- 7 minutes ago
- #realitycentralusa
Better Homes and Gardens (1996) Season 32 Episode 7 ,
Better Homes and Gardens
#RealityCentralUSA
"If you enjoyed this video and want to support our team by helping us fund our late-night coffee needs, please donate via PayPal! ☕️
A small act – a big impact. Thank you all so much! ❤️"
Donate at: [https://www.paypal.me/ngaxo]
Better Homes and Gardens
#RealityCentralUSA
"If you enjoyed this video and want to support our team by helping us fund our late-night coffee needs, please donate via PayPal! ☕️
A small act – a big impact. Thank you all so much! ❤️"
Donate at: [https://www.paypal.me/ngaxo]
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:06Some people are so talented that they can actually design and execute a magnificent
00:11goat tower like that one. I mean, seriously, how cute are they? But the person responsible
00:16for this is actually known for working with much smaller and finer things. But this gives
00:21you an idea that her creativity is off the scale. It's just a taste of what's to come.
00:26In fact, loads of whimsical inspiration is coming your way tonight on Better Homes
00:30and Gardens. Tonight, this midweek marvel really hits the meatball out of a park.
00:37This is an autumn salad. We love meatballs that you're going to want all year round, trust me.
00:44Hardest part of making this chair is deciding what to call it.
00:48This type of chair is known as the Kentucky stick chair, Kentucky folding chair, or as
00:52I prefer KFC. Juliet's making some outdoor table weights that really rock.
00:59Not only do these keep my table looking picture perfect, but the added accent also makes my
01:04table theme look even better. And if you've got that sinking feeling, we might know a guy.
01:11There are plenty of reasons why your pavers might be sinking.
01:18All right, autumn has just creeped in. It's still hot, but there's that little bit of chill coming in.
01:23So what better way to celebrate autumn than with some beautiful lamb meatballs and the best autumn vegetables.
01:33All right, a little bit of olive oil.
01:37So I've got carrots, beautiful baby carrots. Nowadays you can get many different colours.
01:44Take the green off, just cut them in half.
01:48There's nothing better than seeing the shape of the carrot. Don't bother chopping it up.
01:56All right, so we've got our carrots. Leave a little bit of green on. You can eat that green,
02:00don't waste it. Into the hot pan. Beetroots. Now I love beetroots. Trim up your beets.
02:09Keep the leaves for later, you'll see why. Cut them in quarters.
02:14So roughly about the same size as the carrots, so they're all going to cook together.
02:22And roasted, it sort of releases the sugar. So when they caramelise, you get a beautiful vegetable.
02:28You want to hear that sizzle.
02:34So it only needs really three to four minutes in the hot pan, gently stirring.
02:39To start, you want a little bit of bite. Not too hard, not too soft. A little bit of the
02:43Goldilocks going on there.
02:44We're going to deglaze with a little bit of red wine vinegar.
02:51All right. Oh yes, smells good.
02:58So that's what we're looking at. Beautiful roast, caramelised beets, carrots. A little bit of vinegar on there.
03:05So we'll keep them to the side. All right, meatballs. So I got 500 grams of lamb mince.
03:13About 150 grams of breadcrumbs, which will help soak up all the flavour and the fat.
03:21So the lamb's a great conveyor of flavour. So to go with the veg, we're sort of going a little
03:26bit
03:26Middle Eastern on this one. So, tablespoon of onion powder.
03:35Tablespoon of coriander.
03:40Coriander and lamb, match made in heaven. Coriander, cumin and lamb, even better.
03:45So we've got a tablespoon of cumin.
03:50And I've got one of garlic powder as well.
03:55So you've got the spices that go with lamb. Now you need the herbs that go with lamb.
03:59So what goes with lamb? Mint. I like it quite chunky.
04:07So your mint goes in.
04:10All right, can I fit anything else in a lamb meatball? Yes, I can. What would go better?
04:16Cheese. So halloumi goes really well when it's cooked. So we're going to cut some halloumi,
04:21nice and small diced so it warms up inside the lamb.
04:26All right, our halloumi goes in.
04:32And now it's a case of just getting messy. So you want to incorporate all those flavours into the lamb
04:37mince.
