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: an elegant dining room for entertaining; a nursery with dolls house and cradle; a breakfast room to enjoy luxuries such as tea, coffee, chocolate and spices; the commercial world of a gentlemen’s study; a welcoming drawing room for family entertainment; and the work of staff in the kitchen.

Continuing our tradition of showcasing special craft pieces during the festive season, 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, and showcase a fascinating variety of techniques.

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, the thermometer and the flush toilet 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.