LA DOLCE VITA

Collette Dinnigan and Bradley Cocks have restored an ancient Italian farmhouse with stunning vintage pieces, natural fabrics and the colours of the olive grove in which it sits

- Fiona McCarthy

SWIMMING POOL

The pool is a very dark – ‘almost a black marine blue,’ says Collette. ‘Much of our time is spent by the pool, playing backgammon or just relaxing in the shade.’

Bamboo loungers, try Idyll Home. Limestone paving, try Caesarstone. Wildflowers, try seeds from Landlife Wildflowers

TERRACE

Collette has created lots of niches around the house, like this terrace, to act like extra ‘rooms’ for reading, relaxing and chatting.

Bamboo armchairs, try Idyll Home. Bamboo coffee table, try Maison du Monde. Swan-neck outdoor wall light, try The Wall Lighting Company

Putting down roots in Italy had never been Australian designer Collette Dinnigan and her family’s plan. After winding down her successful fashion business seven years ago, Collette and husband Bradley decided they’d take a year’s sabbatical with children Estella and Hunter, based out of Rome.

While touring around southern Italy that summer, they fell in love with Puglia. ‘We loved the area’s wildness and found the old masserias enchanting.’ While staying around Ostuni, famous for its whitewashed city perched above the Adriatic Sea, they happened across a 500-year-old farmhouse and Collette, a dab hand at renovating houses, pounced. (Her previous home, in Australia, was in Livingetc in May 2019)