‘Ellis House’ oozes country style in GRAND proportions. Fully refurbished by its new owners, Ellis House is in Kyneton and available as accommodation and location shoots. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Built in the 1860s by architect, engineer and surveyor Stuart Murray, the welcoming and STATELY home now belongs to textile designer Tracie Ellis and her husband David. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
The original ‘Summer House’ is such an ENCHANTING and beautiful reminder of the 1860s when Ellis House stood on a much larger parcel of land that included a tennis court. Fancy a game of tennis and glass or two of Pimms! Photo – Sharyn Cairns. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
{L} The ‘Barn’ (David says it’s so full of character he could live in IT!) and raised garden beds in the substantial rear garden at Ellis House. {C} Tracie Ellis of AURA by Tracie Ellis and owner of the MAGNIFICENT Ellis House. {R} The impressive herb and vegetable garden at Ellis House - just one of Tracie’s many triumphs. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
When someone who lives and works in a vibrant city, excels professionally in design and style and travels the world for creative inspiration DREAMS of living and opening a shop in a small country town, then, in my books, that someone more than qualifies as a QUINTESSENTIAL ‘Countryphile’!
Textile Designer Tracie Ellis of AURA by Tracie Ellis, together with her husband David, both LOVE what country life has to offer. In October last year, they finally achieved ‘Step One’ of their long-held dream to live in the country when they purchased Ellis House (as they’ve since named it) in Kyneton. After quite an earnest search and many weekends spent driving to and fro between their home in Kew (a 1950s modernist ‘glassy’ home) and their dream home location in Kyneton, the perfect house popped up at a perfect time.
The large, four-bedroom weatherboard period home provided Tracie with a perfect canvas to express her style and creativity. Her choices for the interior are inspired by their travels and their admiration of Flemish and Belgian style, Soho House in Berlin and the Scandinavian celebration of natural light and earthy tones.
But, more than being a new design and style project, living in the country provides Tracie and David with much-valued “soul food” – space to breathe, to grow their own vegetables and herbs, to make preserves, meet new friends and become part of a small vibrant community. All this, plus great food and coffee just a stroll away! SIGH! How wonderful!
Tracie and David’s country life dream will be complete when they get to live full-time at Ellis House, which they hope might happen in the next few years. Until then, the couple spends each weekend at their Kyneton home and, according to Tracie, Friday’s don’t come fast enough! Now that’s TRUE love of country life!
In the meantime, if you find yourself inspired by Ellis House and feel like channelling YOUR ‘Inner Countryphile’ then we here at The Countryphiles have some great news … Ellis House is available for bookings! You can find the rates here. Additionally, if you’re a stylist, photographer, film-maker or event manager Ellis House is also available for location hire. You can email Tracie for more details. Enjoy! x
All the right touches. How WONDERFUL! It’s not often that a house we all ADORE is available to stay at. So, whenever you feel like channelling your ‘Inner Countryphile’ Ellis House is taking bookings! I get the impression you’d better PLAN ahead to avoid disappointment! Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
The gorgeous bed linen, coverlets, throws and cushions are from Tracie’s amazing AURA by Tracie Ellis range – of course! Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Photo-bombed by Tracie and David’s dog ‘Max’ (bottom-centre)! Bed linen, cushions, throws available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Just the right mix of natural textures, a subdued but rich ‘non-colour’ colour palette, moodiness, characterful art and glamorous lighting – Ellis House showcases Tracie’s flair for curating elevated country STYLE! Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
My all-time-favourite room at Ellis House! Quality, taste and talent speak volumes here. I really LOVE the SEAGRASS floor covering – so practical and so earthy! The stunning colonical glass pendant lamp, which Tracie bought at auction, belonged to renowned artist David Bromley. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
AURA’s currant range celebrates the colours that inspired Tracie on her travels. As Tracie puts it, AURA by Tracie Ellis is “a little bit Scandinavian, a little bit ethnic Indian and a whole lot of Melbourne”. As well as personalising her range through her designs, Tracie values the uniqueness that comes from having pieces hand-made because it means each piece is given its own ‘personality’ and it encourages a celebration of the work of human hands. Rather than see differences in pieces as ‘imperfections’ Tracie sees differences as a way to honour the time and effort that goes into handcrafting things rather than having them made on a mechanised production line. The images below are just a small selection of Tracie’s lovely range.
