Courtney Adamo's 125-year-old Bangalow home for sale

• Owners: Courtney and Michael Adamo
• The property: A renovated c1900s home
• Address: 57 Leslie Street, Bangalow, NSW
• Price guide: $2.8 million+
• Expressions of interest: Close February 12

If your dream life includes living in an idyllic Byron hinterland location where you can stroll down the street in the morning sunshine, perhaps en route to collect a coffee and some organic produce with a wicker bag swinging from your arm, then you’re in luck.

Courtney and Michael Adamo’s idyllic Bangalow property, where they currently live with their five children, is for sale. 

When the writer, creator and businesswoman first passed the early-1900s house at 57 Leslie Street in 2017, she didn’t think much of it. At the time, it consisted of three bedrooms and one bathroom and held a prime position in Bangalow, but it suffered from what Courtney says was a poorly executed extension.

“It’s one of the very first homes built in Bangalow, so it’s really old, [but] when I first went to see it, I couldn’t really tell that,” she says.

But as soon as she walked inside, she saw its potential.  

“Once you got inside, you could see that you have these really high ceilings, and all of the walls are timber panelling, and the ceiling is the same. And just a lot of charm … beautiful old windows and beautiful doors.”

Now, no one could overlook it.

The Adamos have restored the home to its former glory while expanding it to accommodate their large family – adding an en-suite bathroom, a new kitchen and a guest studio. 

“We tried to really honour the era of the home and the type of home it was,” Courtney says. “Everything from tapware to door knobs to lighting … is really traditional in style. And we just tried to make it look like it’s always been like that.”

The kitchen, which looks out over the backyard and is Courtney’s favourite room, is made of shaker-style timber with exposed brass hinges rather than painted MDF.

The kitchen’s “beautiful French stove” – a Lacanche gas cooker – is one of the most expensive features in the house.

The striking casement windows along the front of the house were picked up from an architectural reclamation business on the Gold Coast and replaced the aluminium ones installed by a previous owner.  

The studio out the back doubles as a room for the teenage Adamo kids and an extra space for when guests come to stay – as they are wont to do in places such as this.

What was previously an enclosed verandah has been carved up into an office, en suite and laundry.

The sprawling backyard and pizza oven play host to big family dinners and neighbourhood get-togethers, while the kitchen’s stunning marble island bench has been perfect for the Adamos’ weekend family pancake ritual. 

Among the home’s most coveted attributes, though, is that it’s only 200 metres from Byron Street, Bangalow’s main drag. The town is home to a weekly farmers market and a plethora of shops and cafes. Courtney names Ciao Mate, Mangosteen, Bangalow Tuckshop, Woods Cafe and Our Corner Store as family favourites. 

“It really is probably the best location you can get in Bangalow,” she says. “It’s a nice quiet street but so close to town.

“I walk to the grocery store almost every day … I guess that’s the luxury of living in a town like this, where you can walk everywhere.” 

Bangalow is located 15 minutes from the much busier Byron Bay, and Courtney says it has fewer tourists.

“It’s smaller, it feels safer,” she says. “It feels more like people live here rather than they’re travelling here or it’s their holiday home. And we really love it. We let our kids roam around the town, and we always feel they’re safe.

“[And] it’s a better location in terms of getting to other places, like Mullumbimby or Brunswick Heads, or down to Lennox Head.”

The closest beaches are Broken Head and Belongil, about 15 minutes away, but the Adamos often wade through the busyness of Byron Bay for family surfs at the iconic spots of Wategos and The Pass.

For their next venture, the family are looking for a project they can sink their teeth into – hopefully also in Bangalow. 

“We’re looking now at buying something else, and it’s hard to go past Bangalow, to be honest,” Courtney says. “Bangalow is so charming, and it’s got a lot to offer.

“More than anything, the community is really so great.”

EOI closing 12th February

57 Leslie Street, Bangalow NSW 2479

4

2

1

View property