Field of DREAMS

A YOUNG FAMILY ENJOYS AN IDYLLIC LIFESTYLE ON THE LAND IN THEIR CLASSICALLY DECORATED HOME SURROUNDED BY EVERGREEN GARDENS

- STEPHANIE HOPES

ON THE LAND This double-storey Victorian homestead on 170 hectares in an outer suburb of Orange in NSW provides endless opportunities for rest and exploration for owners Maree and Mark and their children Alex, Ivy and Annabelle. While the home had many stunning original features when the couple bought it, some needed modernising. Custom arch doors from Steel Door (opposite) replaced old timber leadlight ones. “It really looks like a picture frame, and they let so much natural light into the once dark entry,” says Maree. Checkerboard tumbled marble tiles from Classic Ceramics are an easy-clean option, while the Chapman & Myers for Visual Comfort ‘Riverside’ hurricane pendant from Laura Kincade is a classic choice.

Some days, Maree doesn’t see her children for hours on end as they enjoy free range of the family’s country property, playing, exploring, feeding cattle or helping in hay-making season. It’s this dream life that she and husband Mark had in mind for their kids Alex, eight, Ivy, six, and Annabelle, three, when they bought their home outside of Orange, NSW, three years ago.

“I grew up on an apple orchard in the Canobolas area and my husband on a cattle farm in the nearby suburb of Forest Reefs. We always knew we wanted to give our children the same childhood memories of growing up on a property like we had,” Maree says.