Come Into My Parlour

Ok, it's not really my parlour. You'll need to be invited to Australian interior designer Stuart Rattle's country home to sit in that gorgeous wing chair.

He transformed his weekend escape, Musk Farm, from a former schoolhouse into a comfortable and beautiful home in a hamlet on the outskirts of Daylesford in Victoria. He was blessedly lucky the property narrowly escaped the horrific February bushfires. He and partner Michael O'Neill also developed the grounds into a series of 'garden rooms', and run a small herd of rare British White cattle ~ cream-coloured with black points. Intentionally colour co-ordinated with the property? Or merely a happy coincidence that a breed so loved by Winston Churchill matched perfectly. After all, Stuart Rattle has imbued Musk Farm with a comfie, classical English vibe. I wish I could say I'd visited at their personal invitation {which I'm sure would have arrived on thick creamy card imprinted with black letterpress} but my visit was courtesy of the August 2009 edition of one of my favourite Australian mags, Country Style. By the way, there's a nice little article about Australian execs - including Stuart Rattle - and their rural fancies here at The Age. I'd want my tractor to be an automatic too!

20 comments

  1. Oh my gosh, Shell, that is a lovely parlor! I definitely could see you in this. Black gloves optional. ;-

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  2. I love your painting very much!
    The lamp and the sofa were so nice...with the beautiful pinky flower..well, the painting were so pinky and soooo pretty! i like it!

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  3. http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/crown-crumpetdelicious-teas-more.html

    shell sherree, look on this link and i believe you will like it!

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  4. Cali ~ yes, I think I could live with a cosy corner like this. As I already have the gloves, I'm part way there. ;)

    Finie ~ thank you! The original is not quite as pink as the scan turned out. But it's pretty, hey. Thanks for the link! That lovely teahouse is definitely on my list if I ever go to San Francisco.

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  5. Lovely and cozy parlour.

    Jst dropping by to say hi! Am enjoying your very "YOU" art. Keep up the very best of your talent, girl.

    hugs,
    /R

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  6. Wing chairs are a particular obsession of mine, and that's a beautiful picture. Would that I could view it from my own wing chair.

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  7. ... "said the spider to the fly". Lovely parlour Shell and Musk farm and those colour coordinated cattle sound rather lovely, as is Daylesford of course.

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  8. I was getting all exciting waiting to hear about your adventure at Musk Farm. It sounds like a novel doesn't it, but I can't imagine anything really dark happening in that chair. You?

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  9. Mme Benaut, you made me laugh! Apparently you and I can imagine something dark happening in that lovely wing chair at Musk Farm. Or at least something intriguing.

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  10. Mise ~ Hi and thank you. :) I'm quite fond of wing chairs myself. Something very warm and friendly about them.

    MmeB, Margaret, Petrea ~ LOL! I believe it was Colonel Mustard. But not in the wing chair ~ it really would be a crime to mark that beautiful upholstery.

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  11. I totally understand about matching animals to decor--I did it with my kittens! The trouble is they sometimes blend in with the furniture and i accidentally sit on them ;)

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  12. Nothing is that charming in real life.

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  13. Anne ~ oops, I've done that with our black kitty!

    altadenahiker ~ perhaps I should have added a sock draped over the wing chair arm. ;)

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  14. This looks totally British to me ! I wish I had enough time .... and money to decorate my home and have things match !! But it is such a hard job and I am too lazy, I've beel in this hous for 25 years and there are still some painted beams that what to be renovated !!!

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  15. Marylène ~ if they've waited 25 years, they are probably content to wait a few more. :)

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  16. Do I have to switch to interior designing to make enough money for a place like that? I hate how I love beautiful things but have very little idea about how to afford them. Sigh.

    Gorgeous drawing as always, Shell. I love interior design and architecture magazines, too.

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  17. PCN ~ {thanks!} Buying the gorgeous stuff at wholesale also helps. Sigh, I miss that!

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  18. Oh, dear, I missed this one when you posted it. What a lovely detailed painting—it pulls you right in! Just my kind of cozy interior too (I used to work at the American version of Country Living magazine, though must admit I prefer the British version).

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  19. Alexa ~ that's what you get for chilling out at the beach for a few days or so. ;) I love it when you talk 'magazines'. Mmm.

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Merci, grazie, thank you for joining our conversation lounge. Your smile lights up the room. Even more beautifully than our crystal chandelier. x

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