04:43And now meatballs to whatever size you want. So because we're doing them in a pan,
04:47you don't want to go too big because you want them to cook all the way.
04:57So I mean 500 grams. Are you going to feed six people with that?
05:02All right, the oil is smoking hot. Get your meatballs straight in.
05:06You want to hear that sizzle because you want that caramelization.
05:15Give them a little turn.
05:18You can smell the lamb. You can smell the spice. Have a look at that. You've got beautiful caramelization.
05:25But inside it's still raw. So what I'm going to do now is to the hot pan,
05:31I'm going to add a little splash of water, which is going to steam. I'm going to put the lid
05:34on and
05:35it will finish cooking the meatballs. And that water will turn into sort of a little bit of a stock
05:40because
05:40all the fat will leach into it and it will become part of the dressing. That's a top tip right
05:45there.
05:53All right.
05:56So what happens is the fat has sort of leached out of the lamb, the spices, and it's sort of
06:00giving you a little bit of a sauce with that water. So very gently into our tray.
06:08What sings autumn to me as well is mushrooms. So I've still got a little bit of that lamb fat
06:14in there. So why not utilize it?
06:27All right, our mushrooms are half cooked. I told you keep the beetroot leaves
06:32in on top of your mushrooms. Our mushrooms, our leaves are wilted down. A little deglaze with the vinegar again.
06:47In on top of our vegetables. Give that a little mix around.
06:56Gonna add some pine nuts.
07:01Two tablespoons of capers.
07:03All we need now is a dressing to bring the whole thing together. Two tablespoons of mustard powder.
07:11So into our jar. 150 mils of red wine. Vinegar that is. So equal olive oil to red wine.
07:26And the reason you put it in a jar is, when it's ready for use,
07:33it emulsifies your oil, your vinegar and your mustard.
07:43All right. All we got to do is build this beautiful salad. I'm going to add a little bit of
07:47fresh mint at the end,
07:48just to make it a bit more vibrant. But you want to get a good contrast of colors and vegetables
07:55on the plate,
07:56just to show off the autumnal vegetables.
08:03Look at that.
08:04What I do is I'll toss the meatballs in that juice that came out in the pan.
08:09Just give them a little shine up there. Take on all that flavor.
08:14Then what you do is you just dot them around.
08:27A little bit of fresh mint.
08:38And now you just christen that salad with the sauce.
08:51All right. Give me a go.
08:58This is an autumn salad with lamb meatballs that you're going to want all year round. Trust me.
09:14Basic tools, simple techniques and cheap material. This is a chair for everyone.
09:20Everyone knows it's a long road to achieve global success.
09:24Tonight you're going to meet the driving force behind one of the best stories in Australian design.
09:35They say there is more than one way to skin a cat. However, I'm not sure who said that or
09:39why.
09:39Probably someone who doesn't like cats. But to use a phrase, there's also more than one way to build a
09:45chair.
09:45Now, whether you're a master craftsman or a first timer, anyone can build something to sit on.
09:50However, the hard part is, if you're a beginner, how do you make it look nice?
09:55Well, this chair over here, not only has the good looks, but its simplicity is amazing.
10:03And it will make you look like an expert, even if you've got your old plates on.
10:15This type of chair is known as the Kentucky stick chair, Kentucky folding chair, or as I prefer, KFC.
10:22And it's the stick part of the build that is key, because it's made up of a series of different
10:27lengths of timber.
10:28And for that, I'm using some 40 by 32 dressed pine. And it's this assembly that makes the carpentry part
10:35super easy.
10:36To start off with, I'm going to cut all my pieces to make up the chair.
10:51All up, I need to cut nine pieces at 230 mil long. Six at 370, two at 750, four at
11:00780, two at 875 and two at 1 meter 50.
11:07The next step is to get rid of these sharp edges. So I'll be doing a bit of a chamfer.
11:12For that, I'm using my battery planer now. If you don't have one of these, you can use a hand
11:16plane,
11:17or you can even use some sandpaper, just to soften the edges.
11:20Love, love, pushing me far away. No, no, you make it feel like a hot one, German,
11:30into your heart when it's over, that one's over.
