Tilda Cobham-Hervey is an actor and the sometime resident of a converted kayak shed in Frewville, South Australia, one of the creative spaces featured in Frankie magazine’s new volume of SPACES. 

Charlkboard wardrobe doors are designed to encourage notes from friends.

When she was three, Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s parents announced they were moving. To a new house? Not exactly. A dilapidated building with youthful connections had captured their imaginations. For the past 18 years, Tilda and her family have occupied the Glenunga Scout Hall in Adelaide, converting it from a rundown piece of Australian history, nestled between suburbia and the Adelaide Hills, into a home - albeit one you can swing a trapeze in. In a nod to its legacy, Her Majesty the Queen still hangs at the top of the hall.

Tilda brought the anatomy wall hanging home from Berlin.

While living in such an open-plan dwelling might have many attractions, there comes a time in a young woman’s life when she needs some peace and quiet from a little brother. The stress of Year 10 hit, and Tilda’s family converted the scouts’ kayak shed out the back into a space for her. It’s the perfect space for the 20-year-old actor, who recently starred in the film 52 Tuesdays.

'Over time, becomes your little museum of the world,' says Tilda.

In setting up her shed-home, Tilda was inspired by some of the wackier places in previous SPACES. “They were the ones I loved the most, the strange places where people dwell,” she says. Her most recent addition is an anatomy wall hanging she found in Berlin; ridiculously difficult to bring home, but essential nonetheless. There’s a collaborative element to the room, with the chalkboard wardrobe doors designed to encourage notes from friends, whose postcards also line the walls.

Tilda uses hula hoops to workshop theatre shows.

The shed doubles as a workspace, and it’s here that Tilda has constructed many art projects. Things get a bit messy, but Tilda insists she’s neat in her own way (admittedly not to her mother’s standards). “I’m a bit of a hermit, so I’m all about making the space I hang out in feel like a friend,” she says.

Tilda's Dad has admitted to shed-envy.

Plans to add a kitchen and bathroom have never quite eventuated so regular trips to the house are essential for now. An Actor’s life can be unpredictable at the best of times, but as long as Tilda’s family are happy to keep the shed for her, she’s more than happy to keep calling it home. “My little brother hasn’t made a move on it yet, so I’m still in the clear.”



Words by Jonathan VDK. Images by Ashleigh Steel. Edited extract from SPACES volume 3 by Frankie Magazine, on sale now via frankie.com.au/spaces ($24.95).

Update: Congratulations to Zarn, Amanda and Judy, each the winner of a copy of SPACES. This promotion is now closed.