Fields Of Dreams

It’s a passion project on an epic scale: a property near Orange, NSW, is being transformed into an exquisite home and garden that works beautifully for its owners.

Sarah Pickette

When the right place comes along, you’ll know: that was the nugget of advice just about everyone gave to interiors stylist Steve Cordony when he was searching for a country home. Three years of looking hadn’t yet turned up ‘the one’ – but then a friend sent Steve and his partner Michael Booth a clipping about a property near Orange, NSW, which had just hit the market.

“We thought we might as well take a look and within three weeks it was ours,” says Steve. That property was Rosedale Farm, 49 hectares of prime grazing land presided over by a glorious 1877 homestead that ticked a lot of boxes for Steve and Michael: “We wanted a Georgian-style house, a wraparound verandah, and plenty of room for a large garden – Rosedale Farm had all those things.”

That was 2017, and a huge amount of work has been carried out to restore and reinvigorate the eight-bedroom property since then. First, the home’s old carpets were pulled up so Steve could get a better sense of the space. Then the huge tasks of rewiring and replumbing got underway. New fences went in, along with a new driveway. The exterior, which used to be pink, received a lick of crisp white paint and the house-paddock garden was expanded from 1.2 hectares to almost four hectares (Michael is passionate about gardening and vegetable beds now occupy half a hectare). The pond by the house was relined and a hay shed transformed into a poultry house. A staggering 27,000 trees were planted too.