A textile designer’s kaleidoscopic home in NSW’s Southern Highlands

Textile designer Tigger Hall has curated her home in the NSW Southern Highlands as a reflection of her diverse life experiences, travels, and artistic sensibilities. The dwelling, originally a 1970s bungalow, underwent a transformative renovation to become a vibrant, layered space filled with collected treasures and custom designs. Hall's approach to home design emphasizes storytelling through objects and a harmonious blend of past and present. She integrates items gathered from around the world, such as zinc finials from Paris that now adorn her roofline, creating a sense of surprise and personal connection throughout the house. Her philosophy centers on imbuing her home with memories and connections to people and places, ensuring each piece contributes to the overall narrative. The renovation journey began in 2020 when Hall discovered the bungalow. Despite its initial modest state, the house resonated with her, particularly its spacious living area featuring a five-meter pitched ceiling with exposed beams, which reminded her of grand homes from her childhood in England and France. This architectural feature, along with the deep verandahs, evoked a sense of familiarity and provided an ideal setting for her love of entertaining with music and poetry. While the house possessed inherent charm, it required significant modifications to align with Hall's vision. She addressed practical issues such as the lack of direct garden access from the living area and the confined feeling of some rooms, all while maintaining the existing T-shaped floor plan. Key structural and aesthetic changes included repainting the living room's exposed beams white and installing salvaged round windows from Argentina to enhance natural light and draw the eye upward. An ornate limestone mantel was added, and the living room was extended with two balconies, complete with French doors and railings also sourced from Argentina, despite their initial state of disrepair. In the kitchen, Hall centered her design around a new Aga, valuing its traditional cooking method. Adjacent to the kitchen, a former laundry area was transformed into a library/snug, expanding onto the verandah. This cozy space features French doors from Paris, custom wallpaper designed by Hall, and 1880s parquetry flooring recycled from a Buenos Aires bank, chosen for its historical character and patina. Throughout the home, Hall's dedication to natural materials and sustainability is evident. She champions the reuse of salvaged materials, demonstrating how such items can be beautifully integrated into a contemporary living space. Her builders, Brendan Sheather and Michael Rudge, were instrumental in executing her vision, skillfully blending new and recycled elements. A notable addition is a lightwell with an oval detail in the ceiling of the hallway leading to the bedrooms, designed to introduce more natural light. The garage was converted into a studio with a coffered ceiling and panelling, serving as the workspace for her Nine Muses Textiles range, which draws inspiration from her global travels and mentors like Nina Campbell and Kit Kemp. This studio also serves as an in-situ showroom for her distinctive fabrics, which are interwoven throughout the interiors. Hall's textiles, characterized by a harmonious mix of colors and patterns, are a central element of her decor, proving that varied patterns can blend seamlessly if within a similar hue. Her favored colors, sea-glass blue and vibrant red, are prominent. The interiors are rich in texture, featuring curated furniture from previous homes, auction finds, travel souvenirs, heirlooms, and new pieces, all contributing to a tactile experience and a sense of history. Artworks, including those by her great-grandfather Lindsay Bernard Hall, adorn the walls, further personalizing the space. Despite the global influences, the home maintains a strong connection to its Southern Highlands location, evidenced by elements like the zinc finials standing out against the local gum trees. Hall also plans to host workshops on the property, sharing her passion for textiles and design with others. #TextileDesign #HomeRenovation #SouthernHighlands #InteriorDecorating #EclecticStyle #SalvagedMaterials #CustomWallpaper #ArtCollection #AustralianHomes #TextileDesign #HomeRenovation #SouthernHighlands #InteriorDecorating #EclecticStyle #SalvagedMaterials #CustomWallpaper #ArtCollection #AustralianHomes

40 months ago

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