Nestled in the stunning Northern Rivers is a home we’ve been begging to explore. Thankfully, Catherine Heraghty — Creative Director at The Stables, and the creative behind this glorious modern Australian farmhouse, invited us inside.
And we promise, you will NOT be disappointed! Let’s head on in.
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Located in Ewingsdale NSW, this home has a gorgeous interior and the location to match.
“The home owners have been Byron Bay locals for decades. Ewingsdale is a peaceful, rural suburb that borders the popular coastal beach town,” Catherine explains.
“From the get-go, our concept was modern Australian farmhouse. While it’s close to the busy and bustling town of Byron, Ewingsdale itself is so lush. There’s rolling hills and some of the most spectacular gum trees you’ll ever see. There are koalas and kangaroos and snakes.
“Yet, it’s a short 10 minute drive to one of the most iconic beaches in Australia, Byron Bay. So, we wanted to create a home that felt connected to both of those environments.”
This modern Australian farmhouse home follows The Stables signature style.
“We are always driven by the concept of ensuring it feels timeless,” smiles Catherine. “We like to play with colour, patterns, texture and different materials to make the rooms feel like they’re part of the same family but still have their own unique genetics.
“Design that feels timeless, warm, and unique are key pillars to all our projects. We kept this in mind when making design and styling decisions for the home and relied heavily on always coming back to the brief and concept.
This home has a very calming presence. The joinery colours are soft and muted. The furniture and styling pieces are relaxed. It feels very effortless.
“Part of ensuring something stands the test of time, is the consistency of material palettes, joinery profiles, tapware colours etc. Once those hero elements are established, you can then work out where they need to be applied across rooms of the home and where you can branch out and bring in unique elements.”
A standout feature that captured our hearts, was the fun-filled, dreamy kids space.
“Our client has kids and grandchildren that frequently come to stay, so having a functional and beautiful space for the grandkids and their parents to use was really important,” says Catherine.
“We designed a bunk that felt playful, but was still safe for any kids on the top bunks. It has room to grow by adding a second double bed underneath the bunks.
“But for now, it houses a gorgeous reading nook and play area. We adore this space and love the striking but calm green v-groove panelling on the back wall.
“We chose artwork from Australian artist Booie and Ben. The bed linen is colourful but muted. The entire space is a real sanctuary for the whole family to enjoy.”
There are so many beautiful elements to this home, inspired by the surrounding landscape.
“We have a very strong concept from the beginning of this project,” Catherine recalls. “That really guided each of our design decisions when selecting joinery profiles, colours, any fixtures and styling pieces.
“If I had to choose two favourite elements, they would be the Brodware tapware finish and surprisingly, the front door colour and design. For the tapware, we chose Brodware’s Weather Brass Organic as we felt that spoke very strongly to the modern Australian farmhouse aesthetic we were working towards.
It feels warm, lived in and feels harmonious with the palette of the enormous gumtrees and foliage surrounding the home.
“The front door of this home feels like such a special entry. We chose a Resene paint, Lemongrass Half which again just works so perfectly with the surrounding landscape.
“It exudes a big warm welcome to the home and paired with the Eco Outdoor entry tiles, it just became one of our favourite spaces. Ziggy the border collie is always sitting at the door, so we think he loves it too!”
The design team worked on this project remotely, and still managed to produce a incredible family home.
“We’re based in Sydney, so much of the work on this job was done remotely. We’re so proud of what we produced though,” smiles Catherine.
“The end result is a lovely, generous sized home which still feels intimate and family friendly. A sneaky extra we added in is one I just love! We created a secret space in the laundry joinery for the robovac to go in and out of.
“There’s a discreet space in the kick beneath the bench seat joinery in the laundry that the robovac hides in when not in use. It’s easy to access when you need to empty the unit but it’s not taking up any valuable storage. It’s so cool!”
Photography by Nat Spada Photography
Thank you so much to Catherine for taking us around this gorgeous modern Australian farmhouse. The entire home has us falling in love and we hope you enjoyed touring it too.
If you would like to see more projects from the talented team at The Stables, be sure to take a look at their website, or follow them on Instagram.
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