I love the good things in life; the sun and the sea, foraging, growing and cooking things from my garden, people and conversation. I love living a more creative and sustainable life with a less is more approach! Moving to Thirroul on the South Coast of Sydney 2 years ago with my man Brian and our twin girls Frida and Pearl, has brought these dream goals to life.

Our home is an original coal miners cottage, set in a pocket of remnant bush with a freshwater creek. Our restorations on this place have brought a sense of space and light but are still in keeping with the honest, simple structure. The original cast iron wood stove sits proudly in the kitchen. Our first winter here was spent huddled around it like families have most likely done in this house for more than 100 years! We have warmed many pots of tea and baked scones in the old girl too.

It’s a team thing. Brian is always picking things up from the roadside, the markets, Vinnies and Gumtree. Some are beautiful, some are outrageous! I usually get to decide what lives inside and where, and the rest goes into the private collection... (the garage vault!) Brian is super handy and can restore and repair just about anything. I’ll be talking about hanging our bathroom towels from ornate hooks or that we need a vintage record player for a music corner and I think he won’t be paying any attention and then a couple of weeks later he would have found something perfectly unique and be tinkering with it to make it just right.

It feels great to save these pieces from landfill and to create beauty at home for next to nothing. I take inspiration from lots of different sources and have fun collating these treasures and making them work functionally at home.

When we both work full time jobs in Sydney, coming home needs to be simple, playful and super relaxed. For me, the key is to keep it all uncluttered so objects and people can breathe. I can’t resist adding in bits of nature like fallen branches, interesting seed pods or bunches of foliage. It softens the more industrial pieces and adds a bit of drama and scale.

"It feels great to save these pieces from landfill and to create beauty at home for next to nothing. I take inspiration from lots of different sources and have fun collating these treasures and making them work functionally at home."

"It feels great to save these pieces from landfill and to create beauty at home for next to nothing. I take inspiration from lots of different sources and have fun collating these treasures and making them work functionally at home."

One of the most talked about pieces in the guest cottage is the kitsch map of Australia spoon rack. It displays a collection of vintage souvenir spoons from all over Australia. Guests love to pour over them and it sparks conversations of special memories or where they have travelled.

We are lucky to have a freestanding timber cottage on our property. Originally quarters for friends and family from Sydney and beyond, I recently opened it up as an Airbnb. It’s an opportunity to share a little bit of the South Coast with the outside world. She’s a soulful, sunny cottage; quiet and reflective where you can hear the oceans roll and kookaburras laugh. With an earth friendly purpose, our visitors love that they can use the ceramic keep-cups for their morning takeaway coffee, tote bags for picking up supplies and beeswax wraps for keeping things fresh. And there are plants, lots of indoor plants!

Guests can wander down our quiet street and take a short stroll to the beach, bars, cafes and amazing shops in Thirroul.

"One of the most talked about pieces in the guest cottage is the kitsch map of Australia spoon rack. It displays a collection of vintage souvenir spoons from all over Australia. Guests love to pour over them and it sparks conversations of special memories or where they have travelled."

"One of the most talked about pieces in the guest cottage is the kitsch map of Australia spoon rack. It displays a collection of vintage souvenir spoons from all over Australia. Guests love to pour over them and it sparks conversations of special memories or where they have travelled."

I love it! Perhaps it’s the good vibes of this place because our guests are great. We get to meet beautiful folk who travel from near and far, from western Sydney to Europe! The trick is reading what each group needs. Many people are really keen on a chat and want to get the local low down and others value privacy and like that they can come and go as they please. Sometimes we won’t even see our guests at all!

We now have regulars which is great and some guests have even become good friends of ours. Sometimes guests leave cute presents and thoughtful thank-yous. We have only just started on this Airbnb journey but it has brought us lots of positive surprises we could have never expected.

Everything! I love the community feels, that it is a place to drop in for a chat, to connect and be inspired. The girls and I love the workshops and pop up markets too. It has that special way of bringing people together.

The Fat and the Moon range and the Everyday Oil are my daily staples and the collection of handmade ceramics are my go to for gifts. For the guest cottage, we always have some Noel & Gladys incense ready to energy cleanse the cottage between visits so the vibes are just right for each new stay!

Learn more about Maryann here.  

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COMMON PEOPLE #21

ASH LESLIE, COLEDALE NSW

With a mix of bold and muted colours Ash Leslie creates abstract art that explores composition and colour. Buried deep in Coledale's bush escarpment you'll find Ash in her hole-in-the-wall home studio brush in hand constantly striving for the right balance between structure and fluidity in every piece - much like life itself.