Modern country.

Featured home in Mt Schanck Station.

Words by

Joanne Hawkins

Topic	Featured Homes
Photography	Zoe Wighton
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It’s a frequently asked question: how do you respectfully renovate a period building while also making it suitable for 21st-century living?

In the case of a 155-year-old historic homestead in South Australia, the answer was to showcase the original features and make them the heroes of its modern makeover.

The four-bedroom homestead is situated on Mt Schanck Station, a 2866 hectare sheep and cattle grazing property, near Mt Gambier. Built in the 1860s, the stately house and land it sits on are considered one of the region’s finest.

After Mt Schanck Station changed hands for only the fourth time in its long history in 2017, the new owners decided to overhaul the dated interiors of the homestead and turn it into a light, bright contemporary farmhouse.

Country style.

As the period home featured multiple sash windows surrounded by beautiful wooden architraves, Plantation Shutters were the obvious choice.

“The advantage of the Plantation Shutters is that they complement and enhance the architraves, rather than hide them,” says dollar curtains + blinds Marketing Manager Danielle Crosby.

A total of 23 Basswood Timber Plantation Shutters were installed in multiple rooms throughout the property, including the kitchen, dining room, lounge, bedrooms and wet rooms, in a mix of face fit (direct mount) and recess fit (inside mount).

The Plantation Shutters – in the popular Hinged Style – have a clear view control option which has a tilt rod concealed at the back of the panel to rotate the blades. This ensures unobstructed views through the open blades.

“Plantation Shutters are a perfect fit and add value to period homes,” says Danielle. “Their timber construction matches the windows, so they add insulation, but retain the classic features of the original windows that make a period home so unique,” she says.

“The horizontal lines of Plantation Shutters also add width to the windows, creating the illusion of larger spaces, drawing the eye across,” she adds.

“Plantation Shutters are a perfect fit and add value to period homes. Their timber construction matches the windows, so they add insulation, but retain the classic features of the original windows that make a period home so unique.”

— Danielle, dc+b Marketing Manager

Into the light.

The Pure White Plantation Shutters effortlessly work with the homestead’s new light and airy interior scheme, which includes crisp white walls, statement lighting, built-in Shaker-style cabinetry, polished original floorboards and subway tiles.

Elsewhere, Wave Fold Double Curtains add a touch of softness in the master bedroom while Blockout Roller Blinds in dc+b designs Vamp fabric in an Aspen colourway were used on French doors in the entertaining room. The Blockout Roller Blinds enable full view of the stunning manicured garden during the day while offering privacy at night.