11:37With all my pieces prepared, the next step is to drill all my holes, which will allow this threaded rod
11:43to go through the chair and hold it together.
11:46Now, the tip is, this is a 6 mil rod. You want to use a 7 mil drill bit, because
11:51that allows a little bit of clearance
11:53and makes it a lot easier when it comes to assembling the chair.
11:56I'll drill the first piece, and then I'm going to use this as my template to mark out all the
12:01other holes.
12:02Let's get lost tonight, falling out of space and fire,
12:07falling inside theцию,
12:09like thisen,
12:11Let's get lost tonight,
12:13falling through the crystal sky,
12:16falling inside the cave,
12:18I feel like a sharp of a fire day,
12:24Under the ocean, on the desert planet,
12:38Now, before I put this chair together, I'm just going over all the pieces with a coat
12:42of clear. And now we are ready to put the seat together. So I've got my 6mm threaded rod.
12:58I'm just starting with a nut and a washer. And basically, I'm going to be putting together
13:02the seat first, then the backrest, and then we're going to add the two together. So to
13:09start off, it's these shorter pieces.
13:35And you'll notice that I have this long piece here, and now I'm about to put the other one
13:40on. And that actually creates the back legs. If you look here, these continue through.
13:45And that's what supports this chair.
14:05And that is the seat done, so now I can get onto the backrest.
14:07So what do you want from me? What do you need? Can you say something? Say something?
14:28It's the threaded rod through all our holes. Now I'm going to stand the chair up and do
14:34the final adjustments to get these beautiful curves on the bottom and top. Look at that.
14:45All right. So you can see I've got a fair bit of tension in today in these two spots.
15:17I'll tell you what. This would not look out of a
15:19place in a furniture store. I absolutely love this style of build and assembly, because
15:24you just can't get it wrong, so it's perfect for someone just starting out. And you can
15:28use it outside or inside. There's one thing left for me to do, and that's to test it out.
15:35Oh, I tell you what. I just need a refreshing beverage.
15:46From Fitzroy to London to New York, meet Millie Savage and her wonderfully creative life.
15:51Aw. Thanks, Jo.
15:54Not only do these keep my table looking picture perfect, but the added accent also makes my
16:00table theme look even better.
16:09What began in a humble garden shed is now a massively successful global business. Millie Savage is
16:16an Australian jewellery designer known for her colourful, wonderfully wonky creations that are
16:21turning heads all over the globe. She has stores in London, LA and New York, and a huge celebrity
16:28following. But Millie's favourite place to create is away from it all in her home in
16:33country Victoria, which is just as amazing and eclectic as her jewellery is.
16:41Hi, babe. Oh my God. Look at you. Oh my God, this is, I don't know where to look first.
16:47Oh, don't, don't, don't. Come to my studio first. I need to show you.
16:49Okay, okay. All right, you did the tour. So isn't this your old logo?
16:52Yep. So it's my logo from when I first started making jewellery 12 years ago.
16:57Wow. I'd be happy to stop here, but I have a feeling that what's behind it isn't more
17:00incredible. Yeah, come on through. Thank you.
17:03Oh, this is your studio. Welcome. I'm sorry, but just look at this little picture here.
17:06This is Miss Princess Sparkles. Hello, darling. Just propped there perfectly, hey?
17:12Yeah. Ah, so this is it. Your story is like stratospheric, the way that you climb up through
17:17the reds with the George's. But tell me about it, because 12 years ago, you just said that
17:20when you started, you said that you've got artworks in here, you've got sculptures in here.
17:24Like, where did it begin for you? So I painted at uni, and I was doing fine arts.
17:29I found out I wasn't very good at painting. I knew you were very good at just filing.
17:34So I took up a silversmithing elective, and I did that for six weeks, and then I dropped out.
17:39And then I just rocked up at every jeweller's house in Melbourne with two pieces of cheesecake
17:43and a cup of coffee, and was like, can I watch you today?
17:46And was the most annoying girl in the world until I learned something.
17:50I remember my first market, I sold out, and I had like three or four grand.
