My spiritual cave was not in the wilderness, my challenge not to fight the dragons. It was a house demanding to be a Home, a garden demanding to be a Temple, and God moving in. 
Maybe that is the heroine's journey.

j benevole

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A WRITER’S DREAM

HOME on ROSS is a private home and garden, intimately curated with a passion for beauty, balance and meaningful connection. It welcomes travellers from all walks of life longing for a place to rest, be inspired and create.

HOME on ROSS also provides a stage for outdoor performances and can host smaller intimate gatherings on the premises.

The 1.5 acre property is conveniently nestled between the ocean (7 min to Lennox Head) and the rolling green hills of Byron Hinterland (northern NSW).

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THREE ROOMS

HOME on ROSS has three guest rooms (in addition to the private master suite), all with a/c and ensuite bathrooms. The outdoor areas host common amenities such as a hot tub and a fire pit, and the property has plenty of hideaways to read, write, draw or introspect, as well as common areas to vent ideas and change the world.

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A CLASSIC HOUSE

HOME on ROSS is a ‘slow home’, birthed with patience through an iterative process of asking and listening, of finding the right things and their right place.

I bought the property in 2017. I had just sold my home in Sydney and given away most of my belongings, ready to move back to Europe. But there were other plans for me, and I crossed paths with a beautiful house that did not take no for an answer.

Houses tend to be like that. Strong personalities with a will of their own if you speak their language.

I cried mixed tears at the auction. The challenge felt overwhelming, the chosen road one of solitude and exhaustion. As my few belongings arrived from Sydney I didn’t unpack for days, the large echoing rooms reminding me of the craziness of the endeavour. What was I doing here? I knew no one, far away from loved ones in a huge empty house, surrounded by bare red soil, weed and out of control invasive trees threatening to grow me in.

‘It’s ok to give up and come home’, my dad said on the third day. I truly considered it.

But I unpacked. I started painting the walls and scouting the region for old beautiful furniture, and as the months passed the echoes slowly mellowed and a home revealed itself. A balanced home with classic features. A peaceful home that softens people as they walk through the door.

Looking back at my life this is what I’ve always done; birthed homes.

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AN ‘OLD WORLD’ GARDEN

In 2021 I finally took on the daunting landscaping challenge.

I’d tried to outsource the task but no one understood my vision. I find most gardens in the area boring and un-organic, created from clean slates in accordance with some latest fashion. I wanted to collaborate with the environment, yet bring in structure. I wanted balance, harmony, like the old gardens back in Europe, created by hand, with love.

And so I did it myself – I cut down trees, dug out stumps, wheelbarrowed soil, moved lawn, created terraces, carried boulders, laid gravel, built decks, planted roses, trees, flowers, and moved them again if they were not happy. Balancing aesthetics with requirements of low maintenance and self-sustainability – the climate is sub-tropical with both draughts and floodings and a garden should be resilient to both, yet not take over the world if you look away for a second.

In a manual, intuitive, patient, loving, organic process a perfectly imperfect garden was born, where forms, shapes, textures and colours slow-dance in harmony with the environment. A marrying of old and new, of yin and yang, of European sophistication and Australian rawness. With elements of structured parterre, romantic cottage garden and tropical wilderness.

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