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There’s something innately calming about mid-century homes that gives them an enduring appeal.
For Neometro director and Smiling Mind co-founder, James Tutton, finding a retro beach house in his happy place of Byron Bay was like winning the lottery.
‘I wasn’t looking particularly seriously, it just appeared and felt right,’ James says of how he stumbled across the home 20 years ago.
‘The bones were exactly what I’d always loved — mid-century proportions, the way it sat on the land, the relationship between inside and out. But equally, it was the simplicity. People have fancy beach houses, and that’s just not me. I like small. I like honest.’
In the years since, the house has gone through different phases of being his family’s primary residence and a beloved holiday escape. The various eras inspired a series of renovations, tackling the kitchen and the bathrooms, before they added a new deck and refreshed the gardens about a year ago. But each update was always cautious to preserve the property’s original stature and humble character.
‘I worked with MA&Co on the house and Land Company, a local landscape crew, on the garden,’ James says.
‘Mid-century modernism has always been my touchstone; the honesty of materials, the restraint, the way those houses let the landscape do the heavy lifting. In Byron, that feels entirely appropriate.’
Breezeblocks and cream-coloured bricks line the exterior of the main two-bedroom house, which features a distinctively Modernist flat roof. Inside, the crisp all-white interiors of the kitchen are punctuated with glossy green tiles, while the living room and dining space also reveal similarly colourful accents in the laid-back styling.
There’s a Wegner sofa upholstered in a green Raf Simons fabric, a timber stool by Lex Williams; the walls showcase the prints by the late Alan Mitelman (who was ‘a dear friend’) alongside family photographs from holidays gone by.
The lush backyard features palm fronds, frangipani trees, and an expansive lawn for summertime activities. Privately tucked away at the very edge of the property, you’ll find a bungalow containing the main bedroom and ensuite, adding a touch of luxury to the home’s humble energy.
‘Everything is considered, but nothing is fussy. It’s also quite colourful, which I think is just me — not intentional, just the accumulation of buying things I genuinely love,’ James adds.
‘We’re not precious about it. It’s properly used. My kids have grown up here, friends come and go, the deck gets well-worn over summer.’
It’s the kind of home that has not only stood the test of time, but one that will only get better with age.
The home is also available for short-stay accomodation bookings.
