Villa Alba houses one of the most important examples of late nineteenth century decoration in Australia. It is the work of Scottish- trained Paterson Brothers; dates from about 1883; and includes a great variety of painted, stencilled and gilded decoration.

European sources of the designs used have not yet been identified, but their work demonstrates a familiarity with top overseas design books, together with a great facility in combining diverse and eclectic design elements.

Much of the decoration was over-painted in the 1950’s to “brighten the place up” when the house was used as a nurses’ home but it is slowly being revealed again and brought back to life so that visitors can enjoy and develop an appreciation of the artistic and technical details of the decoration.

The 67 page inventory of the two day sale of 1897 gives details of the vast plethora of furniture and ornaments in the house.

Details supplied for the rooms were compiled from the leaflet “Greenlaw’s Folly: Villa Alba and the Auction Catalogue of 1897 by Andrew Dixon.