Houzz Tour: A Place to Escape in the Victorian Countryside

An interior designer creates the perfect holiday home for her family

Emily Hutchinson 28 November 2015

Houzz Australia Editorial Staff. I am always on the lookout for homes with that extra wow-factor to feature. I love hearing all about the design process behind these projects.

Houzz Australia Editorial Staff. I am always on the lookout for homes with that extra... More

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Who doesn’t dream of owning their own little country cottage? Somewhere to escape to when the hustle and bustle of the city just gets too much. For homeowners Suzanne and Adam Cunningham, their lives are split between Melbourne and Daylesford where they have renovated and customised a period holiday home that they can retreat to with their children throughout the year.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Suzanne Cunningham of One Girl Interiors, her husband Adam and their two children, Grace, 6, and Tom, 3.
Location: Daylesford, Victoria
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

One Girl Interiors

Photography by Eve Wilson

The home that became the Cunninghams’ country cottage was originally built around 1900, and featured an extension that was added in 2007 by the previous owners. Suzanne says that when they started the search for a holiday home, they were looking for a period property that they could renovate and decorate to reflect their own design aesthetic. “Because we live in Melbourne and have two young children, we knew it would be very challenging to take on a project that needed significant structural work or an extension,” she says.

While extensive work wasn’t required, the customising process included adding a new kitchen, as well as updating the two bathrooms, which were gutted and replaced.

One Girl Interiors

The property is close to open farmland, which the family likes to get out into together. “We love that there are so many places nearby to walk and explore,” says Suzanne.

One Girl Interiors

Suzanne decorated the cottage in a way that showcases her own personal style. In the living room at the front of the house, the aim was to create an open, warm feel. “Being a Victorian cottage, it’s not a huge space, but it does have very high ceilings,” she says. To emphasise this height, Suzanne hung curtains several centimetres above the windows, to make them seem even longer.

Grey armchair: Jardan; Cross Base table: Mark Tuckey; Dr. Spinner pendant light: Dowel Jones; rug: Armadillo & Co

One Girl Interiors

She also layered the room with warm textures including the leather couch from Freedom, along with wool and other textured fabrics.

One of Suzanne’s favourite aspects of the home is what it can offer at different times of the year. “In the winter it’s so cosy and the perfect place to cocoon inside. You can curl up in an armchair or on the sofa and read a book or look out onto the garden,” she says. “In summer, we love spending time enjoying the outdoor spaces and pottering around the garden.”

Floor lamp: Ikea

One Girl Interiors

The kitchen is open-plan and the couple were keen to make it an eat-in design, which is different to what they have at home. The galley-style kitchen suits the young family and creates more space in this area to move around in.

One Girl Interiors

The open shelving not only provides Suzanne with extra storage, but also another place for her to display decor, including these beautiful glass jars used for storing herbs. “This is a really important space to me as I love cooking (and eating!),” she says.

One Girl Interiors

Suzanne decided to paint the timber floors for an English-cottage feel. She and Adam lived in England for a couple of years as newlyweds, and Suzanne remembered seeing this style of flooring there. “It really changed the whole feeling of the house and made everything feel much lighter,” she says.

There are a few splurge pieces featured throughout the home, including this Mark Tuckey dining table which Suzanne says adds a lot of warmth to the room.

Bentwood chairs: Thonet; pendant light: Douglas and Bec

One Girl Interiors

One of the biggest challenges the couple faced was living in Melbourne during the renovation period. An hour and a half away, if something went wrong and a quick decision had to be made, the couple would have to drive straight down. “However, we were so fortunate with the builder and tradesmen we had,” says Suzanne. “They understood our vision and worked really hard to achieve it for us, even when we weren’t there.”

While they hired professionals for most of the renovating, the couple painted the interiors themselves. Suzanne says this was a bit of false economy looking back, as it took them much longer than anticipated.

One Girl Interiors

Grace and Tom share a bedroom. While some parents may struggle with decorating with non-gender-specific colours and furnishings, Suzanne has achieved this with ease. By using neutral backdrops, she was able to add fun pops of colour to make it fresh and interesting.

One Girl Interiors

When the family aren’t using the home as an escape, they rent it out to guests wanting to try their own little slice of country life. Suzanne says that the objective when decorating the bedrooms, including this guest bedroom, was to create a restful yet interesting space. “I used cool colours such as grey and then layered in linen in neutral tones,” she says.

Eggcup stool: Mark Tuckey; lamp: Milk & Sugar; quilt: Gorman; hanging art: Tamara Maynes

One Girl Interiors

The guest bedroom also boasts a desk area where some light work can take place. Suzanne found this desk from the 1960s on eBay which was designed to store maps.

Studio K desk lamp: Planet Lighting; chair: Thonet; rug: Armadillo & Co

One Girl Interiors

The main bedroom is next to the guest bedroom, and is just as serene in its styling. Light streams through the window, blocked when necessary by the same curtains that are in the living room.

Bedlinen: Bedouin Societe; Gimminy bedside table: Pierre and Charlotte; Miller lamp: Fred; artwork: Belynda Henry

One Girl Interiors

When it came to renovating the bathrooms, it was important to the family that the design of each was functional and timeless. Both bathrooms originally had timber flooring, which led to quite a bit of water damage underneath the boards. They replaced these with dark tiles and added a stone bath, as Suzanne says that “relaxation was such an important feature of the house.”

One Girl Interiors

What Suzanne is most proud of with this project is the feeling it gives to visitors. “As soon as we walk in, we feel right at home,” she says. “I love the way it looks, but it also feels very relaxed to me, somewhere people feel instantly comfortable in.”