Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i Country Style

AS THE YEAR DRAWS TO A CLOSE, I find myself reflecting on the past 12 months. What I thought would be a quieter year, given both my daughters are now adults and at university, has been anything but. It has been a year of old friends and new; reunions and 50th birthday celebrations; love, heartbreak and loss; travel; quality time with my brother; belly laughs; a house move (and the stress and joy that brings); constant learning; and memorable meals. Now, I have Christmas to look forward to – my favourite time of year – and a holiday to recharge my batteries for what will surely be yet another action-packed year. Before I celebrate Christmas Day, I have gifts to buy. I love giving more than receiving, and I’ll be…

Instagram We post all our gorgeous homes on Instagram for you to enjoy all over again. This one (below) belongs to interior designer Kate Hardy. Find it: homestolove.com.au/home-tours/exetersouthern-highlandsweekender On the App Store Country Style magazine Subscribe and download our app Download the Country Style app (it’s free!) to read our online stories, or combine it with a digital subscription to get every issue. Our digital magazines are as beautiful as print, plus you can customise font sizes and listen to an audio version. Newsletters homestolove.com.au/country-style Renovate your inbox with Country Style newsletters! Our new missive, Kylie in the Country, is full of editor-approved travel tips. Scan the code to sign up. PHOTOGRAPHY BRIGID ARNOTT…

“So much of where I’ve ended up reflects my upbringing. Those intense flavours and the aromas, they just stick with you forever.” ESTABLISHING CRAFT VINEGAR BRAND Wild Mother Tasmania was somewhat of a full-circle moment for plant scientist Dr Tim Jones. He grew up watching his father cultivate heirloom apples in his hobby orchard and his mother making preserves with the harvest; he also has fond memories of foraging for berries and blackcurrants. Years later, Tim’s instilling that passion for flavour and local produce into a range of small-batch, wild-fermented apple cider and cherry vinegars, shrubs (drinking vinegars), tonics and condiments. “So much of where I’ve ended up reflects my upbringing,” Tim, 50, says. “Those intense flavours and the aromas, they just stick with you forever.” A born and bred…

“CHRISTMAS MEANS A LOT TO US,” says Lonnie Castle, style curator and former head of brand for Danish furniture company &Tradition. “It’s an important family event that we all love.” The family’s well-established holiday traditions include grandparents, children and even an ex-husband. Lonnie and her partner, Matthew, live with their three children in a beautifully restored 250-year-old farmhouse on the Danish coast, north of Copenhagen. Just outside the small town of Humlebæk, their two worlds – north and south – blend freely and imaginatively. While Lonnie is a true city person, Matthew spent most of his life on a remote vineyard in South Africa. The couple’s harmoniously united worlds are reflected throughout the home, which presents a successful fusion of Danish design classics and African mementos. “It took some…

ON LOCATION We captured our Christmas tabletop decorating feature at Linnaeus Farm in Berry, NSW. For more on this luxurious countryside retreat, visit linnaeuscollection.com PREVIOUS PAGES Table and chair, stylist’s props. Tilbury skinny bench, $385, from Pepperwhites. ON TABLE Lovely Linen tablecloth in Off-White, from $150, Rustic linen runners in Natural Beige, $69 each, and linen check napkins in Green, $120 (set of four), all from Casa e Cucina. Dorset Champagne coupe glasses, $69 each, from Williams Sonoma. Knox ice bucket, $149, Canvas & Sasson Paloma round placemats, $129 (set of four), French Country Collections Vitro tumblers in Olive, $20 each, and wineglasses in Olive, $25 each, all from Home Goods Hardware. Posy rib vase, $25, Bourgogne salad plates in White, $15 each, and dinner plates in White, $20 each,…

I CAN THINK OF FEW MORE CHEERFUL sights than a plate brimming with homemade biscuits. To me, it conveys a wonderful sense of generosity and care – which I think is all the more delightful at this time of year, when we are often overwhelmed by the bustle of festive preparations and end-of-year fatigue. Slowing down to bake something nice and share it with those you love feels like such a lovely antidote to all that rushing. My recipe this month is for sugar cookies: gently spiced with cardamom and vanilla, and cloaked in orange icing, they are the perfect way to while away a few quiet hours (or noisy ones if you have little kids!). The recipe makes rather a lot of biscuits, which is intentional as, boxed and…

