When Jude bought Stanley Cottage in 1991, the building had already lived another life.
The long room at the front had once been a local corner shop, a deli that closed in the late 1980s. Some work had already been done to turn the building into a home, but the proportions of its former life remained. Jude liked the space, and when the family moved in, his eldest child was less than a month old.
More than 35 years later, five children have grown up within these rooms. Their lives have taken them from Adelaide to Melbourne, the United Kingdom and the United States, while Jude’s youngest son still lives at home, studying and playing music in some of the same rooms his older siblings once filled.
When the children were young, the length of the former shop became part of the entertainment. Wooden trains travelled from one end of the room to the other. There were games, sleepovers and large family Christmases when the dining table extended through the space and trestles were added whenever more seats were needed.
“We certainly did have some very big Christmases here,” Jude remembers.
Today, the same room is part music room, part reading room and part living space. Instruments sit alongside records, books, artworks and furniture. Nothing feels arranged around one decorating idea.
Jude grew up in a Malvern villa with parents who loved antiques and inherited some of those pieces himself. At the same time, he was growing up through the 1960s and watching Australian interiors change.
“I got used to the antiques. I loved them, and I inherited some of them,” he says. But he also learned to appreciate modern furniture.
“And so I learnt to love that stuff too, and that’s why I’m interested in TH Brown furniture.”
Stanley Cottage reflects both parts of that history. Family portraits sit alongside contemporary artworks. Hunting horns from Jude’s parents’ home remain on display, while his father’s Commonwealth Electronics turntable has been incorporated into a custom timber console.
Ask how it all came together and his answer is simple.
“It’s just evolved over time.”
Music has evolved in much the same way. Jude describes himself as an amateur musician, while his youngest son now plays three instruments, continuing another family rhythm within the home.
Jude’s connection with TH Brown came, fittingly, through his daughters.
One daughter in Melbourne was looking for stools for her apartment, while another daughter and her husband were already enthusiastic about the brand.
“I think it was my daughters’ fault,” Jude says.
Their interest led him to TH Brown, where he tried different stool heights before choosing the lower Martelle Bar Stool, which he found more comfortable. He also paid attention to how the current pieces were made.
“These are properly made.”
What happened next says even more about why they belong here.
The Martelles began moving around the house. One might sit near the kitchen, then shift towards the piano while his son plays, or find its way into the front room when another seat is needed.
“I’ve really interspersed them amongst everything else,” Jude says. “There’s not sort of like a TH Brown corner. I think they just integrate very nicely into the house.”
The TH Brown Cuban Coffee Table came next, chosen because Jude loved the design. It now sits in one of the quieter living areas, where the family occasionally gathers for a movie.
“You can get some junk food and drinks and stick it on the table and have a little party watching a movie.”
Life at Stanley Cottage is quieter now than when all five children were living under one roof, but it is far from static. Music is still being played, family comes and goes, and new pieces continue to join inherited ones.
Asked how he describes the home, Jude does not reach for a style or design label.
“It’s just for relaxing, really.”
After more than 35 years, Stanley Cottage carries the evidence of exactly that.
It does not feel finished.
It feels lived in.
Explore more from our In Residence series.
We would also like to acknowledge our brilliant In Residence South Australian Photographer
Gareth Williams, Art Department Creative
