Happy Valley

KANGAROO VALLEY

This country home in Kangaroo Valley south of Sydney sits nestled in the rainforest and has its own resident family of wombats. The owners engaged ANNA.CARIN to bring colour, warmth and ideally more animals to the house after purchasing it from the original owner who built and designed it.

Vibrant, Welcoming and Animalia were the 3 words that guided the design process. Our clients love animals and colour and wanted as much as possible to use repurposed, vintage finds and Australian made. We scoured second hand stores and sites and kept our restorers and upholsterers busy. Leopard cubs, echidnas, birds and platypuses found their way into the interior where they nestle comfortably amongst the leaves and flowers on chairs and beds. The excellence is best expressed in the words from our clients sister after her first stay after the redesign- " What a happy place its become, having nature on the doorstep was always the main attraction but now the interior is worthy of its setting and there is a wonderful dialogue between the inside and outside.  You have created the most comfortable, warm and joyful place to visit, I didn't want to leave."

The clients love of colour and animals were the driving force and we all had concerns initially on how to respectfully create a vibrant interior without competing with the outlook and the escarpment. We spent a lot of time walking the land picking fruits and vegetables from the garden and branches and petals from the trees. Placing them on the kitchen bench to give us clues as to what colours should dominate  -  tangerine orange, rhubarb pink and eucalyptus green. The slow paced, elderly wombat that daily grazes the front and back lawn set the tempo to the spaces, Adagio – slow and stately “at ease” with ourselves with the world.

Photos by Pablo Veiga

Styling by Studio CD