Four years ago, Vince Hunt and Angela Brickwell arrived on a piece of land on Bundjalung country in Billinudgel with big and humble dreams- driven by a desire to cultivate a life closer to nature, community and themselves. First, they started the lifelong journey of regenerating the soil. Simultaneously, they explore what it means to regenerate the spirit.
Everyone told them it would be a disaster. The house wasn’t even on the market. It was a wreck. It is more than 100-years-old and falling apart. It was inhabited by a long term hoarder and quasi-squatter which meant mould, slanting, draft, dirty carpets, a flooding bathroom, holes in walls and a whole lot of work to be done. Mimi and Sam invited me over to show me how they were about to DIY their dream home.
For many of us, the price we pay for living in this slice of paradise is having to travel far and wide for work. It can be an exciting, draining, and relationship-straining existence, but returning home each time is made so much sweeter by the time away. Local musician, Charles Wall AKA Bobby Alu, and environmental lawyer, Nina Lucas, are no strangers to this lifestyle, each having to regularly leave Byron Shire for music tours and legal cases. We caught them both on a rare weekend at home.
We spent a glorious morning basking in the soft sunshine at this beautifully low-impact home.
Hiromi sent me her address with a novella sized addendum attached to it. Apparently Google Maps had yet to document this portion of the world.
Living in the Northern Rivers there is a constant pull between the ocean and the hills. While both are easily accessible from each other, it still feels like a lifestyle choice to be by the sea or nestled among the trees just a little inland.
Heath’s paintings on the wall are accompanied by polaroids and botanical knick knacks, and the new plaster sculptures he’s been working on sit between indoor plants that look too happy to belong to a share house.
Following an afternoon swim in the Brunswick River, it’s golden hour when I show up at Martin Johnston’s wood shop in the little town of Billinudgel.
The concept of minimalism is growing in popularity as a fashionable home design aesthetic. But, beyond the popular headline, "How to declutter your life in ten steps or less", minimalism can serve a deeper purpose and create a pathway to freedom.
We spent the afternoon with Velvet Canyon founder Bec Nolan, her three cats and puppy Pony, in a wonderland of plants.
