If you’re building, renovating, or simply love following beautiful home accounts on Instagram, there’s a chance you’re already following The Coastal Barn Dream. Situated on the Gold Coast, this stunning family home is just as breathtaking in person as it is in photos. With no detail spared, every inch of the home is styled and finished to perfection. From the endless ceilings, to the airy natural light, to the dreamy backyard and pool, The Coastal Barn Dream has it all. We chatted to Lauren, the owner, designer and stylist who together with her husband, created their forever family home…

Images by Villa Styling.

It’s no secret that we are in love with your breathtaking home. Can you describe the overall style?

My overall style is very much a combination of my childhood memories.

Growing up living on acreage, I loved being surrounded by wildlife on our property, and cosy winter nights spent by the fire. Along with living on the Coast, and our family holidays by the beach, this really drew me to wanting to create and design something that combined the two styles of country and coastal. This of course lead to the Coastal Barn style.

You’re a mum of five adorable kids - Can you tell us some ways that you’ve made your home family friendly?

To be completely honest it’s probably not the most completely family friendly home with so much white, but I love white and why wait I say. I was very mindful when choosing good quality durable furnishings and finishes for the home knowing I was going all white with young children. For example – I splurged a little more than planned for when purchasing our main living lounge, getting a good quality fabric and the fabric protection treatment on them has really paid off with cleaning up everyday spills, and wear and tear.

I also opted for a lounge in our kids area that has removable covers that can be washed, but doesn’t sacrifice the look and design. I opted for a good quality woodcut timber flooring, which is durable and so easy to clean.

I was also mindful of the type of finishes I chose with furniture in the home. We chose a concrete table over a timber. Not only does it look beautiful, I have definitely had my fair share of damaged timber dining tables over the years. With the concrete table there are no scratches, and it’s so easy to wipe down and keep clean. I mean the list is long, but it is definitely doable, and I would say don’t veer away from white if you have kids, because it can work.

Where did you draw inspiration from when designing and styling your home?

My Pinterest board for the build of my home was filled with country style barns converted into beautiful homes. I’ve always loved high cathedral ceilings and I’m a lover of a good transformation of a barn into a modern country style farm house. Beach homes have also been a huge inspiration with their light-filled spaces and coastal styling. Social media has also played a big part in gathering inspiration. There are so many beautiful homes out there.

I think it’s a no brainer to most who follow us that a lot of inspiration for my home has come from Bonnie’s home from Three Birds Renovations. After watching her series and how perfectly she executed the coastal barn look, I knew I wanted to incorporate some of that into my own home. Those grand, high cathedral ceilings, the white coastal cladding/weatherboard look, the barn. It’s all just stunning.

Do you have a favourite room in your home and why?

My favourite space in my home is no doubt the main hub of the home. The feeling you get as you walk in the front door, being greeted by the beautiful indoor/outdoor space, the big glass highlight windows, which allows the vision of the sky, and all that natural light overlooking the resort style pool/outdoor entertainment area. It really does feel like you are entering your own little villa.

My other favourite rooms in the home would have to be my ensuite and laundry, both for the same reasons of being light and bright rooms. As far as finishes go and location in the home, the sun hits these areas of the house all day long. I love that both windows in these spaces have been purposely placed with palm trees to achieve the resort feel in the home.

What is your favourite element or feature in your home?

One of my favourite features is the 5.7m high cathedral style ceiling. I just love that once you enter the front door, your eyes are drawn up and out towards the back of the alfresco area where the cathedral ceiling continues out to.

The cathedral ceiling provides an added measure of depth and grandness within that space.

What was the most difficult part of building?

I think the most difficult part of our building process would have had to be the issues we had due to the weather. We ended up having a good 3 week period of non-stop heavy rain which really affected our time frames and schedule, as we just had to put things on hold. It became such an inconvenience as it was at such a critical time of the build.

The cathedral ceilings were another difficult factor in the build with the carpentry and workmanship involved due to the exposed rafters.

What was the most valuable lesson you learnt during the building process?

You can never be too prepared. When it comes to choosing finishes, allow yourself more than enough time because your plan A may not always go to plan. For me when it was time to order certain finishes they didn’t end up being available for the timeframes I needed them, then I needed a plan B. So in hindsight I probably should’ve ordered them earlier than when I did need them or had a plan B readily available.

Also, don’t go overseas during your build haha!

Did you have any non-negotiables/must-haves when it came to the design and styling of your home?

The height of the cathedral ceilings was non-negotiable
The glass highlights above the front door
The back glass sliders
Our full height doors
The gas strut window in the kitchen

Your best advice for those who are thinking of building a home…

Do it! Even though it’s an extremely stressful experience and you may lose your marriage over it (haha, but for real) it’s the most rewarding experience when you end up seeing your finished masterpiece - something you’ve put your heart, sweat and tears into.

Your next purchase or project for your home…

Upcoming projects for our home - we are still yet to build our chicken coop and vegetable garden.

Next purchase – I have grand ideas for a cute little beach cottage reno in the near future.

See Inside this Stunning Coastal Barn Inspired Home