Country Style

FOR ME, NOTHING SAYS CELEBRATE more than a glass of something bubbly. It started when I was a child – my nan used to order a crate of miniature glass bottles of cherry cheer, creaming soda, sarsaparilla, lemonade and many other flavours for Christmas

Editor KYLIE IMESON Deputy editor HANNAH JAMES Creative director MIA DAMINATO Contributing art directors JUDIE SIU, KELSIE WALKER  Queensland contributing editor CLAIRE MACTAGGART  Stylist KATE LINCOLN  Feature writers REBECCA HOOTON, RACHE

I am an avid reader and subscriber of your wonderful magazine, and I thought the cover of the November issue was just magic! As an artist and flower lover, I couldn’t resist re-creating the cover in one of my works. It’s impasto acrylic, created with

Send your shopping news to [email protected] Serving drinks in the lounge or on the verandah? The Royce fluted oak bar cart in Natural, $449, will go wherever you need it to, thanks to its easy-to-spin castors. Visit domayne.com.au Bring ba

1 Vera Wang for Wedgwood swirl flute in Clear, $199 (set of two), from Myer. 2 Luigi Bormioli Speakeasies swing champagne coupe glass in Clear, $139.95 (set of six), from David Jones. 3 Heritage Mastercraft flute, $1799 (mixed set of four), from Wate

WHEN ASKED TO DESCRIBE her business, Fiona Harrison, owner of Australia’s first Indigenous chocolate company, takes a moment to answer. “It’s a people-centric social enterprise, on a journey to Indigenous empowerment in the native botanical supply ch

THE DAY THAT SUKI PADDINGTON MOVED from Melbourne to rural Tasmania with her husband, Kevin Cho, was a bittersweet one. The newlyweds had been excited about moving into their first home – a cosy 1950s cottage, just 20 minutes from Hobart, with “beaut

The Zarubin family will enjoy a relaxed Christmas in their cosy farmhouse in the Adelaide Hills. PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ STYLING JESSIE ZARUBIN ■

WALKING OUT THE FRONT door of Jim and Emily Dunn’s 120-year-old farmhouse, the fragrant air could almost carry you away. The wraparound verandah looks across a paddock where 600 David Austin rose bushes are in full flush, heavy with perfume. The swat

FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, Jessie Zarubin and her family have been in a constant state of fight or f light. Bushfires, COVID and significant health battles have well and truly tested their determination and courage. But throughout it all, their Kenton

WHEN INTERIOR DESIGNER NICKI DOBRZYNSKI and her husband, Chris, finished their first renovation, they swore they’d never live in a home during a project again. But skip ahead a few years and they’ve just wrapped up their fourth live-in renovation. “Y

IN NEWCASTLE’S HISTORIC MAYFIELD, Alicia Doyle, a former interior designer and local business owner, has patiently upgraded a 120-year-old worker’s cottage with love, self-restraint and her own brand of creativity. “I call it a gentle renovation,” sa

Beautiful Saint Bernards Mia and Enzo are on their best behaviour. Wrapping paper, ribbon and ornaments from Bespoke Letterpress. All candles from Studio Billie. Bolero 56-piece cutlery set from Stanley Rogers. Wine bucket from Bed Bath N’ Table. Hou

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT French flax linen tablecloth in Milk, $145, from I Love Linen. Marumitsu wave bowl, $85, from Bonnie & Neil. Veritas coupe/cocktail glass, $120 (set of two), from RIEDEL. Rio fringed placemat in Green, $5.95, from Pillow Talk.

