15 August 2011

does a house need a style or a theme or a mood or an era??

Greetings all,
As i have the exciting task of planning a homestead for my family . . . what i do know after 15 years of marriage & living in Army housing - is what i don't want!!  Seeing we've lived all over Australia & gathered 4 children along the way + left the concept of building a house for ourselves for so long . . . we're now planning/ building a homestead for where we will be in a few years time . . . regional Canberra with almost 4 teenagers, a retired soldier & my sewing will become a hobby again!!
Oh we've had some weird aspects to our Army houses - a cyclone shelter in the bathroom, orange/ brown shower screens & the first 4 houses all had the same lino??  Add to that some bizarre colour combinations - like butter yellow walls with red carpet & sky blue doors with grey walls.  In true rental property style, they all have vertical blinds, crappy gardens & zero storage.  
We want to build on 100 acres/ 40 ha - not to farm it, but for the space & privacy, with animals, a barn, swimming pool & running track.  We need 5 bedrooms, an open study, an adult-sized bath in our ensuite & serious walk in pantry. 
We don't necessarily have a style, theme, mood or an era in mind . . . does it matter??  I think it would work in an established home or neighbourhood but we're building from scratch in the middle of a paddock, so plan a classic style, a modest theme, a welcoming mood & uncomplicated era. 
I like plain & neutral, allowing art & furniture to do the talking, or as the television experts would say "the hero of the room" by way of colour/ interest/ feature.  I think if you're planning an Early Settler unadorned style homestead for a large family, swanky period features can look a bit . . . wanky.      
 Last night i was kicking myself that my husband was on a plane & not watching Grand Designs with me, as i think they featuered my favourite house EVER!!  The simple elegance of it all, attention to detail = clean lines & a sheer joy of a home!!
 It wasn't a challenging castle restoration, or a whacky cliff side renovation; it was a mix of new millenium eco cleverness, Scandinavian lightness & mid century perfection.  The interior designer/ owner Kathryn Tyler has an amazing eye for classic styling - putting years of thrifted finds into storage while she dreamed up the most fabulous home for them. 
 Many fixtures were from hardware stores or DIY, then built over by the carpenter, making them look a million dollars & custom made.  Kathryn designed the most incredible shelves in line with the stairs & clever storage/ seating/ table concepts!!  You could see the television show host & architect Kevin McCloud was extremely impressed (Series 7, Episode 29).
 My inspiration is blue, grey & white throughout with art on the walls & fabric on the soft furnishings providing the colour.  Soaking up building tips from friends who are in the midst of creating their homes . . . grab supplies from hardware stores or on line, if you're flexible & can stomach the fact an internal door is merely a-rectangle-piece-of-wood & you need 20 of them, then $40 doors will do instead of purchasing 20 x $200 doors.  Ditto for taps.  I'm not after the latest award winning Italian tap - so long as water comes out of it, i'll be happy.  Ok i'm not that easy, i want recessed sinks & taps fixed to the walls not the benches (kitchen, bathroom, laundry) as i loathe water pooling around tap bases or sink edge.  I married the son of a plumber who embraces my passion for simple plumbing design. 
So while my husband is busy soldiering & i plan the next Lego giveaway on this blog . . . i am flicking through homey magazines sourcing ideas & starting debates . . . like curtains versus shutters.  I can absolutely see us living in the house in my mind, i could quite easily fill our garage with ornaments & reconditioned furniture as pieces of the future homestead puzzle.
Do you have a style, theme, mood or an era for your home/ dreams??  Love Posie

28 comments:

Maxabella said...

It must be wonderful to dream and plan your future home like this, Jen. x

Unknown said...

I have a theme - it's the 'whatever the hell takes my fancy theme'.
Which currently involves a 'lurid' red and white shiny kitchen teamed with antique table, chairs, kitchen dresser. With a very modern red couch, massive tv in a 1960's house.

Your style is what you make it. It should be a reflection of you. Not of an era or a mold. Her boyfriend said it perfectly last night "it's like living in her head". That's what my house is like. It's very red in there! Must be a lot of brain matter!

posie blogs Jennie McClelland said...

Oh yes, exactly what Bree said - her ever supportive boyfriend said it was like living in Kathryn's head, which was a beautiful place to be. Isn't that gorgeous??!! My husband just trusts me to create a functional home with harmony, i'm so excited & totally up for the task. Love Posie

Tracy said...

What a wonderful opportunity! Enjoy having your dream home come true!