MULTI-FLAVOUR MERINGUE ROUNDS Makes 12 6 egg whites 1½ cups caster sugar 1 teaspoon white vinegar 1 teaspoon cornflour PISTACHIO & ROSE ¼ cup chopped pistachios 1 teaspoon rosewater 2 teaspoons dried rose petals SPARKLY MERINGUES 2 drops pink food colouring ½ teaspoon edible glitter CHOC HAZELNUT ¼ cup chopped, skinless roasted hazelnuts, plus extra 2 tablespoons Nutella 1 teaspoon cocoa Preheat oven to 150°C. Line two trays with baking paper. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar dissolves and mixture is stiff, thick and glossy. Beat in vinegar and cornflour. Divide mixture into three bowls. To make the pistachio and rose meringues, gently fold pistachio and rosewater through one…

TOP ROW Avalene drinks trolley in Gold, $299, from Early Settler. Otis steel arch bar cart in Brass, $169.15, from Cooper & Co. Hudson bar cart in Olive, $299, from Domayne. SECOND ROW Draenert day bar trolley in Breccia Romana Stone with Gold Frame, $5800, from Top3 by Design. Ashley travertine bar cart in Walnut, $540, from Hammond & Grange. Calibre Furniture Wote bar cart in Navy Blue, $539, from Freedom. Masa bar trolley in Terracotta, $1590, from Satara. Island Collection Hepburn Brass butler’s tray with stand, $1899, from Alfresco Emporium. THIRD ROW Sundowner bar cart in Aubergine, $1290, from Fenton & Fenton. Be My Guest bar cabinet in White and Black by Warm Nordic, $4513, from Pamono. Timothy Oulton Shimmer medium bar cabinet, $15,995, from Coco Republic. Royce fluted…

FAMILY AND FRIENDS MEAN THE WORLD to Kirsty and Darren Porter, long-time residents of the Tweed Shire in New South Wales, on Bundjalung Country. This feeling is amplified at Christmas time, when loved ones f lock to the Round Mountain home the couple have spent five years making their own. “We’ll have 20 people at a long table on the verandah for Christmas lunch, and we’ll eat and drink and just spend time together. It’s my favourite day,” says Kirsty. The verandah hasn’t always framed the Porters’ three-bedroom, 1904-built Queenslander. In fact, the home hasn’t always sat on this 12-hectare slice of farmland that Darren’s family has owned for nearly five decades. “We purchased the land from Darren’s mum in 2018,” says Kirsty, 51, about the meaningful location where she…

BEYOND THE HONEY-HUED stone walls of 18th-century Hunstrete House, tucked away in a 12-hectare deer park around two hours’ drive west of London, lies an arguably even more impressive garden. Belonging to The Pig Near Bath, one of a litter of boutique stays dotted throughout England’s rolling hills, the almost-one-hectare walled garden features a fruit orchard, greenhouses, raised beds and polytunnels that supply year-round produce to the onsite restaurant. Completing the storybook scene, the dining area is housed inside a Victorian-style conservatory overlooking the grounds, which prove to be as productive as they are pretty. Whether it’s carrots for spiced carrot soup, garlic for the roasted garlic mayonnaise or marigold flowers to garnish their much-loved chocolate slice, the kitchen garden touches every one of the dishes served, says senior sous…

A VETERAN OF THE HUNTER VALLEY food scene, Troy Rhoades-Brown’s career began in earnest 20 years ago, when he arrived in the famed winegrowing region in New South Wales at the age of 19. He had scored a job working under Robert Molines at his eponymous restaurant, Roberts (now Circa 1876) – an experience Troy describes as “transformative”, both professionally and personally. “When I came here as a young chef to work for Robert and Sally Molines, I immediately fell in love with the vineyards, the produce and the pronounced seasons,” says Troy. “The kitchen was full of French provincial abundance. Quails were tea-smoked in the dining room, and game, suckling pigs, goats and rabbits were butchered in-house. That experience made me love food, cooking, and eating in a completely…