17:54And I was over the moon at every cent I put back in, and I did the next one.
17:58And it just kind of popped off from there.
18:00So when did you know that you had your signature style?
18:03Because you would have taught a few different things I'm imagining.
18:06To be honest, my first ring that I ever made kind of looks like my jewellery now.
18:10Like, it's pretty funny. If you go back and look at my first Instagram post, like,
18:14it's definitely not as refined. I wasn't very good technically, and I've, like, learnt a lot.
18:18But it's the same kind of idea.
18:20You talk about that, and you now have stores around the world.
18:23I mean, like, does it blow your mind that you're in New York and that you're in England?
18:27So we did New York pop-up first. It did really well.
18:30Went to do London pop-up, and I was like, oh, my God, it's so much work doing a pop
18:34-up.
18:34It's basically the same as opening a new store.
18:36Let's just open it and risk it. Well, risk it to get the biscuit. Just open it.
18:39So we just opened that, and then a year later we went and opened New York.
18:44Wow.
18:44Which is really cool.
18:45Where does that gutsiness come from?
18:47Like, you're backing yourself the whole way, so where does that come from?
18:50It's probably my parents. Like, yeah, I've always been told,
18:54if you can't do it, you're going to get pushed, so you better jump, you know?
18:58And what about the celebrities that now literally, you know,
19:02line up to wear your extraordinary pieces?
19:04Have you had pinch-me moments along the way?
19:06Yeah. Miley Cyrus held up a sign once that said,
19:10I love Millie Savage, so that was cool.
19:13Chapel Rhone, where's my jewellery?
19:15I just made customs for Addison Rae.
19:17Millie, before we go and explore the rest of the house,
19:19I've just clocked that light out there.
19:20Oh.
19:21That was actually meant to be in the kitchen,
19:22but I thought it was a bit too girly and frilly,
19:25so now I have the world's most extravagant outdoor light.
19:28It's absolutely ridiculous that that's outside,
19:30but it's Lisa Warrington, who's a friend of mine and a glass blower.
19:33And she actually did the ones inside above the drop-down
19:37and the bedroom, which you'll see soon.
19:52And this is my kitchen.
19:55Look at the colour in your home.
19:57There is so much going on, but it works.
20:00Yeah.
20:01It's pink, green, rainbow in here.
20:04Everyone's like, oh my god, your house is so crazy,
20:06it's so rainbow, and it is,
20:07but if you look at each space separately,
20:09it's actually only two colours and a few little accented bits, you know?
20:12Yeah, okay.
20:12So is that the key to making that work?
20:15I think so, yeah.
20:15I think they're complementary, contrasting colours.
20:18They look so good together.
20:19This is amazing, but of course,
20:20your eyes do get drawn to that incredible feature wall
20:23that you have going on there.
20:25That's the crystal wall.
20:26The crystal wall.
20:26And a bit of taxidermy these days, but yeah.
20:29So I went to the Natural History Museum in New York,
20:33and I was walking around, and I saw all the crystals there,
20:36and I was like, oh my god, it's so amazing.
20:37How do I put that in my house?
20:39Speaking of something that is unique,
20:41can we go have a look at this open lounge room?
20:44Yeah.
20:50So, Millie, I'm literally looking around,
20:52and I think there's about ten things that I would list as my favourite,
20:54so I want to know what your favourite food is.
20:56Oh, um, probably these lights by Lisa Warrington.
21:01I love them.
21:01They are amazing.
21:02Yeah.
21:02They're really weird and spiky.
21:04The couch honestly looks like it's the comfiest thing in the world,
21:07but there's actually a bit of thought that's gone into that as well,
21:10the sunken lounge, isn't there?
21:11Yeah, so I wanted, like, the floppiest, squishiest, comfiest room ever.
21:15Um, so this couch, when I got it custom-made,
21:20I was like, oh, how do we make it, like, really floppy?
21:22And so I designed, like, a doona that Velcro's on,
21:25so it's actually a leather doona over the top of the couch,
21:27so that's why it's so soft and floppy.
21:29Oh, that's amazing.
21:31And the stairs, they're a work of art coming down in here.
