A Whimsical Farmhouse Retreat On The Mornington Peninsula

Inside designer Samantha Eisen — founder and artistic director of her eponymous design agency — has a selected knack for dramatic options, assertion rooms and crafting modern interiors that also exude heat and a way of familiarity.

However when it got here to designing her personal vacation home on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, what was normally so clear when it comes to path for her shoppers was not fairly as easy.

‘I feel my biggest problem was simply merely reaching a imaginative and prescient that was my very own, as for any designer it may be troublesome to edit and select from so many concepts in your head and which path to comply with,’ Samantha explains. ‘I needed to try to check completely all the things which meant we have been designing and altering issues a number of instances earlier than we landed on the path for the venture.’

It’s protected to say that her diligence paid off. After a yr of renovations, the weekend retreat is all the things Samantha hoped it might be — cosy, elegant and brimming with character and attraction.

She bought the Tuscan-style farmhouse within the rural hamlet of Tuerong 4 years in the past, with the intention of remodeling it right into a glamorous weekender and horse passion farm for her and her household.

Though the unique structure offered nice bones to work with, Samantha says the home lacked authenticity, historical past and character, and any views or outlook to carry the gorgeous surrounding panorama inside.

So, she retained the limestone flooring all through the kitchen and eating space to create extra of a historic really feel, coupling them with polished plaster and textured rendered partitions for a patinated impact and European vibe. Reclaimed French timber ceiling beams present in a wreckers yard additionally added character and soul to this area.

‘Drawing on nostalgia for a lot of the ornamental language, I infused the areas with recollections of childhood experiences in my grandparent’s nation home, additionally on the Peninsula — a spot I spent a lot of my time rising up,’ Samantha says. ‘We wished to strike the suitable steadiness between previous and new.’

Every room is exclusive in its personal method — from the mint and white chequered tiling contrasting the inexperienced sweet striped wallpaper within the mud room, to the accent botanical wallpapers within the bedrooms, Samantha’s consideration to element is palpable.

‘We discovered the road between ornament and modernity, and I really feel actually pleased with that as a result of I wished to have layers, wallpapers, colors and patterns, however in a restrained method,’ she provides. ‘It’s these particulars and permitting color that create a visible reminiscence of a spot or expertise.’

Nonetheless, the house stays true to its function as an idyllic retreat the place Samantha and her household can escape from the hustle and bustle of town.