Tracy said...

What a wonderful opportunity. Enjoy having your dream home come true.

Kerry said...

It was a really beautiful creation that house...one of my favourites yet. And what fun to be able to create your very own as well Jennie

B is building a house said...

I cannot wait to follow your progress and what you decide :)

We decided to go with a modernised traditional home if that even exists :)

B

All For Love said...

I love the idea of blue, grey and white, so crisp and cool. It would be a complete dream to redesign our place. It needs it, I want it, but we have to wait. It's functional right now, just not pretty enough, or stylish enough. But it does have a homely feel.
You will have so much fun picking and choosing all the beautiful touches for your new home. So exciting Posie :o) xo

polkadotpeticoat said...

I agree it sounds perfect!!!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

I would love to have Falling Water (Frank Lloyd Wright) and all the mid-century accessories too! For now, I've settled for the LEGO version!

trash said...

We have been in 'search & discussion' mode for the last few months regarding the kitchen extension (laundry/loo)and while looking around another showroom I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to spend £200 on a loo when there is a perfectly good one for £45 right next to it.

The Provincial Homemaker said...

We loved Sunday's house too. Some weeks they are just too way out there for me - but that one was just beautiful. DH and I even agreed that polished concrete floors might not be so bad in light of what Kathryn achieved in her kitchen space with them.

Leah said...

I don't know if you do need an underlying theme - we've kind of got a country style big pieces of furniture combined with lots of inherited gilt framed paintings, and the quilts of the moment style and it seems to work. But then our house will never ever be featured on tv or in a magazine. Not that I care.

I think you'll have fun planning anyway....

bron @ baby space said...

Posie, this is so exciting! Can your hubby watch the episode on iview?

I love so many moods. Are you on pinterest? Sounds like you could pin up a storm right about now.

Ange Moore said...

If you're not going to be limited by adjoining neighbours then you should just stick with "all my own" as your style.

We built a few years ago and really didn't want to fakely recreate a period home. We built what we wanted and what we liked with a modern yet not over-the-top style.

I also loved the house on Grand Design on Sunday night. Although not ahuge fan of the painted brick - a white rendered wall would have been more our style!!

Unknown said...

the thing that made me laugh at Kevin was how impressed he was by the bookshelf built in under the stairs! Ummm yeah Kev, hadn't you ever thought of that??? silly goose.

TexWisGirl said...

keep building the dream, dearie!

ally said...

I think if you fill it with what and who you love then the style/theme is irrelevant.
That said, if you want French Prov crossed with Aussie country with a splash of trad English - go for it - and enjoy the journey!!

Unknown said...

I am so with you when it comes to taps...when I was planning our house that was right up there on the top of my list of what I absolutely had to have. The water drips back into the sink where it is meant to be instead of puddling around the taps creating a slimy mess...makes ceaning so much easier too!

I always enjoy the designing part, have fun creating your new house! xx

Unknown said...

I'd love to be able to plan our next home from scratch. I love watching shows like Grand Designs too.

I like lots of space, light and tranquility. Blue, grey, white and silver. Somewhere with ocean views would be nice too.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Linda said...

I watched that show and agree it was a beautiful house, so simple and well thought out.

First House on the Right said...

I remember this episode and this home. She was amazing! I love how she decorated her home with so many pre-loved pieces, the finish was quite sophisticated! Nicolex

Tas said...

Oh this is going to be fun watching your dream house unfold.

We live in a 1925 bungalow that is quite plain so we extended in a simple design with minimal adornment. I have eclectic tastes so our colour options tend to be nice and bright combinations in some rooms(we can always go for white or cream when we are old and boring) and the accessories are a bit of everything. I am not too worried about a theme but my pet hate (if renovating) is a modern bit added on to an older home. You walk through a door and
*bam* you are transported from rich wooden floorboards and ornate cornices of the early 1900s to vinyl and mission brown and brick walls of the 70s. Yuck!

circle retreat quilter said...

I totally love this show, and i liked this house too. I really liked that she used vintage-retro finds and i really loved the stairs with all that top storage. No theme just let it evolve, then it will be about you.

The Moerks said...

I saw that episode too and loved the house. It was just so right. I think Kevin really liked it too, he was so positive. When they first started painting the bricks I gasped then when I saw the result, I loved it. Have fun planning your next home.

Anonymous said...

OMG! I am so envious of your planning. The day we settle on our forever location we will be following right alongside. Loving your design inspiration posts!

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