When visitors first step into this grand country cottage in the NSW Southern Highlands, they’re bound to catch the sweet, floral scent of blooming hydrangeas. Clusters of the delicate flower are arranged in ceramic vases in every room of the two-storey home (of which there are numerous), plucked straight from the property’s sprawling gardens.
“We never have a shortage of fresh flowers in the house in the warmer months when the hydrangeas are in bloom. It means I can have magnificent displays using all the different, gorgeous hues we have growing,” explains homeowner and interior designer Melinda Hartwright, whose green-thumb husband Tom can be credited with transforming the once-sparse backyard into a hydrangea haven over the course of nine years.
Relocating from Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2013, the family of five quickly settled into their new home in Bowral. Built in 1990 with soaring ceilings and East Coast American architecture, the house “had all the right bones when we bought it, but just needed tweaking and a little redesign to make it ideal,” Melinda says.
Each space reflects Melinda’s love for “classic, timeless American-inspired interiors”, a style that influences her own interior design consultancy, Melinda Hartwright Interiors (MHI). “It has been the most wonderful family home. We have so many treasured memories of our time here,” Melinda shares. “It’s such a treat to look around at your home and garden and think ‘wow, I’m so lucky to live here’, I just love this place.”
