THE PROCESS
views & garden
NOW AND FOREVER
– be&be is situated on the highest hill in Castlemaine, offering nearly 360-degree views of the town and surrounding countryside.
– The view has changed significantly since the house was built in 1856 when the town was barren after having been harvested for gold mining
– Today, the town is covered by a lush and growing canopy of trees
– be&be also features a thriving garden of succulents and other drought-hardy plants for guests to enjoy.
STUDIO-ONE
BEFORE & AFTER
– studio-one is a two-storey, red-brick building built in the 1970’s in the style of the old house.
– The bathroom corner was thought to be original as the kitchen was often seperate to the main house incase of fire.
– When we moved here in 2007 the building was a garage which we converted and lived in while the house was being made liveable
– Then in 2015 it was fitted out for be&b.
STUDIO-TWO
BUILD & FIT-OUT
– studio-two was built in 2012 as a studio/workshop.
– In 2022 the space was fitted out with a bathroom and kitchenette for be&be.
– The pleasing proportions, comforting acoustics, natural light and a stunning views create a calming place to rest and restore.
– The bespoke timber furniture combined with the restrained design makes this the perfect space for a deep sensory unwind.
CASTLE HOUSE
BEFORE & AFTER
HISTORY
– be&be is part of a heritage-listed property in Castlemaine called Castle House.
– The house was designed and built in 1856 by William Downe, architect and Castlemaine Town Surveyor.
– Despite looking like a church or school-house Castle House has always been a family home.
– The first occupants, Elizabeth Farroll and her husband George, a watchmaker, owned the house from 1869 till 1892.
RESTORATION
– In 2007 when the house was purchased it had been uninhabited for fifteen years.
– The garden was a dustball with hydrophobic soil, weeds were as big as trees and any tree worth keeping was in need of care.
– The rear-end of the house was dilapidated to the point of falling down.
– The following years saw the house restored, studio-two built, be&be opened and the garden created.
NICOLA
DESIGNER, MAKER & HOST
In 2007, when Nicola moved to Castle House with her family, studio-one was a garage and studio-two a baron hill. Over the following fifteen years she spent her time time restoring the dilapidated house, creating the garden from scratch and building studio-two while completing a PhD in fine-art and raising three boys: all labours of love.
The main drive behind her design direction for be&be was to create warm, eclectic spaces, that nurture and restore, while providing a serene home-away-from-home, for people wanting to spend time in this particular neck of the woods, in a garden setting appropriate to the harsh conditions here on the hill.
