Supplied by Pip Brett
Turning an old country bank into the boutique accommodation now known as Sona Molong wasn’t on Pip Brett’s to-do list until she fell in love with a real estate listing for an old building in the New South Wales’ country town of Molong.
“I was partaking in my fave hobby – drinking wine and looking at realestate.com when we stumbled across the old Commonwealth bank that had been closed for the previous 6 months,” Pip tells Home Beautiful. “It was solidly built with its generous features, but had not been loved for sometime. It was just screaming potential.”
As the founder of lifestyle and homewares brand, Jumbled, Pip had enough artistic vision to see what the place could be and the property’s potential was enough to convince both Pip and her husband, Nick Luelf to view the building in person, where they were quickly won over by its unique character features.
“We were instantly drawn to its Spanish Mission Design with Solomonic columns, plaster half-shells topping the windows, a parapet with square in-fills, and a curved corner entrance. The combination of the Mediterranean accents and art deco features instantly drew us in,” Pip says.
Despite not knowing what they were actually going to do with the property, Pip and Nick had both fallen in love with it enough to make a purchase.
“We just purchased it without knowing what we were going to do with it,” Pip explains. “It almost gave our accountant a heart attack, but it was true love. My husband, who is a builder, said we needed to buy it about 1o mins after we arrived to view it for the first time. It just has the most magical feeling.”
However, after realising that the town, which is located 20 minutes away from Orange in the Central West, didn’t have any luxury accomodation, Pip and Nick knew what they had to do.
“The same way as we fell in love with the bank, we also fell madly in love with Molong and it’s incredible community. Molong is a bustling little town that has so much to offer, but didn’t have a luxury accommodation offering. So, that is what we set out to create,” explains Pip.
“That has been the most rewarding outcome of this whole project—giving the old bank new life and bringing tourism to the glorious community of Molong.”
The Sona renovation
While Pip could see the building’s potential, both her and Nick knew their was a lot of work to be done to turn the 1930s building into something special.
“When we purchased it – it looked like a fully functioning bank inside with the tellers and desks….unfortunately they didn’t leave any money behind for us,” Pip jokes.
While Nick did most of the build himself, to help them achieve their vision, the couple enlisted the help of architecture firm, Studio Esteta in Melbourne.
“I went to high school with one of the directors, Felicity Slattery,” Pip explains. “My husband Nick Luelf is a builder and we all just work so well together, it is a total joy.”
While Pip and Nick were set on creating a sense of luxury in the new version of the building, they didn’t want to lose the features that drew them to the old bank in the first place.
“We wanted to celebrate the original features and history of the bank rather than erase them,” explains Pip.
To do this, the couple made sure to preserve the property’s heritage features, such as the fireplaces, picture windows and ornate ceilings, while giving the Australian heritage colour palette a modern twist.
“We took a modern take on the Australian heritage colour palette – think blues, reds, green and cream. I am a colour lover and I feel like we celebrate colour in this space in a grown up kind of way.”
The renovation notably saw the original part of the bank transformed into a light and airy open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, which Pip describes as her favourite space in the newly renovated building.
“I love the way the light dances through the sheer cafe curtains in this space. It transforms all day long. All of our guests comment on the light and shadow in Sona. There is something magical about it. The old bank vault is now the Butler’s Pantry. You can cook up a storm, entertain, relax by the fireplace and enjoy the art of doing nothing in this space.”
Pip Brett
Other notable features of the renovation include the wave pattern used throughout the accomodation, which is a nod to the bank’s original exterior features.
However, for Pip and Nick, one of the best parts of the entire renovation process was meeting people who had a personal connection to the building.
“We met lost of people who lived and worked at the bank. They all loved visiting the worksite often to see the progress. It felt like we were doing something that everyone was invested in and proud of. Many important memories would have taken place in the building.”
Sona’s completion doesn’t mean the couple have put the tools down yet, with Pip and Nick engaging Studio Estata for their fourth project together.
“These are 5 x 2 bedroom apartments in Orange that are going to be ultra cool! They are going to be called BON BON and will hopefully be completed near the end of the year.”
You can book a stay at Sona or connect with Pip on Instagram.
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