- Date published: 30.05.25
- Category: Home Tours
- Author: Arabella Peterson
Fate Led Hotelier Julia Ashwood to a 150-Year-Old Farmhouse by the Sea
This playful, rustic family home in the Byron Bay hinterland keeps the region’s pastoral charm alive.
Editor's Note
For decades, people have flocked to the Byron Bay region – and it’s easy to see why. Not many places have that magical combination of natural beauty and creative energy. But for Northern Rivers born and raised Julia Ashwood, settling in the coastal hills was less a sea change than a homecoming.
As a seasoned traveller and founder of the lifestyle journal The Vista, Julia’s life is guided by connection and storytelling. That philosophy extends into her work and her home alike, shaped by a love of bringing people together – whether at her 150-year-old farmhouse or through her creative hospitality ventures.
Leave any formality at the (bright red) door and step into her world, where walls are filled with art, children's playhouses double as cocktail bars, and mornings are marked by whale watching and whistling kettles. It’s this free-spirited philosophy that makes her home feel alive – and that continues to shape every project she touches.
We hope you love it as much as we do,
Genevieve Rosen-Biller, Co‑Founder, Bed Threads.
“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions,” Haruki Murakami wrote. For Julia Ashwood, it came more gently – on the warm, coastal breeze from the east. As if by design, serendipity delivered her to a storied, sun-washed farmhouse perched upon the Byron headland.
On an ordinary drive through the Northern Rivers one afternoon, Julia and her husband Matt noticed a herd of cows on the road up ahead. Matt ushered them back into their paddock, and on this plot of land, came upon a quaint, tin-roofed shack. He knocked on the door to no response, but stored the image of the sea-facing homestead away in his mind.
Just a few weeks later, the house appeared for rent online. “Matty said, ‘I know that doorway!’” laughs Julia. “We instantly knew it was going to be our home.” They applied, including a letter to the owners (not a stock-standard request, but a heartfelt, handwritten letter) presenting their case as future tenants.
Almost a decade later, they’ve made it their sanctuary, raising their two children Alby and Delilah, and building a life where nature and imagination form the foundation.
A world away from one of the grand hotels in far-flung cities chronicled in her lifestyle journal The Vista, Julia’s home is a haven for family life. Standing for 150 years, the cottage has its fair share of quirks – from charming original features (“lovely big, wide floorboards and weathered timber details”) to less welcome ones (“all the snakes and the creepy crawlies that come with old houses”). However the latter doesn’t faze Julia, having grown up among nature in a village just 20 minutes away. Her mum still lives there, in the home that Julia has known since birth.
In eight years, Julia’s house has accumulated the hallmarks of a well-loved space. “I think the house really talks to you. You get to know each other over time,” says Julia. “We have so much art and so many knickknacks and books.”
With Matt having once owned a gallery, there’s “art behind every door and under every bed,” as well as an ever-growing collection of works by friends and local artisans. Peppered throughout the rooms are paintings by Jedda Daisy Culley, vessels by Angus McDiarmid of Pãn Pottery, and Julia’s very own ceramic creations crafted alongside Alex from Muddy Clay. Layered among these are vintage objects and an enviable record collection that speak to the couple’s eclectic eye. Whether pre-loved collectable or handmade treasure, Julia most cherishes the story behind the object, “I want to know the origin of every piece. Where is it from, where has it been before?”
In the kids’ rooms, timber artworks handcrafted by their uncle take pride of place, while outside his pièce de résistance – the cubby house – stands centre stage. By day it’s a hideaway for playdates; by late afternoon, it transforms into a sunny spot for cocktail hour.
"I think the house really talks to you. You get to know each other over time."
Julia Ashwood
While Julia notes that “each room has its own little special qualities and quirks,” the kitchen has a gravitational pull: “The best conversations always happen around the kitchen bench.” Then there’s the sunroom, where the kids play as the “beautiful sunshine pours in and all the birds sing.”
“I love a little sunny cup of tea on the veranda in the morning – it’s a nice way to start the day,” she says. “I've got a whistling kettle, and when that goes off, it feels quite nostalgic.” In winter, they sit on the veranda with a view of the ocean, watching whales leap from the water. “It's pretty special.”
Hosting is a laid-back affair at Julia’s home. Her preferred plans are spontaneous and informal – “just come by and have a coffee, call in on the weekend when we're here.” She playfully notes that her entertaining style is “just messy,” painting a portrait of the backyard barbecue: dishes brought out casually while the kids run wild. “As long as everyone gets fed and you can all enjoy a wine and stay a while, it’s a pretty beautiful occasion.”
This desire to bring people together is what Julia has built her career on – developing pubs, restaurants, villas and hotels – building places for people to gather and connect. Her most recent project, Sun Ranch, developed with designer Jamie Blakey, is a culmination of this ethos. A 1970s California-inspired micro-resort set on 55-acres in Byron Bay, Julia explains, “The whole premise was building a communal space where there’s a sense of celebration." The goal is simple: “Have fun, eat great food, have a drink, listen to great music. I guess that energy echoes through our own home as well.”
Another through-line between Julia’s work and home is her commitment to supporting fellow makers by commissioning and curating their work. “There's nothing that I enjoy more than encouraging and supporting someone who's creating,” says Julia. “And if I can use my work to do that, it really fills my cup.” For example, the red aluminium stools at previous hotel project The Sunseeker were crafted by friend and local designer Jack Fearon, brokered during a chance run-in at the pub. Over at Sun Ranch, the Argentinian rugs are by local brand Pampa, while the bespoke lamps are crafted by Lana Launay, who Julia met through long-time friend and collaborator Lucy Folk.
After four years of bringing Sun Ranch to life – backed by a team of long-time friends from various creative industries – the retreat has found new custodians, with Sydney couple James and Sophie Raper taking the reins. The transition closes a colourful chapter but leaves behind a legacy of one of the region’s most talked-about stays.
Now that Sun Ranch is completed and sold, she’s got her sights set on the next chapter – Room Service. Launched as a bespoke, in-person series of workshops, Julia is taking the course online. Over a series of modules, Julia will share 20 years’ worth of learnings from the interiors and hospitality industries. The programme will guide participants from the storytelling process, right through to design and sustainability, marketing your property and creating guest loyalty. As well as practical, hands-on advice, Julia wants fellow hoteliers, guesthouse hosts and restaurateurs to “believe in their own inherent creativity, and feel the courage to express that.”
The first two decades of Julia’s career are defined by exploration, which led to her love of hospitality – but this current phase is a little more grounded. “The most ironic thing is you start a hotel, and then you don't travel,” she jokes, “It kind of ties you down, anchors you a little bit.” The places she’s visited are always in reach, though, “I always buy a little souvenir when I go away,” she explains. “I love being surrounded by those little things that remind you of another story, another place, another time.”
Reflecting on life’s ebb and flow, Julia smiles, “My kids are nine and six, so the place is a constant mess. Alby’s always building some sort of contraption. There’s Lego everywhere.” She concedes, “If you try and control that too much, it’ll send you mad.” Accepting that the "beautiful, messy and gorgeous" chaos is fleeting allows her to embrace the present. "Ten years from now when they’re thinking about moving out, I’ll be like, ‘Oh no. Bring back the Lego!’”
For Julia, what makes a house feel soulful are “the rituals and the experiences you have within it. All the stories.” She loves “bringing the outside in,” whether through “wild bunches of flowers” picked up at the Saturday markets or the haul of fruit and veg that fills the kitchen each week. “I feel like it just makes the house feel like it’s living and breathing with you,” she says. Even the smallest treasures – “a shell, a rock, a crystal” collected on outings – find their way inside. “It’s ever growing. It’s ever evolving.”
“We live in a grey world – grey clothing, grey lounges, grey walls, grey everything,” laments Julia. For her, home is the antidote: a place where colour and character are not only welcome but celebrated, and where “you can truly just be yourself.” Through the life she’s built, Julia is living proof that what’s meant to be yours will often find you – sometimes when you least expect it.
Shop Julia's Home
Credits
Photography by Benito Martin
Styling by Emmaly Stewart
Video by Caleb Graham
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