Tracie’s on-line store AURA by Tracie Ellis makes shopping for quality homewares so much easier for people who live in the country. Photo/Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Marine and gold bring welcome warmth to any winter’s day. Cushions by AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
The natural and smoke Shahi Ikat Quilt Cover with its antique floral design and bright SAFRON trim adds cheerful and inviting warmth to Charcoal tones. Available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Clever layering and a measured explosion of COLOUR is part of Tracie’s signature style. This stunning crochet CORAL throw is available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
What a beautiful ensemble! The Suzani rug in SMOKE, Chevron throw in RUST, Mirror cushion in NATURAL, Scallop Cushion in French Blue, Moss Stitch Cushion in TAUPE, Cable Knit Cushion in Natural, TAHLA Cushion in Scarlet and Moss Stitch Cushion in Birch are all AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Tracie designs a wonderful range of coverlets and shams. The WOODBLOCK coverlet is hand screen printed in OCEAN on natural and finished with a rich red border. Available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Coverlets and shams available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
An eye for combining great colour palettes, textures and patterns is a hallmark of Tracie Ellis’ instinct for knowing how to design what her clients enjoy! Agatti Cushion in GRAPE, Splat Cushion in Grape, Crochet Cushion in Grape. CUSHIONS available at AURA by Tracie Ellis. Photo – supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
New season rug collection by AURA by Tracie Ellis. It’s like celebrating SPRING all over again! Photo- supplied. Production – Danielle White/The Countryphiles.
Tell us a little bit about your background – what path led you to where you are now?
I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist and travel to Antarctica to study Penguins until I realised you needed to study for 11 years! And, I’m actually afraid of sharks so I don’t think I’d be fabulous underwater! I studied Textile Design at RMIT and during my University days I worked designing sleepwear and men’s boxer shorts for Davenport. After graduating, my first placement was at Country Road where I designed my first quilt cover design. I then worked for Myer in the buying office, Coats Patons designing knitting & crochet patterns and yarn colours and then Red Robin socks (where I meet my very close friend & AURA by Tracie Ellis Marketing Manager Jaine Fulcher), then I worked to develop the homewares brand “Domis homeware”. Domis taught me about homewares and took me to India & China. After Domis, I started AURA by Tracie Ellis with Gordon & Michele Duncan (of Linen House) in 2000. It’s been 13 years of learning – I’m still learning everyday and I am so lucky to have an amazing AURA team who are all very passionate and have worked very hard to get us to where we are today.
You own Aura by Tracie Ellis, which specialises in designer homewares and linens that YOU and your team design. Can you give us a little insight into your creative processes?
We are a small creative team and everyone gets involved; the ideas are constant and we always have what we think our customers would like in mind. We design 2 ranges and at the start of a season I travel a lot for inspiration, to Europe, Scandinavia and the USA as well as India twice a year. We then put together the ranges to present to our major buyers biannually and then do our photography – again with an incredibly talented team that takes our product to another level!
What are your influences? Where or who or what do you draw your inspiration from?
I’m inspired by travel, my home, my team members & our customers.
You are so good at so many things! What is your core business? How do you manage to juggle these various intertwined ventures?
AURA is my work but also my passion and my hobby; it has been for 13 years so I am very lucky. Our core business is designing and marketing homewares: including Bedlinen, Rugs, Cushions, Throws and Accessories. All of this has brought about my new Ellis House project in the Country.
You live in the city and spend your weekends in the country. What path led you to buy a house in the country? Do you plan to make the move permanently?
I wanted a change of lifestyle and to be part of a small creative community, a simpler life, and to be closer to my husband’s family who live in Bendigo. Sometimes it’s about finding yourself after you have been doing the same thing for a long time. We are hoping to make the move to our beautiful country house within 5 years (or earlier and we can live in the barn!).
Do you consider yourself to be a ‘Countryphile’? Do you love country life? Why?
