Forget hay bales and hoedowns. This handsome home's take on classic barn style is worlds away from those down-on-the-farm notions.
Sophisticated yet relaxed, it beautifully reflects its much-travelled owners, wellness expert James Duigan and his wife Chrissy. He sums up the beguiling blend of influences as the "love child of Italy, Aspen and Malibu". But London and Rio could equally be part of this blissful union.
When the couple first saw the property in the Byron Bay hinterland in late 2019, they were smitten with the two-hectare site. Elevated and north-east facing, it wallowed in sweeping ocean and bush views.
"There was something magical about the property," says James. "We felt instantly at peace here, so we bought it the day we visited." But, less appealingly, it was occupied by a humble two-bedroom cottage with a separate sleeping barn.
In 2020, they approached local architects to draw up initial designs for a new home and then interior designer Jase Sullivan took over, perfecting those plans for them and their three children, the oldest now 10. It also had to be a home away from home for a constant stream of visiting friends and family, with up to 20 people often camped under its dual pitched roofs.
Inspired by the existing sleeping barn, James and Chrissy envisaged a home featuring two cavernous barns clad in cosy cedar. A huge open plan, with living, dining and kitchen as well as a bar, forms entertaining central in one barn, while a second two-storey barn houses six bedrooms, with two more intimate sitting spaces, an atrium and a TV room.
Accordingly, public and private areas of the house are neatly delineated, joined by a glass walkway.
"James and Chrissy wanted to sleep, seat, feed and entertain 20 people, so I customised the seating and dining areas to make sure everyone could sit and dine together," says Jase. "Even the spa bath was customised so they could all use it at once!"
He widened the living barn to accommodate a massive dining table, repositioned the glass walkway and added a soaring void, dubbed the atrium, in the sleeping barn for an informal seating area.
As the couple had recently returned from London, Jase added Soho to the original trio of global influences. "They wanted something like a Soho townhouse but with a Malibu beach vibe," he says.
"Being only eight minutes to the beach inspired me to create a home that felt coastal, yet rural. The barn style made me want to create an interior you might not expect - I didn't want to do a typical country farmhouse." James adds: "We wanted Jase to be bold and brave."
The cutting-edge spec includes retractible glass walls, polished-concrete floors, exposed timber beams and a striking stacked-stone fireplace. Timber cladding runs through the interiors.
"Due to the scale of the project, I wanted each room to flow but feel slightly different, so for the living barn I introduced stone. In the bar and TV room, I introduced grasscloth walls and in the master bedrooms I panelled the walls behind the beds," says Jase. He specified aged-copper tapware and rumbled-marble tiles in all the bathrooms.
"Fittings that look aged with patina give character and warmth to a new home. A mix of vintage and retro-inspired wall lights were used throughout, the only downlights highlighting artworks."
The palette, he adds, is "what can be seen from the panoramic terrace at sunset - pink clouds, a green tree-lined backdrop and the blue sea in the distance. I colour-blocked each room, painting the ceilings the same as the walls, to give each room an identity."
He stained the timber veneer kitchen cabinets with a green tint, as a contrast to the blackbutt wall panelling and to reference the palette in the living and sleeping barns. "The colours in the marble countertop and splashback tie in with the green cabinets and the pale pink walls," Jase says.
Another global influence, tropical Modernism, tantalisingly emerges in the furniture selection, with Brazilian vintage pieces, such as a cane sideboard and Percival Lafer seating, complemented by retro Italian Stilnovo lighting.
"I use as many vintage pieces as possible but, due to the scale of the rooms, I had to custom design most of the larger pieces, including the sofas, outdoor furniture and bedheads," says Jase. "Custom designing my own large furniture to complement vintage pieces has helped create a home that is more personal and unique than one that is purely vintage.
"My stand-out custom piece would be the L-shaped sofa by the living room fireplace, which I paired with one of my favourite vintage chairs of all time, the Percival Lafer MP-115." Due to rising building costs during the pandemic, he scaled back some interior detail.
"I would have loved an extra fireplace in the atrium, but out of adversity came a great compromise," he says. Instead, he sourced a massive Brazilian artwork that defines a special space.
"The great room with the fireplace is pretty incredible, but my favourite space is the atrium, which in the original plans never existed," says Jase. That view is echoed by James. "I love to sit in the atrium," he adds. "Chrissy is Brazilian and that room is like a piece of Brazil. And every time I walk through our giant doorway, I feel completely at home, too - it's like all our dreams have come true."
jasesullivan.com.au