Jumbled’s Pip Brett has transformed an Art Deco bank into a beautiful place to stay

But it’s an Art Deco building nearby, with a spectacular curved corner entrance, that has caught my eye. I walk down the hill and knock on the side door, flanked by barley twist columns, and Pip Brett opens it.

The founder of Orange’s Jumbled store and the woman behind the town’s well-known event, The Huddle, is staying in Molong with her builder husband, Nick “Speedy” Luelf, and their boys Digby, 12, and Barnaby, 10, for a few days. Their mission? To test out Sona, their beautiful new accommodation in an old bank they are just about to open.

“I wanted to make sure it is perfect for our guests. I’ve cooked every night so I know we are not missing the right frying pan or something like that even though my boys want us to go out to the pub for dinner,” she explains with a wry smile as we walk down the art-lined hallway. “But the kids are loving it here. They can walk to the shops and play footy across the road. It’s the perfect holiday for us.”

Once the town’s Commonwealth Bank — motto ‘building a brighter future for all’ — the building was designed by architect E. Henderson and built in 1930. “It’s very solid,” Pip says. “Everything was beautifully done, every ceiling is pressed metal and the floorboards are so thick — they really wanted to look after the bank manager.”

Pip and Speedy worked on Sona with architect Felicity Slattery of Studio Esteta. Felicity, who Pip calls “Flea”, is a much-loved friend from boarding-school days. They had already worked together on The Sonic, the former Masonic hall that is now Jumbled’s headquarters in Orange, and Pip and Speedy’s own home. Their dream house, sited on a 24-hectare block above Spring Hill Dam on the outskirts of Orange, was only recently finished when the couple saw the bank was for sale.

“We were out for dinner one night, without the kids, talking about what we should do next and decided to put in an offer on it,” explains Pip. Speedy, who grew up in Rankin Springs, over 300 kilometres west of Orange, was originally an agronomist. He did a mature-age apprenticeship around the time they became parents and his new skills have proved to be very handy.

“I feel like the three of us are a good team,” Pip says. “We worked particularly well together on this one. I love working with Flea, she’s so good, and having Speedy knowing what’s possible, and how to build in the most cost-effective way, is very helpful. It can be annoying when he’s being Captain Sensible, but he does keep us on budget.”

Jumbled’s Pip Brett talks to Graziher’s Life on the Land about her love of colour. Article continues below.

The trio usually agrees but occasionally has different opinions. “We all stood our ground at times on certain things,” says Pip.

The dilemma of what to do with the bank’s safe is a good example and one part of the build where Speedy got his way — much to Pip’s relief today. “They wanted to pull out the cabinetry, tile it and make it a butler’s pantry. It would have been such a shame to pull out all the original shelving,” she explains as we stand inside it. The valuables of old have been replaced by a coffee machine and stacks of cookbooks, including Stephanie Alexander’s classic The Cook’s Companion and several by much-loved local author Sophie Hansen. A decorating title called Ornament Is Not A Crime speaks to Pip’s own approach to interiors in a space where her quirky touches can be found everywhere you look.

The kitchen and dining area is where the tellers — and ATM — were once found. The section of the building where the bank manager once lived is now the accommodation wing of five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Pip is known for her love of colour — you only have to walk into her fashion and homewares store Jumbled to see that. She attributes this colour confidence to her mother, artist Kez Brett, who had a fashion store in Orange for 25 years. “It’s definitely come from Mum. I grew up in a house full of colour. I love colour. I love to wear it and I love the way it makes you feel,” she tells me.

Working with colour can bring its challenges though. “I struggled in this house with the green in one of the bathrooms, trying to get a colour that worked with the tiles. I did it about five times to get it right. We are so lucky the hardware store is only a block away!” she says. “But the poor painters didn’t know that I was married to the builder. They would ask, ‘Is she coming back again? Is she going to change her mind again?’”

Art also plays a big role. “In a lot of the rooms the colour has come from our art. I have had a painting in mind to hang in a particular place so worked from that,” she explains. A small still-life painting of flowers hanging in a front bedroom has special significance as it was a gift from the owner of Relic, a vintage shop in Orange. “I saw this little painting, loved it and knew I could do something special with it,” she says. “I was very touched that she gave it to me.”

Over the years Pip’s love for fashion has expanded to interiors and today she is happily mixing both whenever she can. “It’s simple, really. I wanted to create a store that I wanted to go into. And now I want to create accommodation that I want to stay in,” she says.

I think Pip’s on to something. There will be a lot of other people who will also want to stay in these beautiful rooms in a little town they will find very hard to leave.

For information on how to book, visit the Sona Molong website. 

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