The Schoolhouse, Woodbyne, Berry

Now it seems that once you start looking for them, old re-worked schoolhouses are everywhere. I thought it would be remiss of me not to post one of the more lovely conversions, the Woodbyne Guesthouse in my own neighbourhood at Jaspers Brush near Berry.

Twenty years ago, Woodbyne was just a couple of old abandoned weatherboard school buildings in a fairly bare paddock by the highway when the very talented designers John Pegrum and Dayne Van Bree bought them. This, I might add, was the first in a number of stylish properties they have renovated or built in the area, some of which I have been lucky enough to photograph for the glossies. More on that later...

From what I have heard, the boys toiled in the garden for many years to build it up from a bare paddock to the established series of avenues and garden rooms it has today. They painted the old buildings white and made guest rooms around a courtyard. They sold it a while back and moved onto their next project.

One lesson I have learned from them is that nothing exceptional is created without dedication, determination and a large dose of inspiration.