Who lives here: Raquel Banks, a video editor, and her builder fiancé, Jack Nyboer of Nobo Build.
Style of home: A new three-bedroom modern-meets-Japanese-style house on one level with two courtyards and a self-contained studio.
Location: The seaside village of Lennox Head on the NSW north coast, which is the traditional land of the Bundjalung nation.
Timeline: This building project took approximately two years from design through to completion.
KITCHEN Owners Jack and Raquel did most of the work on the home while holding down day jobs, and included some vintage furniture in a bid to save money and the planet. Jack also made some key pieces, such as the camphor laurel outdoor table and benches off the kitchen/dining area. Ceramics, The Clay Barn.
EXTERIOR Eco Timber Group supplied the shou sugi ban (charred timber) cladding for the outer walls, which are designed to contrast with the much brighter interior. Decking, spotted gum.
Wrapping a home around a central courtyard has long been an effective architectural device to maximise daylight and link indoor and outdoor living. But how about orientating your house around two such spaces?
Located in the heart of the tranquil northern NSW village of Lennox Head, just a 15-minute drive from its more famous neighbour, Byron Bay, the seaside home built by Jack Nyboer and his fiancée, Raquel Banks, overlooks a nature reserve and had to embrace its verdant natural setting. The design solution? An innovative layout that truly nestles the house within the landscape, luring in the sun and surrounds through dual north facing courtyard gardens. “You get these amazing sunsets across the hill,” says Raquel.
DINING AREA Builder Jack made the spotted-gum table; the Danish chairs are vintage. “We’re always looking for vintage pieces,” he says. “We prefer not to buy new if we can help it.” Indigo Love onyx bowl on table, The Design Hunter. Arcissimo vase on floor, Tigmi Trading. Artwork by Byron-based Courtney Cook.
LIVING A floating shelf in spotted gum sits opposite a Sarah Ellison sofa. Arco lounge chair and Charlotte Culot rug, Tigmi Trading. Pink vase and head with yellow dots by Belinda Smith. Artworks by Jacqueline Scotcher (on wall) and Courtney Cook (on shelf).
The couple purchased the slightly sloping 600-square-metre parcel of land just before Covid hit in early 2020; the vacant site was always their idea of a dream buy. “I wanted to build a single storey house with every area of the home enjoying a glimpse of the garden,” Jack says. “That was very important to me, and this block was perfect. I’ve been building houses for other people for 12 years now. You arrive to a dirt patch and, over time, build something beautiful, but then you have to walk away. So, I was excited at the thought of actually moving into the house and enjoying it – even for a little while!”
With Jack focusing on the construction, Raquel turned her attention to the interiors. The couple also called on the skills of their longtime friends, architect Hayley Pryor and landscape designer/carpenter Rhys Heggie. “It was so special to all work together on the home as a team,” Jack admits.
KITCHEN A mix of materials creates interest while the spotted gum cabinetry brings warmth to this space by Nailed It Kitchens & Joinery. Overhead MDF cabinets in Moss Grey. Benchtop in travertine from Artedomus. Splashback render, Raw Design Solid Plastering. Mizu ‘Drift MK2’ pull-out sink mixer in Brushed Nickel, Reece. Wall paint, Dulux Lexicon Quarter. Saddle bar stools, Lounge Lovers. Ceramics, The Clay Barn.
PANTRY The same engineered-stone benchtop was chosen for the utility areas. Flooring, polished concrete. Ceramics, The Clay Barn and Muckware.
“Hayley brought amazing plans to us,” adds Raquel. “Jack wanted a separate self-contained studio at the front of the house, and it was Hayley’s idea to have the two separate courtyards. The middle courtyard is the communal outdoor space for entertaining, while the rear courtyard with a plunge pool and outdoor shower feels like a more private adult area, as it adjoins the main bedroom.”
Over 24 months, the vision was brought to glorious life. “This project was quite labour-intensive as it was really only Jack and Rhys actually building the house,” says Raquel. “There were definitely long days, but it was so worth it.”
LAUNDRY Nailed It Kitchens & Joinery built the recessed upper cabinets in the same Moss Grey as the kitchen.
