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Home Beautiful
Home Beautiful
Lisa Easey

A 1970s bungalow reimagined as a charming European farmhouse

For Bangalow locals Margaret and Peter, many aspects of their home brings them joy – from the richly coloured walls, sentimental art and furnishings, to their library, enveloped by gardens they created from scratch. Yet what they love most is sharing the place with their adult children and grandchildren, who feel right at home.

Tropical plants cascading over an entry walkway.
While this home is in the Northern Rivers of NSW, it emanates a European air, influenced by the owners’ travels. Margaret and Peter moved here 14 years ago and have transformed the place into a home to welcome family and a friendly guesthouse. “We’ve been very fortunate to be able to travel through different parts of Europe to see first-hand the extraordinary use of colour there,” says Margaret. This bold approach shines in the ‘Santiago’ encaustic tiles from Teranova in the kitchen and similar tiles on the entrance path. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

“The grandkids have spent a lot of time in this house over the past decade and to see the joy they get, climbing the old mulberry tree, picnicking under the 100-year-old Poinciana, swimming in the pool and just running amok through the paddocks on their motorbikes fills us with great pleasure,” shares Margaret.

An outdoor entry with blue European tiled floors and tropical plants.
Walls painted in Dulux Pink Stock complement ‘Havana’ encaustic tiles from Teranova on the entrance path. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Who lives here?

Margaret and Peter, retirees and caretakers for Glenwood Guest House @glenwoodguesthouse; their best friend Nick, a horticulturist; and dogs Jack Russell Rossi, and Whoopi the Cavoodle.
Best renovation decision? Margaret: “Gutting most of the internal walls to give the home that open-plan feeling.”
Favourite spot to spend time? “The kitchen. It’s where I enjoy making food for my family and teaching the grandkids how to cook. We all naturally gravitate to the kitchen table.”
What’s your decorating approach? “Be courageous with colour, go with your gut and if it’s what you truly want, stick to your decision. Take a chance, you might just love the outcome.”

A portrait of owners Margaret and Peter in the kitchen.
Margaret and Peter in the kitchen featuring ‘Santiago’ encaustic tiles from Teranova. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Brimming with personality and warmth, the place is utterly unrecognisable from the rundown ’70s bungalow the couple bought 14 years ago. While other buyers were deterred by its dismal appearance, Margaret had a keen eye for its potential. With two decades of experience in the interior design industry and more than a dozen renovations under her belt, she envisioned what it could become – a family home imbued with a European farmhouse feel.

A sunroom with blue sofas, a long timber coffee table and a brown and white rug.
In the sunroom, a St Barts table sits atop a rug sourced locally from Pampa. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

During their first year in the house, Peter and Margaret’s aim was to make it liveable on the cheap – ripping out carpets, giving it a new lick of paint and enhancing the functionality of the kitchen and bathrooms. A pool was installed, gardens planted and paddocks revegetated. Several years later, Margaret’s vision took shape with a complete renovation.

A sitting area with dark library shelves and two leather-style chairs.
Old-world feels are accentuated with vintage-style Bisque Traders furniture. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

“We basically gutted the entire house, lifted the ceiling to expose the rafters, reconfigured the layout, added a bedroom wing and joined the house to the existing tractor shed, which was turned into the library,” she explains. The final phase of the masterplan was completed last year, with colour injected in every room and tweaks to the floor plan to enhance its versatility as a guesthouse.

Kitchen

Serving as a true family hub, the kitchen reflects Margaret’s love of European-inspired design. “On our travels in Italy, I saw the use of kitchen tiles running across the floor and continuing up the wall, and thought I’d always like to try it one day,” she recalls.

A European-style kitchen with blue mosaic tiles, a timber bench and rattan light pendants.
Another rustic European-inspired decision was to forgo a typical kitchen island in favour of a central table from Bisque Traders. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Drawn to the blue of ‘Santiago’ encaustic tiles from Teranova, the colour pulls the eye to the functional space featuring gloss timber cabinetry painted in Dulux Maximus, with classic white subways from Byron Bay Tiles.

A European-style kitchen with blue mosaic tiles and a timber table.
Warmth was also injected with a trio of rattan pendants from Few & Far. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Living area

The metamorphosis is a credit to the couple’s hard work and talent, as well as their daughter Kit, who now runs their residential design business Alida and Miller and collaborated on the home’s interior. “Kit knows my style well, so it was great to work with her on colours, furniture selection and lighting,” says Margaret.

An eclectic living area with a raised open ceiling and vintage style furniture.
Against a backdrop of walls in Dulux Simone Weil, a black linen sofa by Bodhi Living is scattered with cushions from Society of Wanderers, while a Pampa rug defines the lounging zone with a pair of statement ‘Artie’ armchairs from MCM House. Along one wall a Bisque Traders timber console provides storage and doubles as a plinth to display a House of Orange lamp and commissioned artwork by Ami Morris. The wooden ‘Santos’ side table is by En Gold. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Almost every room features a different shade of paint on the walls, which gives spaces a distinct feel. “Colour really is the starting point for our design process; it adds so much depth and brings so many moods to a home,” says Margaret. “Sometimes it can take up to 20 samples of a shade to get the tone just right in a space, but the right backdrop often makes the room.” For more ideas, visit Dulux.

We love… bold wall colour

Dining area

Removing multiple external walls and lifting the ceiling to expose structural rafters completely changed the sense of space and light in the home’s main living, dining and kitchen area. Now luxuriously open plan, bi-fold doors further enhance the expansive feel and link the area to the adjoining deck and pool zone. Margaret and Kit enjoyed the process of sourcing and artfully arranging furnishings and art within the space.