21:34Yeah, I probably drew the location of them about 50 times.
21:38They were originally there and there and anyway.
21:41Upstairs, the bedroom and that bathroom area.
21:44Yeah.
21:45Um, I am obsessed with baths.
21:47I bath twice a day.
21:48I love having a bath in the middle of my room.
21:51Got that bath custom-made.
21:52It's a beautiful purple colour
21:54and then I got the green contrasting.
21:57Um, it's green onyx, so sourced that too
21:59and then got all that put in.
22:01I love everything in the inside of your home.
22:03I mean, there's not a lot of people who could pull off
22:06as much as you've got in it, but do it so well.
22:08Thank you so much.
22:08Which obviously, listening to how your collaborations
22:11with all your mates, obviously everyone who's involved in your life
22:13is creative on some level as well.
22:16Does that extend to the gardens as well?
22:18Yeah, so one of my best friends, Colin Hyatt, designed the gardens
22:21and I think he's coming over today, so maybe get to meet him a lot.
22:24Let's go.
22:25And that's coming up later in the show.
22:30Coming up, entertaining outdoors.
22:33You'll be blown away by this clever project.
22:36I'm going to show you how to create gorgeous table weights.
22:40And if you thought her home was beautiful,
22:42wait till you see Millie Savage's gem of a garden.
22:46The pitch was Wizard of Oz, so we planted thousands of bulbs.
22:54So much better.
22:57Picture this.
22:58You have all of your favourite people coming over for a gathering.
23:02You've set the table beautifully and then all of a sudden
23:05the wind picks up and everything's on the floor.
23:08But wait a minute.
23:09There is a stylish solution to that problem.
23:12I'm going to show you how to create gorgeous table weights.
23:19What I love about creating your own table weights
23:22is that you can customise them to your own personal style.
23:25The look I'm going for today is a relaxed coastal boho vibe.
23:29So I'm using these natural tones and textures.
23:32These are beautiful, these stones.
23:34And I've got this creamed twine here.
23:36The end result will be a lot like macrame,
23:38but a lot less complicated, I promise.
23:40No tricky knots.
23:42The first thing you need to do is get one of these curtain clips
23:46and you'll just remove this ring here so you're left with the hook.
23:51So once you've removed that ring, you just make a hole again
23:56so that you can put some of this twine through.
23:59And what you want to do is get four pieces, I've pre-cut these,
24:02to about just under a metre each.
24:05Then you fold it in half and thread that loop at the top
24:10through the hole at the base of your clip, just like that.
24:15Then you just want to take the two tails and bring them through.
24:19Pull it nice and tight.
24:21Then it's just a very simple left over right, right over left knot.
24:28And it makes it a lot easier if you take your clip
24:30and place it on something just to give you some stability.
24:44Once the four pieces of string are tied onto the hook,
24:47you can then start to separate out the strands.
24:50The most important ones are these two end pieces.
24:53And then you want to tie each two together along.
24:59The knot is very simple.
25:02You just want to take it up over your fingers and bring it through.
25:07And depending on the size of your pebbles,
25:12about one and a half to two centimetres down.
25:30To create the net to hold the pebble,
25:33you want to just keep repeating the process
25:35and just make sure each time you separate out those end strands
25:39and then tie together each pair in between.
25:49You want to wind the tape fairly tightly around the end
25:52so that you can thread it through one of these little wooden beads
25:57for a bit of decorative detail.
25:59Then you thread it on and wind it all the way up to the base of the pebble.
26:07And then just another simple knot at the bottom of the pebble.
26:12Once you've done that, you can decide how long you want the tussle to be.
26:17Cut it off there and then use a comb to comb it out.
26:27And that is it.
26:28How cute do these look?
26:30So boho and chic.
26:32And of course you'll need one for each corner of your tablecloth.
26:34So I have another three here.
26:36For one that's even simpler,
26:38you can take some beautiful smooth dark stones like this
26:42and wrap them with some leather to tie around the centre.
26:47Same idea.
26:48You want to start with one of these curtain clips
26:50and then take your leather.
26:53You can use a tiny bit of hot glue if you want to,
26:56to start just to hold it in place.
