The Design Files: Tamsin Carvan makes a triumphant tree change to Gippsland

WHO: Tamsin Carvan, owner/operator of Tamsin’s Table, her young daughter Martha, and partner Allan Walker.

WHERE: Gippsland, Victoria

WHAT: Triumphant Tree Change

Tamsin Carvan’s move from the city to a farm on 113 vivid green acres in Poowong East, Gippsland, didn’t happen by chance. This is a carefully crafted lifestyle, evolved from a nagging desire to return to a simpler way of living.

Tamsin moved here and established her farm 14 years ago, after years living in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. “For many years I knew I really wanted to try my hand at farming, and get out of the city where I always felt cramped up and claustrophobic,” explains Tamsin.

Despite her enthusiasm for building a new life in the country, Tamsin was also very pragmatic about the risks, and was particularly conscious of drought. “I knew that I didn’t want to live anywhere where crushing drought was a real risk,” she says. “We opened up the atlas and marked all the places across Australia within a two-hour drive of a major airport where rainfall exceeds evaporation – and there actually aren’t many!”

Once she laid eyes on this part of the world, she was sold. “The hills were so green that I cried. We found this farm on the internet, and I hadn’t even seen it in the flesh when we made the offer on it. I just knew it would be right.”

From here, Tamsin now runs her business, Tamsin’s Table, which sees her host an ever-changing schedule of Sunday lunches, harvesting and cooking workshops, and other seasonal culinary events.

Tamsin’s Table has been a runaway success, attracting a steady stream of day trippers from the city, and connecting Tamsin with many like-minded local creatives.

Originally, Tamsin’s property was a typical dairy farming house. With the help of her partner Allan and creative local friends, the home has been thoughtfully transformed into a lighter, brighter and more open plan space, with a bigger kitchen and bathroom, larger windows, and views to the rolling hills that surround the property.

At the heart of the home, of course, is the kitchen – a deceivingly professional set-up of industrial proportions, which somehow still feels like a relaxed, country kitchen.

From here, Tamsin can effortlessly whip up a feast for 20 (and she does, regularly) using nothing more than farm-grown produce.

For Tamsin, though, the joy of this place comes from somewhere far beyond her own kitchen. “To me, it is all about what I can see out the windows,” she muses. “Space, the weather, light, birds, beautifully tended farm land, a community, and the trees.”

The Design Files guide to making a tree change

The tree change is an idyllic concept, borne from romantic ideas about country life.

The truth is, a successful regional move is usually backed by a couple of years of careful planning and research. Consider the following:

• Rainfall and drought history – Gippsland-based Tamsin Carvan planned a productive farm, so rainfall was paramount.
• Telecommunications – there are still regional towns with limited internet and phone reception.
• The two-hour rule – using a map, identify essential services and ensure they’re within two hours of home.
• Build community – successful tree changers work hard to connect with their new locale. tdf