Magazine mogul Deb Bibby shows off her beachside cottage

Who: Deb Bibby

What: A timeless beachside home

Where: Clareville, New South Wales

The maxim that “good things take time” is certainly true of this beachside cottage in Clareville, New South Wales, owned by former magazine editor Deb Bibby.

She first encountered this family home as a neighbour, as she used to live next door. “It was an ugly duckling covered in plastic mock bricks,” she says.

The property was built in 1926 by Sir Arthur Alfred Clements Cocks, and has only had four owners – clearly once people move in, they don’t want to leave. This is certainly true for Bibby, who says, “we walked in and fell in love. Kaboom!”

While Bibby immediately removed those “ugly duckling” bricks to reveal jarrah boards wrapped around the entire home, further renovations to the house took a little longer.

“An architect friend told me to live in it a year before renovating … we ended up living in it for 20 years before we renovated!”

After getting to know the feel of the home and appreciate its rich history, the house underwent a major overhaul four years ago.

“The house was lifted completely intact [with all of its furniture] 1.2 metres into the air,” Bibby says.

A new bedroom and bathroom were built underneath, and a garage rebuilt in the original 1926 location.

Inside, the home has a timeless sensibility, styled with a mishmash of eclectic artwork, antiques and classic design pieces collected over a lifetime. The palette here is muted and primarily neutral, with tiny pops of green, dirty pink and orange adding moments of intrigue.

For Bibby, favourite pieces include artwork and objects collected on her travels – such as the small, green landscape painting by Jessica Falstein above the main bed, which was the first piece of art Bibby bought in New York in her 20s.

This divine family home provides an inspiring and stimulating environment for Bibby and her equally creative son, Jack. “I swear being here makes you creative, I think it’s the light and being up in the trees – nature literally blows into the living room, and the birds are deafening,” she enthuses.