26:58And start by threading the leather through your clip.
27:16Then you'll want to just tie it off at the back,
27:18trim the ends and that one is done.
27:22So simple and so, so sweet.
27:28For this final idea,
27:29I am going to get the paintbrushes out and get creative.
27:33It's a great one to get the kids involved with
27:35because you can paint whatever you want onto them.
27:38These little flowers are sweet, swirls.
27:40You can do little waves.
27:41And the great thing is they don't have to be perfect.
27:44If you're really not confident,
27:45you can even just do dots with the end of your paintbrush
27:48and that is what I'm going to do today.
27:50To start, you'll want to paint your rock using an undercoat.
27:53I've used an all-in-one primer.
27:55And then you can use whatever coloured acrylic paint you have at home.
27:58I'm using this really beautiful blue tone.
28:03For the best results with this dot technique,
28:06you want to just go straight in and out and onto the rock and back again.
28:13Don't swirl it round.
28:20Once the paint is dry, you can take some wire and attaching it,
28:24you know the drill now, to one of these clips.
28:31At the back, you want to twist the wire around and tighten it using the pliers.
28:36Once you've got enough to thread through the hook on your clip,
28:40you can snip it, thread it through, and then just fold it over to tighten it.
28:54That's it.
28:55How cute.
28:56Kids would absolutely love this.
28:59So pretty.
29:04Not only do these keep my table looking picture perfect,
29:08but the added accent also makes my table theme look even better.
29:12So, I'd say these weights really rock.
29:24The common brushed turkey is a familiar sight,
29:27from southern New South Wales all the way to Cape York,
29:31even in the suburban areas of Sydney and Brisbane.
29:34Now, love them or hate them,
29:35they can pose a problem around the home and garden,
29:38creating damage and mess.
29:41To try and keep brushed turkeys out of your backyard,
29:44you need to keep the backyard neat and clean.
29:47So something like that, your compost heap,
29:49you've got to cover it so they can't access it, right?
29:51And things like this really want piling up somewhere.
29:54They can move those fairly easy sticks like that
29:57because they've got big, strong feet.
29:59When it comes to fruit trees, right, they tend to ring bark them.
30:02Something like this to protect the root zone is an ideal situation.
30:05If you use just fibre mulch,
30:08the birds will rake that out of the way in no time at all.
30:11If you've got an area where you want to mulch a large surface,
30:14then why not use something a lot heavier, like big rocks?
30:17They work far better.
30:18And not only that, even a strong brushed turkey can't move rocks around.
30:31Bamboos might make a great screen, but they also drop a stack of leaves.
30:35And the male brushed turkey would absolutely love this here
30:38because he would use these leaves to build his mound.
30:41And that's how they incubate their eggs, inside an earth mound.
30:45So what do you do?
30:46Rack all this stuff up, compost it and cover it.
30:50Once you cover it, you're in charge.
30:57A common problem is sinking pavers just like this,
31:00and I'll show you how to fix it.
31:02Hang on, we need to talk about the gate.
31:03I made the gate.
31:05What?
31:05So you actually welded the gate?
31:06Yeah, it was really fun.
31:15Now, there are plenty of reasons why your pavers might be sinking.
31:18It might be poor drainage, poor compaction, poor prep, it might even be ants.
31:22This is a classic case.
31:24So, let's lift this up and take a look at what's going on.
31:35I just needed to remove a few pavers to work out exactly what was going on.
31:38And you can see here, the sand that is the base for the pavers
31:41is simply washing out of these holes.
31:43So, I'm going to lift them all up.
31:44I'm going to block those holes up, check for any more,
31:47and I can relay the sand to get the pavers back.
32:00So, you can see there's a hole down there, and when the water comes through,
32:03it just washes the sand out.
32:04Now, you could just block that up, but instead,
32:06I'm going to try and prevent it from happening again.
32:08So, I'm going to take the two runs out, I'm going to stand them on edge
32:11to create that little garden bed, and that's going to catch the water
32:14and direct it down the side of the house where it can get out.
32:25I'm not going to claim that I did this edge, because I didn't,
32:28but miraculously, it's here, which is wonderful,
32:30and it creates a garden bed.
