Welcome to Rocklee House. This home has been taken from a rundown weatherboard house into a gloriously restored modern country Byron Bay Hinterland hideaway.
A love and passion project for Interior Designer and home owner Ali Griffiths — from Ali Griffiths Interiors — takes us for a look inside.
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Rocklee House is nestled on almost 5 acres in Eureka in the picturesque Byron Bay Hinterland of New South Wales.
“Our home is a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with 2 living areas,” Ali tells us. “It wraps around a round pool and spa and looks out over incredible views of farm land, the national park, and Minyon Falls.
“It’s home to myself — an art director, production designer and stylist as well as my own interior design business. And Michael Beukers, a second generation builder.
“We’re sitting on just under 5 acres of land. It’s a neat and easy to maintain property with the benefits of being surrounded by farm land, cows and horses.”
The original home left much to be desired, but Ali and Michael could see the potential.
“We came across the property when we were looking at land adjacent to it,” Ali recalls.
“As we drove past the cute but tired little weatherboard home, we fell in love. It had the best of the land on a flat section on the top of a hill with incredible 360o views.
The original house was a simple, cute weatherboard Queenslander style home, built in 1927. We’re both a sucker for those!
“It was built and owned by a local family who were some of the original settlers of the area. The land surrounding it was also originally part of the property, but was sectioned off and shared amongst siblings. Some of whom still live on that surrounding land!
“It also had some funny extensions and add ons which didn’t make sense. Like having no windows from the living area to the outside, and a carport smack bang in the middle of the view. The view is what sold us.
“Also, we fell for the charm of the home and its original features. We were really keen to reuse and incorporate these into our renovations. Things like decorative plaster ceilings, timber arches, colonial wall linings, picture and dado rails as well as the original doors and beautiful timber fireplace surround.”
Looking for a tree change, Ali and Michael wanted to find the perfect home in the Byron Bay Hinterland.
“We’re in a great position here. Ballina airport is within easy reach and Brisbane isn’t too far away. This home in the Byron Bay Hinterland allowed us to live our dream and escape the city. It’s still feasible to continue my work in the advertising industry and interior jobs too,” Ali explains.
“What we created was a modern country home. Its style is influenced by my childhood, growing up in the English countryside, mixed with elements of mid-century and classic European design.
The style feels warm and classic — a little bit of old mixed with the new.
Restoring an old home is never an easy task but Ali and Michael were keen to honor the home’s original character.
“We felt responsible not to lose the character elements that made this home so special. My tips for renovating an old home is start with a list of everything you love in the house and work out how you can utilise or incorporate that into the new design,” Ali suggests.
“When the house was built, materials and timbers were of much higher quality. Old growth forests and local timber had been used for everything from the framing timber to the floors and doors. There was so much character in all of these and by repurposing them, it gave our ‘new’ home so much history and character.
“Wherever possible, try and stick with a base palette of natural materials. Nature or natural materials always give off a better feel and energy and can become the base layer or background to the more modern design elements.
“We repurposed all the original doors, including some cupboard doors in the hallway. The fireplace surround is made of solid timber that we were able to sand blast off layers of different paints and stains to reveal the beautiful timber beneath.
“The original timber flooring was teak and we were able to reuse this on the new decks that wrap around the house.”
As an interior designer, Ali has incredible style. She kindly shares with us where she sourced some of the gorgeous pieces that adorn her home.
General
Builder — Beukers Building
Internal timber flooring — Engineered oak soaped timber: Woodos
Interior paint — Dulux Antique white USA
Joinery — Porters Paints Quarter grey pepper
Kitchen
Island benchtop — Carrara C
Back benchtop — Rosewood timber
Shaker profile cabinetry
Cabinetry handles — Hepburn Hardware
Sink — Turner Hastings
Tapware — Eco brass from Astra Walker
Bar stools — RJ Living
Oven — Falcon Australia
Pendant light — Louis Poulsen
Living room
Rug and sofa — MCM House
Cushions — Citta
Coffee table — Mark Tuckey
Glass side table — House of Orange
Ball base side table — &Tradition
Pendant light — Herman Miller
Main bedroom
Bed and bedside tables — Mark Tuckey
Bed linen — Citta
Wall lights — Creative Lighting Solutions
Main bathroom
Tapware — Eco brass from Astra Walker
Sink — Amalfi basin from Concrete Nation
Vanity — Custom designed by Ali Walker, made by Mark Tuckey
Wall lights — Astro Lighting
Mirror — Jimmy Metal Craft
Wall finish — Mineral Fox by Royal Finish Plaster
Floor tiles — Jatana Interiors
Bath — Alberta stone free standing bath from Vizzini
Pool
Pool — Flattley Pools and Beukers Building
Bricks — Jatana Interiors
Pool fence — Stainless Timber Glass
Barn
Western Red Cedar Hamptons style sectional door — Signature Garage Doors
A huge thank you to Ali for showing us around her Byron Bay Hinterland hideaway. We are so grateful to get to explore so many gorgeous homes, and bring you along for the ride.
You can see more projects from Ali Griffiths Interiors on her website, or take a scroll through her Instagram page.
We hope you got loads of dream home inspo for your Pintrest board! There are heaps more photos to check out below.
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