BATHROOM Softly hued travertine from MyStone Masonry graces the floor and bath built by Jack. Stool, Eureka Furniture.
Certainly, for Raquel and Jack, there was freedom that came with constructing their own home, as well as a challenge they did not foresee. “Even though I’m in the industry, I didn’t realise just how many decisions and choices you have to make when you’re doing it yourself!” Jack laughs.
Raquel concurs: “It’s not about just putting a door up, for example. It’s about deciding how high you make the door, where the handle goes, and what type of handle you have. There are decisions for everything. But we definitely found our flow and really started to enjoy it.”
BATHROOM Stucco vanity and spotted-gum mirrors, also custom-made for the space by Jack. Sara basin, ABI Interiors. Vase, The Clay Barn. Turkish-style towels, Sunday Supply Co.
MAIN BEDROOM Jack made the couple’s spotted-gum bed and the camphor laurel bench outside the room. Bed linen from Of The Sun. Rug, Bodhi Living. Artwork by Jacqueline Scotcher.
The home’s material palette is inspired by the landscape. An exercise in organic simplicity, the finishes and fittings have been selected for their textural and tonal characteristics. While the charred jarrah-clad exterior creates a distinct sense of being ‘from the earth’, the timeless beauty of concrete, timber and travertine come to the fore within the walls of the home, imbuing the rooms with authenticity and warmth.
“The charred-timber cladding is from Eco Timber Group and has been done in the Japanese shou sugi ban technique to preserve the wood,” says Jack. “I love its raw aesthetic and it never fades, so there’s no upkeep.” Reflects Raquel: “The exterior palette is quite a cool one, so I wanted the interiors to feel warm and cosy. That’s why I selected the spotted-gum veneer kitchen cabinetry with the travertine benchtops, as well as the travertine tiles in the bathroom, and the polished concrete flooring in the majority of the home. We knew that we would be selling the house eventually, and that the new owners would want to make it their own. So, the base palette is very neutral, but we brought in colour through the soft furnishings and the contemporary artworks by local artists, which are quite summery and fun.”
ENTRY Off-form concrete floating steps make a great transition from outside in. Not all the walls are charred timber; some sections are James Hardie EasyLap cladding in Dulux Black. Colorbond steel roof in Night Sky from Superior Roofing. Console, vintage. Bowl, The Design Hunter. Artwork by Jacqueline Scotcher. The plantings are mainly Australian natives, including coastal pigface, kangaroo paw, foxtail grass and couch grass on the lawn.
PLUNGE POOL The main bedroom looks out to landscaping and a watery retreat by Australian Plunge Pools. Custom copper shower by local company Drift Plumbing. Husk beach towel, Sunday Supply Co.
With its soaring raked ceiling, the gravitational force of the luminous kitchen and adjacent living zone is undeniable. Throughout the warmer seasons, louvered windows ensure cooling breezes and cross ventilation, while expanses of glazing in every domain frame the courtyards, which are lushly layered with predominantly native plantings. “We’ve created little pockets of garden everywhere,” says Jack. “The climate up here is perfect for that – everything you put in the ground grows really well, including all of the banksia and flowering blueberry ash trees that we planted.”
As one might have predicted, Jack and Raquel have sold the house and the time has come for the couple to say a bittersweet farewell to their first joint project. “We’ll always be super-proud of this place,” says Jack.
COURTYARD Once you’re off the spotted-gum decking, the surface is Deco Granite brown gravel with bluestone steppers interspersed with zoysia grass. Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ hangs over the masonry block walls. Coastal pigface and foxtail grass are planted in front of the pool fence, while the trees along the fence line are banksia and blueberry ash. Husk towel, Sunday Supply Co.
“It is hard to leave,” says Raquel, “but it’s been so amazing to watch something go from being a spoken idea to an idea on a page, and then a real house. This home will always be an important chapter of our story.”
Lessons learnt
“Concentrate on your individual strengths as a couple,” says Jack Nyboer, owner/builder. “Raquel and I didn’t really butt heads on anything. As a partnership, we realised each other’s strong points and were pretty much in sync on everything — that’s very important.”
See more Nobo Build projects @nobo.build
