Escape to THE CITY

A couple from the country set up the ultimate city sanctuary in Perth as a family base and as respite from busy farm life.

- STORY Carli Philips | PHOTOGRAPHY Jack Lovel

During the week, Michelle Barrett and her husband Kieran sweat it out at their family farm near Esperance, WA, about 100km from so much as a supermarket. “We wanted a place to retreat to in the city,” says Michelle, the owner of this “Perth pad” and also the founder of interior design studio Frank & Boyd.

“We wanted a place for when we are in Perth on business or visiting the kids,” says Michelle of the couple’s adult daughters Emma and Eadie, who live in the house full-time.

A deceased estate on a double block, the house had excellent bones but wasn't exactly the lock-and-leave property Keith had in mind, especially given that the large garden would require a lot of maintenance. However, Michelle’s commitment to replanting with hardier species and the house’s proximity to a train line (meaning an easy commute to the football) eventually won him over.

The timing coincided with the Covid pandemic and, at the time, Michelle was studying a Bachelor of Design nearby away. However, they took all the Covid delays in their stride. “I bought a new mattress and gave it a ‘student renovation’ with some Marketplace finds. But truthfully, we didn’t mind,” she says.

“It bought us some extra time so we could get a sense of how we would use the property. It also allowed us to save up some money to pay for it!”