I would be honoured to be considered a “Countryphile” – I spend the week dreaming of my garden and the beautiful open spaces we have in Kyneton. I love learning what to plant in which season and what NOT too! We have made some great friends who are very passionate about their lives in the country and have achieved some amazing things and have big ideas. We aspire to be part of this smaller, creative community. My husband thinks he’s more city than country – but he secretly wishes for a green house & loves running into people he knows each time he visits the coffee shop!
What does a typical day in the life of Tracie Ellis look like; from when you wake to when you go to sleep?
I wake up and read my emails in bed (ok, now everyone knows where I am when I email them at 7am) by the time I arrive at the office I have my emails out of the way and depending who is in that day (our AURA team work on differing days) I will either be working with buyers or suppliers or working on marketing & graphics with the team. We are a small team but we are fast-paced – we have constant ideas and it’s a great vibe. We just finished our Spring/Summer 2013 shoot with our stylist and photographer – which is a great time of the season to see brand new designs turn into lifestyle images for us to share. Certain days of the week are gym days and then home to cook with my husband and talk about our respective days – we are always tossing up new ideas for AURA and for Ellis House. If it’s Thursday, we look forward to watching Mathew Evans in Gourmet Farmer & we don’t miss an episode of ‘Escape to the Country’. I love cooking, so I watch most cooking shows and will soon become addicted to Master Chef now that it has started again!
What aspect of country life are you loving MOST at the moment?
Preserving! I recently did a preserving course at The Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania and I was so inspired to do my own. My brother-in-law has a vineyard in Bendigo and he is a great preserver – whether it’s using his grapes or helping me! And now with the opening of ‘phillip&lea‘ in Trentham – I am hooked!
What would you imagine might be the most CHALLENGING aspect of country life?
For us, it is the distance – it is currently a long travel to work and we both have hectic working weeks.
Do you prefer Coffee or Tea? Your favourite country café and why?
I’m a tea drinker & my favourite Country café is Small Holdings, in Malmsbury. I love the décor and the mood that they have created – it’s very special.
What and where was the last great meal you enjoyed/shared in the country?
We had a great dinner last Sunday at Annie Smithers Bistrot in Kyneton – I can’t say no to duck!
Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?
Either visiting Country Fresh on Piper Street or the farmer’s market to pick up great food to cook breakfast, or at the local swimming pool.
YOUR country town’s best kept secret?
Has to be Turner Bros Hardware! We were told about this great hardware store by a friend in Kyneton and we haven’t looked back, any problem you have they go out of their way to help you out. That’s old fashion good service!
What can we expect NEXT from you/your business in the future?
We are very excited about the launch of our new rug collection; they have been hand-woven in Jaipur, India. And, we are working on the launch of our fantastic Spring/Summer 2013 collection, which focuses on pastels with neon colours!
What are you looking FORWARD to and why?
Spending the weekend in the Country because that’s what I look forward to all week :)
What would be your dream project?
Working on a beautiful AURA store in the Country … one day!
Can you list for us 5 specific things you turn to/do when you need of a ‘dose’ of country life?
1. Cooking
2. Preserving
3. Gardening
4. Inviting friends and family for dinner
5. Hanging our with our new country friends
Tracie Ellis
As a member of Tracie’s creative team, I can attest to what she’s said here. We’re all very passionate when it comes to what we do, which makes the experience of working for Aura a real pleasure. Watching Ellis House come to life, and playing a small part in helping that happen has been a highlight of my time so far. I love the photos you’ve taken of the place too, the way the light is streaming in. Very inviting on this cold, Melbourne morning!
Hi Michael – the AURA team certainly is amazing and your combined passion illuminates your creations. Warmest wishes to you and the team! x
What a great post! Love the house and the photography. It is all very inspiring.
Thanks Jody. Tracie is quite a talented woman, isn’t she! x
Thanks Danielle, it was a great pleasure to meet you and talk about life – thank you very much for your kind words & I hope to run into you soon in Kyneton Tracie x
Likewise Tracie. Your dedication to great design and love for country life are an inspiration. Danielle x