HOME ON THE RANGE
A Byron Bay entrepreneur’s enviable farmhouse retreat.
STANDING ON ONE OF THE HIGHEST POINTS
within the Byron Bay hinterland sits The Range, a sprawling 120-acre ridge-top property that offers sweeping 180-degree views across the hills and beyond to the sea. For owner Emma Lane and her husband Tom Lane, founders of sustainable multi-site community space The Farm Byron Bay, an extensive, decade-long search came to an end when they stumbled upon their now home. “Our brief was 15 minutes to Byron, five minutes to Bangalow and 10 minutes to the beach, with privacy, that sat on a hill looking over the hinterland – and the icing on the cake would be a distant view of the ocean,” says Lane. “Finally we found all the elements in this one property.”
At the centre of the land is a stately farmhouse, which acts as the main abode for Emma, Tom and their children Charlie, 14, George, 11, Matilda, 9, and Lulu, 7, plus Ranger their beloved Hungarian vizsla. Beyond the farmhouse sit two restored farm
sheds, known as The Barn and The Cabin, which have been reimagined into separate external living spaces and play into the couple’s love of Spanishstyle finca houses. “A finca is a country estate or ranch, usually farming-orientated and often with a plantation, and a collection of buildings,” says Lane. “With the farmhouse, barn and cabin, and 4,500 macadamia trees, it seemed an appropriate theme for The Range.”
The three-bedroom main house, modelled on the farmhouse that once stood in its place, blends the old and new by retaining unique features from the original home. Lane, whose business ethos of sustainability extends into her home, repurposed several features from the original house such as beams and door frames to create an authentic ode to the heritage of the property. “The main shelves in the living area are from the old roof trusses,” she says. Pre-existing outdoor features have also been kept and given new life, including a rustic industrial bath outside the main bedroom that was once an old wine storage vessel.
With their business roots firmly planted in the soil and sand of Byron, the Lanes were able to commission custom pieces with local makers to continue the
“There’s a barefoot sophistication that I love – relaxed yet curated”
unique Europe-meets-australia motif of the estate. Their most recent venture, a renovated two-acre beachside property south of Byron called The Beach House East Coast, also embraces the same laidback theme but with a coastal feel. “There’s a barefoot sophistication that I love to adopt in my lifestyle – relaxed yet curated,” says Lane. It’s an aesthetic that seeps into every aspect of the house, from the raw timber fittings and soft natural renders, right down to the muted earthy colour palette of the terracotta tiles and linen furniture, which disguise the marks and muddy footprints that are inevitable with children and pets.
With such an expansive property, you’d presume choosing a favourite corner would be difficult. But Lane points to the sunken lounge, designed in collaboration with interior designer Sarah Ellison and situated at the heart of the property, as the space her family inhabit the most, along with the outdoor entertaining area. “Tom often cooks dinner over the coals of the fire pit while we gather around to look out over the view.”