After living in London for 12 years, Courtney Adamo and husband Michael rounded up their family on a ‘gap year’ of global adventures. During this trip, that Courtney documented online, the family fell in love with Byron Bay.
Today we take a peek behind the scenes into the new Bangalow home of Courtney, Michael and children Easton (13), Quin (11), Ivy (9), Marlow (5) and Wilkie (1). This special holiday location half-a-world away has become a new home for this effervescent family, whose energetic lives have garnered a considerable online following (including our own previous interview!)
The kitchen in the Adamo’s Bangalow family home. Courtney and Michael had joiner David Harris re-create the Shaker-style kitchen they had in their London home. Lighting from Dunlin. Range cooker by Lacanche. Fridge by Smeg. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
Stools by the family’s good friend Jeremy aka JD LEE Furniture. Lighting from Dunlin. Range cooker by Lacanche. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The dining room. ‘We bought the old wishbone chairs off the previous owner. The other chairs are old, original Bentwoods we’ve been slowly collecting over the last couple of years since we moved here to Australia,’ says Courtney. Lighting from Dunlin. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
A corner of the lounge room, looking into the sunroom. When the Adamo’s bought the house, the sunroom was a separate room with closed walls on either side. Courtney and Michael opened everything up to let the light stream through. Rug from Pampa. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The sunroom, the kids’ favourite place to sit and read. Rug from Tigmi Trading. 1950s sofa from GumTree. The tiles under the stove are from Jatana Tiles in Byron Bay (they’re more than 100 years old!). Matisse Lithograph print bought by Courtney from a flea market in France. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The lounge room. Rug from Pamp. Chair from Worn Store. Print from Block Shop Textiles. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
Baby Wilkie’s room. The windows were old aluminium windows, which didn’t honour the original style of the home. ‘We were determined to replace the aluminium windows with old wooden casement windows, and managed to find 20 matching old windows at Red Ned’s up the coast in Tweed – they transformed this room’, tells Courtney. Cot from Kalon Studios. The child’s wardrobe is an old one from Oyster Linen. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
A corner of the boys’ bedroom. The paper cut print on the wall was made for the family after their world travels by Emily Hogarth. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The girls’ bedroom. ‘We wanted to take advantage of the high ceilings in this room and allow space to play, so we built bunk beds for the girls!’ tells Courtney. Bedding from Of The Sun. Lights from Dunlin. Rug from Tigmi Trading. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The bathroom, which used to be the kitchen! Courtney wanted it to feel like an old bathroom, so she bought an old wooden hutch from Oyster Linen. The mirror came from a local op-shop. The fantastic tub is Victoria + Albert’s Cheshire Bathtub. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
The master bedroom. The bed is from Kalon Studios. The wall hanging was made by Courtney’s sister, sent all the way from Seattle. Art in the hallway by friend Jeff Kowatch. Photo – Kara Rosenlund for The Design Files.
‘This magical little corner of the world is so dreamy, and I pinch myself every day that we live here.’ – Courtney Adamo.
Courtney Adamo and family have lived in this Bangalow home for just two months, but in that short space of time, have well-and-truly made it home. The idyllic location is a long way from London, the family’s previous home of 12 years, and yet somehow, it feels as if the Adamos were always destined to end up here.
Initially, the family had the hinterlands in mind, but Michael spotted this historic property in the small town of Bangalow, and persuaded Courtney to have a look. She explains ‘I walked into the house and felt at home immediately.’ The 120-year-old house provided a rich sense of history for the family to sink into, and set a distinctive aesthetic tone for the interiors.
Courtney describes how the traditional style of the property informed the renovations. ‘I wanted everything to feel like it’s always been this way…’ she explains. ‘I felt like I had to honour this old home, and do everything in keeping with the type of home it is.’ This meant retaining the original warm wood panelled walls, and introducing ‘simple, understated and timeless’ pieces, which reflect the family’s laid back aesthetic, while maintaining consistent with the era of the home
Courtney and Michael spent three months renovating the house prior to moving in, reconfiguring the small space to accommodate their tribe of seven. When the whole gang moved in, the house only had three bedrooms, so creative solutions were required to make everyone comfortable. A sunroom off the master bedroom became a small room for Wilkie, and an ensuite bathroom was squeezed in too. Courtney describes how ‘every square inch of space is used and enjoyed in our home. There is no quiet corner or room that doesn’t get used.’
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and everyone’s favourite room of the house. They family splurged on ‘our dream range cooker and the pretty fridge’, completing the space with marble benches and brass taps.
The original panelled walls and warm wooden floors provide a rich backdrop for more colourful kids accessories and quirky details. Courtney outlines that she is ‘quite minim al when it comes to interiors… and increasingly more so the older I get.’ This minimalism is partly born of practicality (the family shed the majority of their belongings when migrating from the UK) but is also informed by a desire to live simply and meaningfully. Courtney’s approach is to buy ‘only what we need, will last, and look good forever.’ She also astutely notes, ‘the fewer things you have, the fewer things to tidy!’
This Bangalow House is a dream come true for Courtney and her family. She enthuses, ‘this magical little corner of the world is so dreamy, and I pinch myself every day that we live here.’
A family with 4 children do not live there…..
It’s truly a beautiful house but it’s another minimalist white wall/ wooden floor house with very little actual design. Absolutely nothing wrong with that except this is a space for design.
Also, I do not follow this family but they have to be the most overexposed family in Australia because they keep popping up everywhere.
Lovely house and they have a great insta account – the SMEG fridge is the winner – #whitegoodgoals
I never get tired of looking at their beautiful home! I think the wood paneling really warmed the whole place up and made it feel comfortable and homey, and the sparse decor is just beautiful. Well done.
Pretty, but also boring all white interior.
Such great light and that cooker and the bunk beds ! True it is not an interior designed home but it is cosy and cute. My one reservation is that it does not look like a family home but perhaps that will come in time with a few knick knacks and art.
Nice post
The amount of gorgeous natural light is amazing, as well as the original wood panels!
The house looks like a model home, though, the kind where you wear the blue plastic covers on your feet to walk around in, and feel a sting of jealousy for the lack of mess and clutter before you remember that those things are just a part of life. It’s one thing to be a minimalist, which is great, but this place just kind of lacks life.
Also, it’s one thing to claim to be a minimalist but constantly (I mean, constantly) advertise stuff on IG. Looking forward to an article on influencers and how they find a way to store all the freebies and things they get from sponsors. I think this side of “stuff” and materialism needs to be covered and be honest about. Someday, I hope. :)
Beautiful in the simplicity, but BORING for a family with five children! Sheesh…where is the life…the artwork, toys, and photos? This trend of white everything and no personality is a shame.
Our house looks very similar and I live it – no matter what the haters of this one say!