If 2025 is going to be the year you get your garden in shape, you might just be in luck. Country Style and Fiskars are giving you the opportunity to win a set of garden tools valued at $947. This prize pack from the legendary Finnish garden brand, wh

INDOOR PLANTS MAKE GREAT GIFTS. They are the very opposite of a plastic, short-lived stocking stuffer; a gift that will live on through the next year, cleaning the air and making spaces more beautiful. They are environmentally friendly and often chea

Replicate The Zin House restaurant’s Christmas menu for your friends and family this year. PHOTOGRAPHY MONIQUE LOVICK ■

CHRISTMAS IS AN IMPORTANT time of year for anyone whose job is to feed people: the parties, the celebrations, the holiday feasts. But for Kim Currie, executive chef at The Zin House in Mudgee, NSW, it holds an extra significance. “Christmas Day is no

I THINK IT WAS PELLEGRINI’S… or the Cellar Bar at Florentino, or it could have been during my work experience stint at the venerated Stephanie’s Restaurant in Hawthorn East, just down from my old high school. I’m talking about the crème caramel – tha

NO MATTER WHICH WAY you look at it, I think it must be agreed that the combination of crisp meringue, tart fruit and pillowy whipped cream really is an excellent idea. The union is somehow so much more delicious than the sum of its parts. I am, of co

AT THE HOUSE OF ARRAS’S cellar door in the Pipers River region of northern Tasmania, an Australian shepherd named Flinders is the guest relations manager and tour director. Yes, that’s right – a dog is in charge of tours. Flinders greets you as you a

Never Never Distilling Co’s Ginache gin, $71, has been making waves among gin-lovers (yes, including me). It blends the brand’s award-winning Triple Juniper Gin with grenache grapes from McLaren Vale. It’s as pretty as it is delicious. Serve neat, wi

FEEDING PEOPLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT THE HEART of the New South Wales town of Coolamon. Located 30 minutes’ drive north-west of Wagga Wagga, on Wiradjuri Country, the town is surrounded by a glowing halo of yellow each spring, when the canola fields bur

THERE’S AN OLD-FASHIONED FEEL to Mrs Oldbucks Pantry in Berrima, in the NSW Southern Highlands: courteous staff; prettily packaged stacks of nostalgic treats; a general air of grace and gentility that conjures up the best of the past. So it’s no surp

Opened 12 years ago by Matteo and Fiona Carboni, Casa Carboni is an Italian cooking school, enoteca and retail store. The couple named their business Casa Carboni – which translates to ‘Carboni’s house’ – as they wanted customers to feel like they we

OWNER OF PEREGRINE STORE, 40 Jessie lives in the Adelaide Hills, SA, with husband Symon, 46, and children Eve, nine, and Viv, five, plus Jessie’s mum Leanne, 63. Their pet dogs, Scout, Hank and Wanda, are joined by miniature goats, sheep and chicken

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Infused with hydrating baobab oil, Coco Crayon in Brave, $40, from Ere Perez, delivers vibrant colour to lips and cheeks. Play-Pen Eyeliner in Retro Rose, $40, from Napoleon Perdis, defines eyes or creates a sultry smoky effe

Graham Norton, Coronet, $32.99 In the October issue, we reviewed The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux, which was about an injured octogenarian who required the services of a carer. A young gay guy turns up. She tells him her life story. In Norton’s

CLEVER COOKER With eight functionality options, the Philips 3000 Series Dual Basket XXXL Air Fryer does it all. From baking and grilling to toasting and roasting, it’s all you need to prepare your Christmas feast of ham, chicken, fish and vegies. ha

Nikki Gemmell, 4th Estate, $34.99 Girls’ school. Charismatic principal. Fascinating students. Off go the girls to toughen up for a few days in the wilderness… four don’t come back. Nor does their chaperone, the principal’s enigmatic deputy. You thin

ON THE CUSP OF THE last month of the year, in that wrinkle of time before Christmas is really upon us, I am allowing myself a moment to stand still. It’s been a year of change. The farm sold. All the trauma of uprooting ourselves from a place we love

Hahndorf Christmas Design Market, Dec 13-15 The German village of Hahndorf will once again host the Christmas edition of the Gathered Design Market. Showcasing goods made by South Australian designers, artisans and small businesses, the market will