Sassafras Cottage: Sharon Johal’s Art-Filled Farmhouse Renovation
Tucked into the forest of the Dandenong Ranges, Sassafras Cottage is the quiet, considered project of Sharon Johal and her partner Ankur. A 1900s build reimagined as a modern farmhouse retreat, the cottage now holds nine original Bluethumb artworks, each one chosen to bring colour, story and reflection into a home built around nature.
Sassafras Cottage sits among the trees of the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.
A Soul Connection to the Forest
Sharon and Ankur acquired the property in 2025, working on it steadily around Sharon’s acting career and Ankur’s corporate job. “Our initial intention was to find a peaceful retreat from our busy and demanding lifestyles to regenerate and retreat,” Sharon says. The renovation kept the cottage’s original 1900s fireplace and footprint, reworking the layout to make the most of the forest light.
The couple aimed for a modern farmhouse feel, layered with comfort and a sense of old world charm carried through the home’s original timber. As Sharon puts it, the goal was “a feeling of storytelling through art, bringing vibrant colour to the natural tones of the base.”
Sassafras Cottage sits low among the trees, its weatherboard cladding and corrugated roof settling into the surrounding forest.
An Art House, By Design
It was the intention from the start. The cottage was always meant to be built around the art, not decorated with it. “We essentially wanted this to be our little art house.” A home where the pieces on the walls reflect who she and Ankur are and where the forest outside feels like it carries through to the rooms inside.
That intention has shaped how the cottage now feels to live in. “The character of the home now has more depth and connection to it because of the art,” Sharon reflects. “The cottage gives cosy, peaceful, serene nature vibes and the art makes it feel more homely, lived in, interesting and unique.”
Blush of the Outback by Carolyn Jane hangs above the dining table, its terracotta palette echoing the surrounding landscape.
Blush of the Outback by Carolyn Jane brings that warmth into the kitchen, an abstracted outback landscape built from loose, worked strokes of terracotta, white and dusty pink, its surface textured enough to suggest sun-worn earth and distant scrub. “The red earth colour in this abstract piece really reminds me of Australiana,” Sharon says.
The Time I Joined the Circus by Sharon Monagle sits on a living room shelf, with Andrew Neilan’s Faceless Impasto Portrait nearby.
Portraits of Themselves
Several pieces in the cottage read less as decoration and more as self-portraits, chosen because Sharon and Ankur recognised something of themselves in the frame. The Time I Joined the Circus by Sharon Monagle is painted in flat, storybook colour, a young woman in a leotard riding a stylised black horse against a pastoral backdrop. “This piece is absolutely a reflection of me, a girl with big dreams who joined the circus of the entertainment industry,” Sharon says. “The horse brings it all back to the country house.”
Beside it hangs a very different register of portraiture. Faceless Impasto Portrait Painting, Sunny Afternoon in the Shade by Andrew Neilan builds an anonymous face and torso from thick, textured impasto in coral, lilac and cream, the brushwork left raw enough that the subject stays open to interpretation. “This is any man and every man, a lost soul looking to be found, and will be found by spending time in this cottage,” Sharon says.
Kate Rogers’ Elena on Eggshell Blue Numero Sette and Deco Delphine Two bring feminine forms to the cottage interior.
A pair of works by Kate Rogers carries the same idea of the feminine form into two adjoining rooms. Elena on Eggshell Blue Numero Sette sets a reclining nude, built from bold black outline and a restrained palette of red and white, against a saturated cobalt ground. Its companion, Deco Delphine Two, carries the same graphic, art deco-inspired line work into a deep teal ground, an elongated silhouette rendered with the same economy of colour. “We love the feminine form in these pieces and rich colours perfectly complement each other,” Sharon says. “Perfectly sized and just gorgeous.”
From The Block to her own backyard, Sharon Johal took her time styling Sassafras Cottage, saying “I led with my heart and emotion at the forefront.”
Discovering Bluethumb
Sharon first came across Bluethumb in 2022 and had been waiting for the right project ever since. “I love working with and supporting local creatives, I think that’s super important, and the flexibility of being able to return art takes so much pressure off making these big decisions.”