RIESLING HAS BEEN THE CONSTANT GRAPE over my 50-year journey in wine. Not the lolly-ish Blue Nun I ordered at 18 to show off to my girlfriend, but the stellar grape beloved by top wine writers around the world. British wine critic Jancis Robinson states, “It refreshes the palate and sharpens the brain.” I love it for its versatility – young or old, sweet or dry. Riesling is pure and precise, acting as a mirror of the place it is grown – its terroir, in wine-speak. The great Leo Buring’s rieslings set me on the path, with Lindemans Watervale, Leasingham and Pewsey Vale my benchmarks. The Eden and Clare Valleys dominated the riesling scene at the time, however, it’s now planted across regions with similar continental climes: warm summer days,…

The November cover of Country Style features an 1880s-built cottage in the Southern Highlands, NSW, filled with ornate ceramics and treasured artworks. Inside the spring-themed issue, we visit wombat carer Judy Hopper in the Hunter Valley, NSW, wander through a glorious garden in Hesket, Vic, and curate a bumper decorating feature showcasing ways to add colour at home. Plus, grab our final downloadable e-cookbook, featuring our most-loved recipes from country cooks. Photography @abbie_melle THANK YOU, SQUIRE As a devoted Country Style reader, I was surprised to see a Country Squire page upon opening the November issue. My habit of flicking to the back page first was something I’d done for years to seek out the uplifting joy within the words. I used to read the stories to my husband and…

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT All the flicker and glow of Christmas magic, and none of the risk of your mantelpiece bursting into flames: Provincial Home Living’s Noelle pillar candles, from $16, are perfect for set-and-forget festive charm. Visit provincialhomeliving.com.au bag it now You have to love the bag you carry every day, and Lake Leather’s Yolla bag in Tan, $229.95, is oh so lovable. A detachable crossbody strap and an inside pocket make it supremely practical, and its washed calf hide makes it pretty, too. Visit lakeleather.com.au honey, I’m home Pilbeam Living’s set of four bee napkin rings, $39.95, adds a little touch of golden sweetness to your place settings. The detailed bees form part of the Bee Everything collection – the beehive-shaped gold salt and pepper shakers are just as…

PLUMES OF SMOKE BLANKETED THE SKY as wildfires tore through 24.3 million hectares of land in the country’s south-east, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes during the Black Summer of 2019-2020. A volunteer whose home was among the carnage, now forced to sleep in his car, tucked a tiny object in his pocket. Nearby, a firefighter on the frontline pinned the same object to the inside of her jacket. And in a quiet hospital room far from the fires, an elderly woman, her breath shallow and final, clutched that same symbol in her frail hand. Those tiny hand-sewn hearts served as threads of connection and community, stitching strangers together. The project, 1000 Hearts, is the brainchild of Sarah De Jonge, a mother-of-two who, along with an army…

MANY PEOPLE ARE DRAWN TO the beautiful beaches of Byron Bay in northern NSW. Yet for interior designer Ali and her builder partner Michael, who called Sydney home for years, it was the hinterland that drew them, with its rolling hills, village feel and generational farmers. “It reminded me of my childhood growing up in the English countryside, so I began hunting for a potential home in the area with a dream that I could escape the city and rekindle my love of the country and horses,” recalls Ali. Several years ago, the couple seized that dream with the purchase of a weatherboard Queenslander perched on acreage in the little town of Eureka. “Michael and I are both suckers for older homes, and although it had been altered with add-ons…

MY MUM, A PASSIONATE and experienced gardener, admired a bunch of tea tree flowers stuck in a glass jar on my dining table last week. “Ooh, which tea tree is this?” she asked. “The one in the front garden,” I replied. “Yes, but which variety?” Hmm. I mean, she should probably know me better by now. I have no idea, because I am reasonably good at some things, but utterly dreadful at keeping records of my garden. Great with plants, not so great with plant nomenclature. It’s not that I don’t care; I do! I start with excellent intentions – for example, maps of all the roses I’ve planted drafted onto a page somewhere on my desk (never to be found again). Plant labels that come with the plants are…

