Resolute in her mission to create a potpourri free zone, Genevieve Wearne set out to restore what was once an old harpsichord studio into a creative space and guesthouse to allow the work weary to reboot, then explore the local art, design and produce of Kyneton.
Having purchased the house in December 2010, the studio, or Flop House as it is now known, was cleared of the roosting chickens that had taken over the ‘coup’ and given a Finnish summer house inspired makeover. The pitched roof and exposed wooden beams are what drew Genevieve to the house initially, in spite of the home having effectively been left to perish.
Renovation was slow and steady as Genevieve and her partner worked full time jobs during the whole process. A new bathroom and kitchen annex was added, floors and walls stripped back, lashings of white paint was added and the windows opened up and a back deck added extending to the verdant garden beyond.
While the studio is completely self-contained with its own private garden, guests can enjoy the company of Wolfie the Irish Wolfhound-Greyhound cross and Ziggy the Italian Greyhound if they whistle. Oh an the resident fancy chickens who have since been relocated to a new, much smaller coup.
Guests attending local workshops in the Kyneton area can stay for discounted rates while local products from Piper St Food Co, Inner Biscuit and Banks Fine Wine are prepared to welcome in guests. Local artists such as Peter D. Cole, Lucy James and John Lloyd are represented and displayed through the guesthouse with furniture and homewares by local artisans and designers such as by Rundell & Rundell, , Lightly lights (sold at Stockroom), Spacecraft floor cushions, Aura bed-linen, Vontrott Lamp, Bendigo Pottery, Creswick Woollen Mill blankets have been sourced along with a collection of textiles from Laos and Cambodia.
Having left a job that involved consulting to the government on skills for the creative and leisure sectors just over a year ago in a bid to restore and get back to her own creative roots, Genevieve has created Flop House to essentially help others re-connect and regenerate. Just as she has done, both in home and in spirit.
PHOTOGRAPHY Tara Pearce | FLOWERS Prunella
A second Flop House in Trentham is currently underway and is the lynchpin in the couples plan to create some sustainable tourist pathways for people wanting to visit by bike and explore the old rail trails and smaller towns across the Macedon/Goldfields areas, along with a range of Flop House products coming soon.
You can contact Genevieve Wearne for more info here.
Gorgeous and relaxed. Helped by the use of cowhide and copper. Two of my most favourite things! Samantha @ Two Girls And A Container