Minimalism Makes Mark
Newcastle Herald
Saturday April 21, 2001
SMALL spaces hold an appealing challenge for former Herald home columnist Maree Eggleston, and her latest project, a Cooks Hill miner's cottage, does not disappoint.
Bought six years ago for her late father-in-law, Balgownie Cottage, named for her late mother-in law's Scottish hometown, is to take on new life as serviced accommodation.
Although husband Mike Eggleston, executive director, creative, with Peach Advertising, doubted that the project would be viable without extension, Mrs Eggleston proved it was.
'I called in my building designer mate (Don Maloney) and my builder mate (Phil Gibbs) and we fiddled around with it,' Mrs Eggleston said.
Although the century-old home was an unwelcome yellow and 'violent blue', inside and out, and devoid of any original detail, it did have a useful high front brick and paling fence, front deck, carport and private brick-walled courtyard behind.
'I knew we could work with all that,' Mrs Eggleston said. 'And because it had no original features we had carte blanche to put our own style on the interior.
'It wasn't like we were vandalising anything.'
The exterior is traditional, with new shingles, fretwork and finial to 'charm it up', but painted in modern muddy greys and sour cream.
Inside, 'Maree the minimalist' has styled an uncluttered contemporary look in bone, with grey/mauve feature walls, floating timber floors and steel and timber furniture. But the renovation was not without saga.
A new roof, electrical wiring, subfloor and cedar windows threatened to blow the budget, but a 'rush of blood to the head' approach to decorating and shopping savvy saved the day.
'I'm a great one for mooching around,' Mrs Eggleston said of her finds; a Freedom timber and steel bed in bedroom two that looks as good as the Nick Scali one in bedroom one, a sculptured steel and timber coat rack, also Nick Scali, and funky spiral steel table discarded by her daughter.
The bathroom/laundry is an efficiency success story, charcoal and white, with pebbled shower floor and sink splashback, long louvre window, washer/drier and deep round sink.
The streamlined kitchen, by In Vogue, is white and steel, with subtle grey granite benchtops.
Rethinking the kitchen layout made eating-in possible, and removing the wall to the lounge/ dining area created a lovely light space, opening through bifold doors onto the paved courtyard.
Comfy chairs, a bright splash of orange on the floor and an early Kay Campbell painting on the wall make this room very welcoming.
It also has a maritime ceramic sculpture by Nicole Beckingham and stunning harbour scenes painted by Mr Eggleston, whose works also hang in other rooms. Visitors will be impressed.
© 2001 Newcastle Herald