A dining area with dark timber floors , a long timber table and raised ceilings.
Below the artwork sits a Globe West sideboard. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Peter and Margaret love entertaining, so it was important to incorporate a large dining table. This setting from Bisque Traders adds a rustic vibe and complements the timber table in the kitchen.

Blue crockery and ceramics on a timber dining table.
The artistic backdrop is a family heirloom bought from the Australia Hotel in Sydney before it closed in 1971. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Library

It took incredible vision to reimagine the property’s original tractor shed as what it is today – a 1940s English Farmhouse-style library. “I was brought up in a home full of books and every project we have renovated has always had a space for a library, big or small,” says Margaret. The reading haven has floor-to-ceiling shelving loaded with design tomes, novels, coffee table books, magazines and works collected over four decades.

A library room with black-framed windows and vintage-style table.
Walls in Dulux Maximus set the mood alongside black-framed windows and doors. “I wanted steel-framed New York-style panelled windows but they were going to cost a fortune, so my joiner offered to make the frames from timber for a fraction of the cost, and they create the look and feel I was after,” shares Margaret of the clever craftsmanship by Design Spec Joinery + Kitchens. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

“Books and flowers are my two most favourite things and I love to fill the house with them.”

Margaret

Twin bedroom

Inspired by travels, particularly to Italy and France, the home has a distinct European flavour. “I just love the layers of history and use of colour in their farmhouses, and because the natural light in Italy is similar here, we felt bold, moody colours would work really well,” says Margaret of the inspired use of deep greys, greens, blues and mustards that infuse the interior with character. Timber furniture and antiques feature throughout accompanied by gorgeous sofas, bedheads and tiles.

A yellow twin bedroom with a wicker console table.
Setting the tone for a mustard-inspired palette, the beds and pinstripe chair were custom-made by Land Home, while the floral bedlinen was sourced from Jumbled. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Devoted to the grandkids when they sleep over, this room showcases British Paints Unbaked Clay on the ceiling teamed with walls in Dulux Raw Cotton. “It was Kit’s idea to use a bold contrasting colour, which was something we saw a lot of in Europe, often to disguise dodgy ceilings in older buildings,” explains Margaret.

Twin beds with a checked bedhead and floral linen.
A side table from Globe West picks up the tones of H&M mohair blankets and a vintage artwork from The Antique Guild. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)
A wavy wicker console topped with books and a vintage vase.
A wicker console from Byron Bay Hanging Chairs beautifully complements the eclectically curated scheme. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Main bedroom and ensuite

Dulux Treeless was also chosen for the couple’s bedroom walls – the perfect backdrop for an elegant Create Estate bedhead and Plum Check ruffle linen from Society of Wanderers.

A main bedroom with a wicker-style bedhead and plaid linen.
Canvas + Sasson bedside tables are paired with Milk & Sugar lamps. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Previously a small bedroom, this space was absorbed within the main bedroom as a walk-in-wardrobe/lounge retreat, furnished with pieces from Byron Bay Hanging Chairs.

A pastel walk-in robe with a petite blue and wicker bench.
In the walk-in-wardrobe, the walls are freshly painted in Dulux Treeless and paired with curtains from Linenshed. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

“Your home will remain timeless if you decorate it with the things you love, rather than simply what’s on trend.”

Margaret
A wicker table and vase beside a wavy wicker bench.
Pieces from Byron Bay Hanging Chairs. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

The main bedroom ensuite features black tiles from Byron Bay Tiles and Florence Broadhurst ‘Egrets’ wallpaper.

A main bedroom ensuite with a claw-foot bath, blue floral wallpaper and back tiles.
The Florence Broadhurst ‘Egrets’ wallpaper. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Powder room

This sweet powder room wouldn’t look out of place in a Parisian apartment. Glowing in Dulux Treeless, the pink walls are underscored with chequered tiles from Byron Bay Tiles, while the repurposed vanity paired with a marble basin from a previous renovation was painted in Dulux Maximus to match the door.

A powder room with VJ panelling and a vintage pedestal basin.
The lamp was a one of a kind find from The Antique Guild, which was converted into a wall-mounted fixture. A lovely touch throughout the entire home are glass door handles from Byron Bay Building Materials. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Guest ensuite

Originally an office, this space is now a guest room ensuite with blue and white tiles from Byron Bay Tiles.

A guest ensuite with a blue checked shower and VJ panelling.
The blue and white tiles from Byron Bay Tiles. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Pool

The couple turned the front paddock into a lush tropical sanctuary, which creates privacy for the pool. Along with their good friend Nick, they did as much of the physical work as possible, installing the decking, developing the gardens and painting the exterior in Dulux Pink Stock.

A pool area with tropical plants, loungers and white parasols.
Outdoor setting from Eureka Furniture, Globe West pool loungers and ‘Ayr’ umbrellas from Eco Outdoor. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

“We have created a space that reflects our family and how we like to live, and it’s not too precious, but still has a bit of magic to it,” says Margaret. “It’s where memories are being made and that’s what makes a house a home.”

A dirt path surrounded by tall trees and grass.
The home is surrounded by gardens. (Photography: Louise Roche / Styling: Kylie Jackes)

Interiors: Alida and Miller, alidaandmiller.com, and Kit Spaces, kitspaces.com.
Builder: Belcon Constructions, belconconstructions.com, and Aarko Construction, @aako_construction.
Joinery: Design Spec Joinery + Kitchens, designspec.net.au.

SOURCE BOOK

This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.

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