From Villa to Wellness Centre…
In May this year, just as Australia was grappling with the corona virus, a location scout knocked on our door to see if we would consider renting Villa Rustica as a location set. We had spent the previous months diligently “staying home” and the thought of 50 or so people on the property was a little alarming! As small groups of (masked) people walked through the house noting ceiling heights and wall colours, we were told Villa Rustica was being considered as a wellness centre. Aware that there was a long list of potential locations, we didn’t consider the location hire seriously until notified that they would like to use Villa Rustica.
“Are you in the Nicole Kidman production?”
Before you ask, as everyone excitedly does, “Are you in the Nicole Kidman production?”, the answer is “no”. There’s a lot of buzz around Nicole Kidman’s adaptation of Nine Perfect Strangers that’s also set in a wellness centre and currently being filmed in our region. However, Villa Rustica will appear in Eden - an Australian production commissioned by Stan. Eden is an 8-part series that explores ‘the unseen lives of a collective of locals after the disappearance of a young girl in a place that looks very much like paradise.’
In early September we nervously watched our furniture and chattels being whisked into storage. Within a few hours, the art department moved in and began work! Cane furniture and contemporary sofas replaced our dark Indian furniture and antique leather lounge setting. Timber floors and neutral calico drapes took the place of Oriental rugs and velvet drapes. And then a truckload of plants arrived to add to the masses already around the house. Some people are precious about the style of their home but I was curious to see it professionally styled. Within a few days Villa Rustica had morphed into the Ninazu Wellness Centre!
“If we have to move out of the house into the cottage, we may as well sell up!”
We opted to stay on-site and move into our guest cottage during filming. Although fully aware of the privilege to live in such a large house, we revelled in our new compact quarters! Domestic life was so much easier and it felt like being on holidays. We laughed as we threw our clothes from the bathroom straight into the washing machine - no longer having to walk from one end of the house to the other! In the tiny kitchen, we swivelled from the cooking bench to the fridge … and swivelled again to the pantry.
On filming days, we watched the mechanics of a team performing like clockwork. The location trucks would arrive early to set up for the day, sometimes staying until late in the evenings. These tireless workers were the unsung heroes upon which everything depended! A coffee cart churned away in the carport offering sustenance and a place to mingle between filming. The actors caught mini-buses to and from the location and the lovely (and super-organised) Kim co-ordinated all comings and goings. Each day they set up in different parts of the property and apparently even the chickens will make an appearance - I do hope they didn’t mess up their role so they make the cut!
One memorable evening I made my way over to the chickens to lock them up for the evening. Everyone was on a mealbreak and the ambience felt relaxed as if it had been a good day on set. A few people were lazily kicking a ball on the tennis court, a couple of actors were chatting on a makeshift bench and another couple sat eating at a small table on the water tank. The setting sun imbued everything with a dreamy glow and I marvelled at the way the villa accommodates the needs of so many people.
It’s four months on and the filming has come and gone. Greg and I are back in our routine of quiet days and even quieter nights. Have our lives returned to normal? Yes and no. The Oriental rugs and velvet curtains are in situ but we’ve retained some decor tips from the Wellness Centre. Most significantly, we haven’t returned to the large house as the thrill of living with less continues!
Now it only remains for us to have a Stan party when Eden is released! Let us know if you recognise the Villa!