32:31It also creates a stop point for the water,
32:33so the sand can't escape anymore.
32:36What we need to do now is screed out our sand and relay our paving.
32:43We're using river sand, which is much coarser,
32:44and it locks together and doesn't wash out as easily.
32:53I'm just mixing a little bit of gray cement through our river sand.
32:58This isn't going to set solid, but it is going to give it a bit of strength,
33:02which is what we need being at the bottom of the slope.
33:04That way, it's never going to wash out anywhere.
33:35The tip, though, is it has to be bone-dry when you do it,
33:41otherwise it turns to a complete mess.
33:44The thing I love about this job is we've fixed a problem.
33:47It looks much better.
33:48We've added plants.
33:49It's a good weekend's work.
34:05Earlier, jewellery designer Millie Savage showed us around her spectacular house
34:10in country Victoria and her unique style and wonderful art.
34:15Now, she's about to show us her gardens.
34:19So, Jo, this is my friend Colin.
34:21Hi there, Colin.
34:22Hi, Jo.
34:22How are you?
34:23Colin Hyatt.
34:24Garden, landscaper, designer extraordinaire, hey?
34:27So, how do you two know each other?
34:29This is my dad's best friend, but I've pinched him and now he's my best friend.
34:33And I think Mick's a little bit jealous.
34:35He is.
34:36Sometimes he's like, is Colin coming?
34:38Well, if Colin's coming, where's my invite?
34:40Oh, that's hilarious.
34:42So, obviously, walking in here, I feel like we've kind of walked into some kind of fairy
34:45tale book.
34:46The glass house and the mushrooms, where did they come from first?
34:50I designed them and got them shipped over about two years ago.
34:53So, they've all been sitting, waiting for the rest of Colin's garden to erupt around it.
34:58Well, there was sort of a garden here already, similar sort of layout, but it was not
35:02like this.
35:03It just didn't, no.
35:03It didn't work, did it babe?
35:04No, it didn't work.
35:05It didn't work.
35:06It needed to be sort of segmented into rooms.
35:09Okay.
35:09So, colours and textures and sort of moods as well.
35:13With this beautiful glass house garden to make this into the Australian native garden.
35:18Grasses that moved around.
35:20Billy Buttons going everyone.
35:21Billy Buttons.
35:22Yeah, a little bit crazy.
35:23Yeah, okay.
35:24And then where did that lead you to?
35:25Then that led us to the kitchen garden.
35:27Right.
35:28Millie's bathtub garden.
35:29Hang on Colin, hang on.
35:30You can't just talk about that.
35:31We need to see that up close.
35:43This was room number two, tell me about it.
35:45This was room number two and this was probably Millie's garden that she had worked on herself
35:51quite a lot.
35:52So I sort of had to be very cautious not to stand on Millie's toes.
35:56Creative.
35:57Yeah.
35:58My vision versus your vision.
36:00Yeah.
36:00So I had to blend this garden back into the other rooms that we had planned on moving into.
36:07Mm-hmm.
36:07And then feathering through some other bits and pieces to pull it all together and, you know,
36:13have that sort of mass planted.
36:15Floral sort of bouquet.
36:17The pitch was Wizard of Oz.
36:18So we planted thousands of bulbs.
36:32I think one thing that you said is, like, let's group things rather than I'm just like,
36:37whoa, let's vomit it everywhere, rainbows and Colin's like, okay, this is the area where the sunflowers are going to
36:42go and they will stay in this area.
36:44Can we have a look at the gardens out the front of the home?
36:47Let's go.
36:53So I feel like we've saved, like, one massive garden to last.
37:00We probably should have started out given that this is, like, the front of the house.
37:03But tell me about this.
37:05This is the entrance to Millie's gorgeous property.
37:09We enter through these main gates.
37:11Hang on, we need to talk about them.
37:14The gate is epic.
37:15I made the gate with Dave Allison, who's from Rosebud Engineering,
37:19and I went down for two days and he taught me how to weld.
37:22So you actually welded the gate?
