps, there are still touches of burgundy about, but simply as a feature colour on tiles in the kitchen and bathroom.
The casual dining setting came from Everyday Living and Lisa says it was one of the fi rst things she bought for the new interior style – because it was white. “It inspired me to paint a lot of things I had already the same way,” she explains, “like the buffet and hutch.” She did this by matching the light colour on it and painting the timber on the buff et, leaving the top dark to match the table.
“I’ve painted practically everything I have in the house, except for that dining table,” she laughs, adding, “it took me 18 hours to paint the French doors.” Clearly, the whole process has been an inspirational one, not to mention thoroughly enjoyable.
A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME
Thanks to the change in decor, Lisa is now very much into pretty ornaments rather than rustic country ones. “It’s all lanterns, clocks and chandeliers these days,” she admits, “and those little ceramic balls are some of my favourites too.” These are apparently readily available at Spotlight, and also in Pots Avenue, a homewares shop in Penrith – and she found the chandeliers at Beacon Lighting.
“When I see something I like, I just buy it,” she states. “I don’t worry about where I’m going to put it. I just bring it home and move things around to fit it in. I guess I tend to buy it first and think about it later,” she quips. But it’s a system that obviously
works extremely well for her.
“I think my home reflects me and what I like,” Lisa declares, “and I try to tell a visual story about myself with things I love. I take pride in myself,” she continues, “therefore I take pride in our home. So when people come in and say ‘oh, it’s just beautiful’, I know they appreciate what I’ve created, and that makes me appreciate it even more too.”
Lisa’s radical change of style in her home was no mean feat. As she says: “a lot of hard work’s gone into this house – both inside and out.” And most of it was hers. But it also shows what’s possible if you’re lucky enough to find the inspiration.