Photography: Julie Leffell/ Styling: Anthony Amiano
On quiet mornings wandering the sprawling grounds of this family home, what draws the eye most isn’t the age of the buildings or the scale of the land – it’s the sheep grazing just beyond the fence line. Tucked beside a working sheep farm, this picturesque property soon showed its new owners what a slower, more peaceful life could offer. What was once meant to be a country escape soon lured the family into living here full time.
Captivating new interiors helped clinch the decision, too. Designed by Ariel Okin, principal and founder of Ariel Okin Interiors, the renovation was undertaken for a couple in their mid-30s with two young children. Four habitable buildings spread across 27 hectares, with original architecture dating back to 1850.
Rather than erasing that history, Ariel took a careful, light-handed approach. “We did a light gut of the structures – new tiles in the bathrooms and kitchens, for example – but really wanted to retain as much of the original structures as possible, including the original exposed wood beams and floors,” she says.
“My client loves delftware and blue and white anything, so the tiles in the kitchen were a no-brainer” Ariel Okin, Interior Designer
The project was a personal one, given her close friendship with the owners. “This home belongs to a dear friend of mine, so it was a really beautiful process helping her figure out how they wanted to utilise this home, which was intended as an escape from their life in the city,” Ariel explains. “It ended up inspiring them to move out to the country full time a few years after they bought the home, which makes me so happy.”
Respecting the home’s past was central to the brief. “My client really wanted to be true to the home’s heritage and history and wanted to lean into country motifs like Delft tiles, Americana quilts, and antique and vintage Shaker-style furniture,” says Ariel.
The aim wasn’t to create a perfect country house, but one that felt lived-in and welcoming, and suited to the messy, beautiful hubbub of daily life. “They wanted the home to feel cosy, collected, layered over time and most of all, to feel inviting for their friends and family.”
Colour and pattern appear confidently throughout the interiors, guided by the owner’s existing collections. “My client collects what she loves, so we took inspiration from her pieces to build the palette in the spaces.”
In the living room, a deep green fireplace in Farrow & Ball Bancha anchors the space – a shade the client kept returning to in her inspiration images. “It really is such a warm and inviting Farrow & Ball colour, we both gravitated to it instantly.”
The kitchen continues the country thread with Delft tiles behind the cooktop, and blue and white spongeware displayed. “My client loves Delftware and blue and white anything, so they were a no-brainer incorporation into the light gut of the kitchen,” Ariel says.
Children’s rooms balance playfulness with longevity, designed to grow with their young occupants. One of the most unexpected features of the home was already in place when the family arrived: a loft library left behind by the previous owner, an English teacher who filled it with books. Keen readers themselves, the owners have continued to build on the collection. “The library is truly awe-inspiring in person,” says Ariel. “It’s my favourite element of the home.”
WE LOVE…clawfoot baths
A clawfoot bath helps to cement the look in this bathroom. “We wanted to lean into the classic American Shaker-style aesthetic with our selections for the bathrooms, from a classic porcelain clawfoot tub to timeless black and white tiles,” explains Ariel. Clawfoot baths are widely available at bathroom supplier shops, such as Reece, reece.com.au.
The guest cottage
The guest cottage is light and calming, with a white base that differentiates the space from the main house.
“We worked with the architecture we were given, and in some of the rooms like the guest cottage, where we painted everything with white walls and white floors, it was the easiest way to freshen up an 1850s structure without having to do too much work, leaving a clean and crisp yet still patinated backdrop for the layers of antique and vintage furniture and textiles that we filled it with to really sing,” Ariel explains. For similar lamp bases, try Temple & Webster.
“My client has a fabulous sense of style and we wanted to reflect her tastes,” Ariel Okin, Interior Designer
Source book
Interior design Ariel Okin Interiors, arielokin.com
Builder The Palombo Group, thepalombogroup.com
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