37:23Yeah, it was really fun because there's bits of leftover green onyx,
37:26which I used in the house, and I smashed it up and I realised it's like making a giant ring.
37:30Like, you have to bend and make the bezel for the bead of stone.
37:33So the fact you've got all these mounded gardens and the use of your big rocks,
37:37like, you've just created so many little pockets of interest for your eyes to get drawn to.
37:41Yeah, we needed to collect a rock that was indigenous to this area to become sustainable.
37:47Well, that's your signature, isn't it?
37:48You put indigenous rocks, indigenous plants in.
37:50Yeah, we don't want to track things further than we really do need to.
37:56And we really like to have the gums and the grasses to be indigenous to the area if we can.
38:01So it brings the native wildlife back through Wildlife Corridor.
38:05It brings the right bird, the right bee, and the right bug.
38:09Tell me about the trout.
38:10That's also indigenous.
38:11I got that from Winchelsea, which is 10 minutes down the road.
38:14I love that.
38:15I found it on Facebook Marketplace and I'm like, Cole, let's get that one.
38:18I love that.
38:19Because even from inside the house, you see that it's still playing,
38:21you're still connecting your eyes to the colours and the patina on it.
38:24We really did need something that was orange and blue.
38:27And then I like the fact that you've added some sculpture in here with your plants,
38:30with the cacti as well.
38:31Yeah, well, the cacti are my thing.
38:33That's very Colin.
38:35I do love those big sort of sculptural forms.
38:38You know, you travel throughout the world and you see these gorgeous specimens.
38:42There's a place where the weather's ever changing.
38:49Millie, just when I thought there was nothing else to discover about your incredible story,
38:53about your home or garden, we hadn't even touched the menagerie of animals that you have.
38:58Yeah, so I'm very lucky.
38:59I have mostly ornamental animals.
39:01They're paddock ornaments.
39:03The goats, the alpacas, the peacock, the horses are ridden.
39:07And I've been riding since those three and these stables.
39:10I wanted to do the stables before I did the house.
39:13This is like my seven-year-old childhood dream to have this.
39:16These are custom.
39:17This is my horse Martini.
39:18Yeah.
39:19And this is my friend's horse Tora.
39:21Oscar's in the paddock.
39:22You can hear him.
39:23That's Oscar in the background.
39:24Yeah, doing a tantrum.
39:25Where did the love of horses come from?
39:27My granddad.
39:28Yeah.
39:29He was best friends with Bobby Skelton.
39:32So he taught me how to ride and then I've just been riding ever since.
39:36Honestly, I mean, we came here to do a story on your phenomenal ride.
39:39Just this incredibly successful global business with your jewelry.
39:43I didn't expect that that would carry through that creativity into every part of your home,
39:47which is colorful, it's whimsical, and it's explorative.
39:52Like you actually want to look around every corner because you know there's going to be something beautiful.
39:55Yeah.
39:55Yeah, cool.
39:56Well, I've got to say I have a feeling that everyone in our country is going to be talking about
39:59you for many more decades to come.
40:01So I feel really lucky that we've come here early years in your stage of your career.
40:05It's been a real joy.
40:06Thank you Tora.
40:06Yeah, well you'll have to come back and see us again.
40:09It's amazing.
40:11We'll see you next time with more Better Home to Garden.
40:12Thanks guys.
40:13Bye.
40:13Bye.
40:21Next time, we're hunting for Australia's hottest suburb.
40:25But have Joanna and Dr Chris gone a bridge too far?
40:29With fresh eyes, something you thought you knew can be entirely different.
40:33If you're looking for an easy meal for busy nights, Colin really knows his stuffing.
40:38It's got all the essence of stuffing but with the chunks of chicken.
40:44Even the most easy going plants have their diva moments.
40:48Citrus will survive on neglect but show them a bit of love and they'll flourish.
40:54Plus, we've got a living room makeover that's more than just all white.
40:59A neutral colour scheme does not have to be a boring one.
41:04And Graham's certainly got no beef with Wellington.
41:07As we continue our incredible cruise around New Zealand, we've got some great gardens to show you,
41:13including this beauty here in Wellington.
41:16That's next time on Better Homes and Gardens.
Comments