Home Comforts invites us to consider, ‘What makes a home, a home?’

Each room of Fairhall has been re-imagined, revealing new stories about the meaning of ‘home’ in the 1700s and 1800s.

The exhibition focusses on how families lived in the long eighteenth century: a merchant's dining room; a nursery with dolls house and cradle; a breakfast room to enjoy exotic luxuries such as tea, coffee, chocolate and spices; the commercial world of a gentlemen’s study; an elegant drawing room for a musical soiree; and the work of staff in the kitchen.

Home Comforts features historical quilts, which are integrated into the Collection objects on display. The beautifully preserved quilts have been generously loaned from the private collection of Melbourne-based textile researcher and historian, Janet O’Dell.

Continuing our tradition of showcasing special craft pieces during the festive season, Fairhall will be decorated for Christmas from 19 November to 5 January.

Explore new technological innovations of the Georgian and Regency period. Objects and ideas from other lands brought a new sense of comfort to homes, then and now. The piano, gas lighting for indoor use, carbonated water, and the thermometer were all introduced in the long eighteenth century.

Experience Georgian and Regency family life ‘at home’ in the intimate, domestic setting of The Johnston Collection.