Refreshing MEMORIES

With the help of an architect friend, this cherished Mornington Peninsula weekender has been revitalised for a new generation’s enjoyment.

- Chris Pearson

EXTERIOR While the original front of the home and the rear extension belong to far-apart eras, the subtle and purposely recessive palette, in Dulux Western Myall, helps create a smooth transition between the two. The outdoor furniture is part of the owner’s existing collection. Landscape design by Florian Wild, installed by Bott Landscapes.

Caroline Elliott, the owner of this weekender on the Mornington Peninsula, relives happy childhood memories the minute she turns her key in the door – which is as often as she can manage it. And now, thanks to an inspired renovation by architect Justin Noxon, her partner Craig Hynes and their daughters India, 12, and Lottie, 10, can create their own treasured memories here too.

Lending it a special resonance, Caroline and her brothers (whom she later bought out) inherited the property from her beloved mother back in 2014. Then it remained the humble pitched-roof weatherboard of her early years, typical of this fishing village that overlooks an often-wild Bass Strait.

Caroline and childhood friend Justin renewed their connection while attending Little Nippers with their respective children in the summer of 2018. “We hadn’t seen each other since our 20s,” he says. And he was intrigued when he saw the cottage. “It was an early 20th-century dwelling, not heritage architecture and a bit of a jumble, but it had a certain something,” says Justin.