Weekends by Kara Rosenlund
Weekends by Kara Rosenlund, celebrates the photographer and stylist’s slower pace of life in her original 70s A-frame weekender off the east coast of Australia.
Words & Photography: Kara Rosenlund
A black tube hangs on an exterior wall for when Kara Rosenlund and her husband Timothy O visit the calm side of the island and want to float in the water. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
The weekend lifestyle is new to me and I love every nuance of it. I had been looking for a shack while travelling the country photographing my book Shelter throughout 2014. I love both the bush and the beach and I found it difficult to find both in the one place. But like all good things, the answer was right there under my nose the whole time, waiting for me to notice it, just across the bay from our home town of Brisbane.
In the beginning the search was for a classic shack, though what we came across was an original 1970s A-frame. Pretty much untouched. I burst into tears the moment we walked through the door. The sense of openness and positivity was overwhelming, it felt so familiar.
A glimpse into the living room from the entry. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
The lounge room is the heart of the house, filled with second-hand finds. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
“I burst into tears the moment we walked through the door. The sense of openness and positivity was overwhelming, it felt so familiar.”
A collection of natural objects. While photographing on location in Cairns, Kara Rosenlund came across this pair of old shark jaws in the marketplace. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
The original 70s crazy-pave slate in the entry. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
The A-frame has the same spirit as a shack. It has a strong connection to the landscape, it has many quirky ways, it has an atmosphere of simplicity and a real sense of nostalgia. The little things like the outdoor shower taps and the light play of the pine lattice casting shadows on the pavers reminds me of childhood summers.
I gave myself twelve months to get to know the house and to understand it. For it to reveal itself to me through all the seasons. I watched, becoming obsessed and fell madly in love with it. Understanding where the light falls in the mornings, which direction the winds gust from and my favourite of all, the sun drenched afternoons. When the sun gives everything it has left and pours its last golden burst of intensity, lasting only minutes, the lounge room and deck are drenched with its warm glow, before it disappears behind the scrub, ending the day.
“The house, like all houses, has its own language and if you try to change it you run the risk you might lose what made it special to start with. I wanted to make some interior changes, though I worried if I made too many changes I would disrupt its honesty.”
Kara Rosenlund collect’s pandanus, which are found in the tropics, as decoration around the house. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
Kara Rosenlund has decorated the house with collections her own photographic work and pieces from artists and ceramicists who I admire. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
I took the colour palette lead from both the bush and the beach. I would walk the water’s edge in the early mornings, observing the colour combinations of the seashells which had washed ashore. Taking in the textures of the paperbark trees and seeing the khaki and brown tones of the native banksias with new eyes.
I added layers of textured grasscloth wallpaper into each of the three bedrooms, deliberately keeping these rooms a little darker, creating an atmosphere similar to what it might feel like to be in a hut. The darkness offers a real reprieve from the harsh Australian sunlight.
“By looking to the landscape it helped me create a very natural and gentle home, while staying true to its original spirit.”
Classic matchstick blinds from the hardware store were hung to frame all the windows and doorways, to soften and dapple the natural light. Seagrass mats were added to each room, so you can feel the raw fibres underfoot, like being barefoot outdoors. I would find old woven baskets through the week and bring them over on the ferry and fill them with fallen coconuts and pandanus fruit. Using whatever is around as decorative objects just started to make more and more sense. When you live like this, so close to nature, you get a greater understanding of and appreciation for the environment.
The bedheads are custom made; Kara colour-matched the fabric from a tone of a seashell. The grasscloth wallpaper gives the rooms a sense of depth and texture. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
Weekends by Kara Rosenlund. Photo - Kara Rosenlund.
THIS STORY IS AN EXTRACT FROM WEEKENDS BY KARA ROSENLUND AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW