Dangar island retreat in Australia

Tucked away on a bushy island on the Hawkesbury River is this very stylish Australian retreat, which is the weekender of author and editorial director, Karen McCartney. The cool weekender is nestled amongst bushy native gum trees on that little island, a little over an hours drive north of Sydney, which it truly is one of Australia’s well hidden and most precious gems.

When Karen and her husband David Harrison, also a creative design writer and stylist, bought the block of land there was much work that was needed before they could really bask in the beauty of Dangar Island. Originally the block of land was occupied by a fragile old fibro shack, but without any strong bones or foundations to hold onto, it was clear that this dream weekender was going to be a project that started from scratch. From the outset, there was a natural desire to create a house that sat comfortably within the bushy landscape. That meant creating a space that was casual, relaxed, and easy to live in.

The starting point was to build on the amazing river views, as well as capturing maximum northern sunlight. So naturally, the space called for an open floor plan and large ‘L-shaped’ verandah that offered outdoor living space. It also meant a material selection that blended with the landscape and in this case keeping it simple was key. Timber was a natural choice with exterior cladding boards made from blackbutt stained in dark grey, just like the merbau window frames. Inside, the space isn’t over planned. Rather it’s filled with oddities and furniture that together harvest a feeling of ease without having to be too precious about things. There are large expanses of painted plasterboard, devoid of any intrinsic character so artworks have made a big difference to the feeling in the rooms.

[Ref.] http://sharedesign.com/inspirationblog/karen-mccartneys-dangar-island-home/