MY FASCINATION FOR FIGS seeded when, as a kid, my family lived in a ramshackle, single-fronted workers’ cottage in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. The house sat on a double block, with an elevated driveway and tin-roofed carport, where my father’s obsession with tinkering with his Fiats really took hold. It had an incredibly large backyard, where Mum had planted a substantial vegie patch – as people did back then – with all the usual summer veg, plus spuds, brassicas and lettuce. The only fruit tree on the whole plot was a mammoth fig, which had obviously been planted a long time ago. I recall cutting off a very green fig when we first arrived and was repelled by the white ooze that leeched from both its sliced ends. The…

Smart set Set the prettiest Christmas table yet with Victoria Collison’s Italian cotton toile tablecloth, from $230, toile placemats, $120 for two, embroidered linen napkins, $200 for four, Portuguese dinner setting, from $21 for a side plate, and bamboo cutlery, $158 for four pieces. Table decor also from Victoria Collison. Visit victoriacollison.com FIT TO FEAST Piled high with ham, salad or charcuterie, this oval platter from Robert Gordon, $69.95, will look fabulous. Once emptied, you can appreciate its speckled clay body etched with delicate designs. Plus it’s dishwasher-safe to make clean-up a cinch. Visit robertgordonaustralia.com WELL OILED The right olive oil really makes a difference to a dish – just ask an olive oil sommelier. Yes they exist, and Karl Schuster has now launched his own range. Rich and fragrant,…

TASMANIA Bunch Find this charming providore and cafe in the heritage town of Oatlands, just an hour north of Hobart. Opened by Rachel Manning and her husband, Jimmy, the light-filled space has a welcoming feel, with its original shopfront and subtle European-style furniture. Rachel’s passion for supporting Tassie producers shines through in her savvy selection of fine foods, both in the cafe and product range. “Our menu is built around fresh, regional ingredients,” says Rachel. “Customers often sit to enjoy something from the cafe and love it so much they locate the same item in the providore to take home.” Always a popular spot for Christmas shoppers, Bunch offer specialty hessian gift bags, some with cane handles, making it easy to pluck products from the shelves to curate the perfect…

QUENTIN BRYCE: THE AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY Juliet Rieden, Penguin, $55 Through her own good graces, and the fact she was our first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce attracted attention and support for Australia throughout the world. Her CV was unimpeachable: Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner; Principal of The Women’s College at the University of Sydney; Governor of Queensland. Along the way, Quentin met with a certain amount of inertia and the usual boys’ club inanities. However, Tony Abbott defended her when Andrew Bolt tried to make a case that she was too political. Is it frivolous to talk about her looks? No, because we’ve become hyper-visual. Wearing that divine lapis lazuli suit at her swearing-in, she was not a cipher but a supernova. A lot of research and rumination reveal the pluses and…

FICTION THE GOLDEN SISTER Suzanne Do, Macmillan, $34.99 The push and pull for a young person when normality is tantalisingly out of reach. Honey, a heroin addict, her feckless mother’s favourite daughter, dies. Her sister, Lili, searches for what’s behind the easy verdict of ‘OD’d’. Poignant and memorable. DEBUT FICTION THE NAMES Florence Knapp, Phoenix, $32.99 Knapp’s children left home. She picked up her laptop and delivered this magical foray into parenting, bullying, toxic masculinity and the solid joys of freedom after subjugation. Cora walks to the registry office to obtain a birth certificate for her newborn son. Her husband has ordered her to choose ‘Gordon’. Cora would like ‘Julian’. Her four-year-old daughter declares that the baby is ‘Bear’. We follow what happens for each option. One leads to stifling…

SUMMER IN TASMANIA FEELS HARD WON. The storm and stress of our spring was like a full-blown adolescence, with hormonal-style shifts sure to have repercussions right into January. By the end of October, we were all fractious, our tempers frayed by the high winds, and I’d given up ever finding the undies that blew off the clothesline in September. Everywhere, the general distrust we have in our weather god, known as Hughey, had burgeoned into full-blown doubt. “I’m not blowing up my li-lo yet,” my neighbour told me ruefully during a warm snap in November. She’s pledged to move to Queensland for her retirement. I can’t blame her. “I’m determined to weave into my Decemberings the simple pleasures that come with a summer at home.” “For Christ’s sake, Hughey,” I…