Photography: Brigid Arnott / Styling: Sharon Misko
When mother-daughter duo Cara and Christel bought an idyllic property in the NSW Southern Highlands 10 years ago, it was the tranquil antidote they sought to Sydney’s busy Eastern Suburbs. They never imagined it would one day become a bustling multi-generational home, filled with the comings and goings of three young children, alongside a thriving paddock-to-plate catering business.
Little Burradoo House sits on 0.8 hectares in the peaceful rural enclave of Burradoo, just outside the beautiful Southern Highlands town of Bowral. The property is around a 90-minute drive from Sydney. “It has a wonderful history,” says Christel. “Little Burradoo House, the main house, was part of the Clydesdale stable complex for a large, stately manor nearby. It was subdivided many years ago and I believe we are only its third ever owners.”
Retired hairdresser Cara was looking for a tree change after selling her Vaucluse home. “It was love at first sight for Mum and we purchased it immediately after the first inspection,” Christel says. “Mum had hair salons in Sydney and lived a very busy life until she retired. Growing up I spent considerable time in the Highlands riding horses with my grandfather, who was a jockey and horse trainer. So, Mum and I moved for the quieter life and to enjoy the outdoors more.”
INSIDE STORY
A multi-generational family
Who lives here? Cara and her daughter Christel, along with Christel’s partner Bianca and children Harper, 12, Winter, 11, and Finn, 10. Plus Ziggy the Cavoodle and Jasmine the Parson Jack Russell.
Where do you spend the most time? “We’re in the gardens from dawn till dusk, working in them and enjoying them. We do fire feasts on Friday afternoons which are lovely family and friend gatherings. The children bring their friends and we have grazing boards and cook on the fire.”
Do you enjoy multi-generational living?
“We’re so grateful to Mum for inviting us to all be together here – she’s the matriarch of the family. She’s very involved with the children and helps with their drop-offs and pickups – and hamper deliveries as well. She’ll tell you she’s busier than ever!”
In 2020, they added a second home to the property: Little Burradoo Cottage. Originally intended as accommodation for visiting family and friends, the two-bedroom weatherboard cottage was designed to complement the main home’s elegant heritage-country style. Circular bedroom windows reference the years Christel spent working as a nanny in Nantucket and the Hamptons, while the gabled roof and raked ceilings pay homage to her time in England’s Cotswolds.
WE LOVE…indoor-outdoor flow
Both Bianca and Christel say the cottage’s north-facing aspect is one of their favourite features. “The wide opening doors from the bedrooms and the kitchen out onto the deck create great flow and everyone’s always coming in and out,” Bianca says. “It really is the hub of the home. We spend a lot of our time cooking outside around the fire and are always eating outside. It’s like an outdoor lounge room and lots of great conversations happen out there.
Soon after, the cottage took on a new purpose when Christel’s partner, Bianca, moved in with her three children, Harper, Winter and Finn. Originally from New Zealand, Bianca had also relocated from Sydney in search of a slower pace. “It’s such a beautiful community and everyone’s super-friendly,” she says. “There’s no traffic and everything is only five minutes away. We’re an outdoor family and the Highlands has provided the children with so much space.” Over the past decade, the family has lovingly refined the gardens, originally planned out by landscape designer Peter Fudge. “They’ve been our focus because we entertain so much,” Christel says. “We really do use the gardens as our living rooms.”
Multiple outdoor dining spaces host everything from relaxed family gatherings to Friday afternoon fire feasts with friends, grazing boards and meals cooked over the flames. The gardens also inspired Christel and Bianca to launch Little Burradoo Chefs in 2025.
Drawing on Bianca’s extensive hospitality background, the business creates artisan pantry items, grazing tables, event catering and gift hampers, with much of the produce grown on the property. “The garden is all north-facing, allowing us to grow produce year-round,” says Christel. “We make our own botanical gin and flavoured salts from our rosemary and sage. Every day we’re planting, propagating and harvesting. Everything’s organic, and we source the rest from local businesses and markets.
The children are also very capable in the kitchen.” While the original vision for Little Burradoo House has changed, Christel says the reality has been even better. “Never in our wildest dreams did we believe it would be filled with children. We’re thrilled. We have family and friends coming and going; it’s a busy home.” Working together from home means they can share daily life with the children, Cara and their puppies. “We all have dinner together at 5.30pm every night. We came to the Highlands for a slower-paced life, but we’re just as busy – only in a very different way.”
SOURCE BOOK – your trusted home directory >>
Bathroom design: Candana, candana.com.au.
Bianca and Christel’s business: Little Burradoo Chefs, littleburradoochefs.com.au, @littleburradoochefs.
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