Page 11 - Australian House & Garden (January 2020)

EDITOR’S LETTER H G

“APART from my

usual notes-to-self,

a recurring New

Year’s resolution is

to make my HOME

into nirvana.”

y the time you read this, the frenetic festive-season activity will be over and you can relax and contemplate
what’s in store for 2020. New Year’s resolutions reach fever pitch when accompanied by the dawn of a new
decade and the H&G team and I have been writing and reviewing our must–do lists for 2020. Apart from my
usual New Year notes-to-self – do more yoga, read more (that is, finish the 20 books I started this year), eat
B more fish and less French cheese, consume fewer drinks beginning with c (coffee, Champagne and chardonnay)
and try not to get so worked up about things – a recurring resolution is to make my home into nirvana. All needs will be
met when the vision is achieved and it will spark joy every day. I think this is all part of a property-renovating/decorating
condition that afflicts many and is difficult to cure. I have succumbed on many occasions!
If a renovation, build or move is on the cards for 2020, the beautiful refurbishment of interior designer Annie Benjamin’s

Sydney home will provide plenty of inspiration. Her kitchen (featured on the cover) manages to satisfy the quest for classic
and modern through savvy use of strong colour, elegant joinery and slick finishes. In WA’s south-west, a couple has
achieved their ultimate abode on a two-hectare site with sweeping views of Geographe Bay and the surrounding bushland.
As owner Polly says: “We wouldn’t change a thing”. She and her husband have clearly found the cure for property wanderlust!
Hair & makeup by Sam Powell. Photograph by Kristina Soljo. Artwork by Joshua Yeldham.
Our gardens editor, Elizabeth Wilson, visited Cranlana in Melbourne, the stunning former home of department
store founder Sidney Myer and his wife Merlyn. Its parklike gardens are exquisitely kept and it continues to provide
plenty of pleasure for many. A project by Think Outside Gardens shows what can be achieved in contemporary style.
If more travel is on your list for 2020 our story on magical, mystical Morocco will have you packing your bags. Closer
to home, stylist Sibella Court takes a road trip down the Great Ocean Road to Lorne.
Speaking of driving... I had a glimpse of the future as part of the judging panel of the WhichCar awards when I drove
the new Tesla with my colleague, Inside Out editor Eliza O’Hare. Its elegant exterior gave no clue to the sparse interior:
simple veneer dashboard and an oversized screen completed the vehicular decor. Very The Jetsons! Welcome to 2020.

Tanya Buchanan, editor in chief
TOP PICKS

Tanya’s top five

SIP SERVE READ DRIVE SCENT
Veuve Clicquot ‘La Grande Long Courrier porcelain Joan Didion: The 1960s Model 3 Performance Carrière Frères ‘Tiare’
Dame’ Champagne, $282; bowls, from $35; www. & 1970s book, $67.99 electric car, Tesla; fragrance diffuser, $89;
www.veuveclicquot.com. robertplumb.com.au. (Library of America). www.tesla.com.au. agencedeparfum.com.au.