GREAT escape

For an expat media executive, her Barwon Heads bolthole lets her return to her roots and share long, sun-soaked summers with friends and family.

- CHRIS PEARSON

This Barwon Heads hideaway embodies breezy beachside living and lingering family get-togethers for Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden. Based in LA, the high-flying media executive moves in a star-studded firmament, but when the expat returns home she kicks off her shoes as she walks in the door. This warm, textural retreat, which readily welcomes down-under sunshine, is worlds away from her glamorous Californian lifestyle, but all the more special for that.

With extended family literally over the back fence and up the road, these light and lofty spaces enable Sarah and husband Dave, with their three teenagers, to return to their roots and feel grounded. “I grew up in Barwon Heads, with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all spent our summers here, so it has always been home,” says Sarah. “While I’ve lived in the US since 1997, I constantly return.”

She had often asked the property’s previous owner if he wanted to sell. The long-awaited “Yes” came in 2018, but while Sarah and Dave originally planned to remodel the humble fibro on the site asbestos in its ceilings sealed its fate. So they asked Tecture architect Ben Robertson and head of interior design Lauren Foy to design them a new home from the ground up.

Generous entertaining spaces topped the wishlist. “We wanted it to accommodate large family groups – over Christmas more than 60 will show up for a barbecue – with a smooth flow from kitchen to living to outside to keep everyone connected,” says Sarah. “Dave and I love to cook, but we also want to be in the conversation, so we needed a big central island to gather around.”