When it came to making their art selection, narrowing the list proved the only real challenge. “The only time I felt overwhelmed was when I couldn’t limit my selection pieces, as in I selected and wanted more art than there was space for,” Sharon recalls. “In that regard it was an easy solve, as I asked Bluethumb’s experts for advice to help me decide what the best grouping of the art was.”
Dinner Party VIII by Rebecca James hangs in the bedroom.
Dinner Party VIII by Rebecca James speaks to the life Sharon and Ankur want around their table. Painted in warm coral and ochre, naive figures with elongated limbs gather around a laden table, the flattened perspective and gently distorted proportions giving the scene the intimacy of a remembered gathering rather than a fixed moment. “We see ourselves and our friends in this piece and want this piece to manifest more wonderful and real connections with people to come.”
Large Abstract by Mary Shackman was chosen for its scale and ambiguity.
Large Abstract by Mary Shackman is a dense composition of interlocking forms in cobalt, ochre and violet that folds across the canvas with an almost topographic quality, closer to a landscape viewed from above than a fixed scene. “This piece is the one that really provides room for introspect and reflection, and everyone will find a different meaning within it, which is why we love it.”
Forest views frame the bed in Sassafras Cottage’s main bedroom, layered with soft textures and warm timber tones.
Living With the Landscape
The Dandenong Ranges shaped the palette long before Sharon knew which works she would choose. “The renovation brought the outside in by virtue of the picture windows in every room, so we didn’t want to take away with that, but the greenery and earth colours definitely subconsciously played a part in the pieces that we chose,” she says. A cottage that resembled their own, a blush landscape that echoed the earth outside, a table scene that mirrored their own gatherings: each piece found its place because it already felt like part of the story.
64 Cambridge St by Nectarios Livisianos, shown in detail and hung above the living room couch.
64 Cambridge St by Nectarios Livisianos felt uncannily familiar from the first look. Rendered in flat, graphic colour blocks, a red weatherboard house sits beneath a teal sky, its silhouette anchored by a single dark tree, the composition reading more like a portrait of a home than a landscape. “The picture of the home felt like it was our cottage, as if it was a bespoke piece made especially for us and this place, art imitating art. We connected with it instantly,” Sharon says.
Art, she says, was the layer the cottage was missing. “It not only elevated it but it truly completed it. Art always does. [Before install] there was definitely a little bit of a lack in personality, but once the art was in, it just brought everything together so beautifully. It gave the cottage a feeling of warmth, depth and culture and so much personality.”
A carpenter’s dining bench sits at the heart of the cottage, framed by Pink Lake by David Clare.
Pink Lake by David Clare anchors the home’s central gathering space. Loose, gestural strokes of blush pink, indigo and rust move across the canvas in vertical bands, capturing the fading light over a salt lake at dusk. “This was our biggest piece in the home and we wanted it to frame our dining carpenter’s bench where we spend a lot of time with people connecting and eating,” Sharon says. “In a lot of ways this piece frames the core centre of the home and the colours and brushstrokes tie in every single piece we selected.”
For Sharon, the process was a reminder that the best design decisions come with patience and guidance.
Advice for Fellow Renovators
For anyone feeling overwhelmed by the scale of choice, Sharon’s advice is to trust connection over strategy. “If it’s for your home, go with a gut and heart connection, always. That will always bring you back to the art and develops deeper connection every time you look at it.”
“Don’t worry about colour too much, because you can always tie it in with accessories like throws, cushions, rugs and ornaments.” Her final piece of advice: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Bluethumb has experts who can steer you in the right direction, asking the right questions.”
Looking for the Perfect Fit for Your Own Home?
Shop the Artists
Every original artwork featured in Sassafras Cottage was created by an Australian artist you can discover right here on Bluethumb. Whether you’re styling a renovation of your own or simply looking for your next favourite piece, discover their full collections below:
Carolyn Jane · Sharon Monagle · Andrew Neilan · Kate Rogers · Rebecca James · Mary Shackman · Nectarios Livisianos · David Clare
