Transforming a fibro beach shack into a much-loved weekender

Beautiful, simple, and rustic are the words Rebecca Trethowan uses to describe her seaside holiday shack on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.

It’s a place of comfort where she and her family can relax into nature outdoors, or stay in and watch the ocean from the living room window.

Purchased in mid-2020 after hunting for several years, the two-bedroom property, built in 1973, has an established native garden filled with birdlife, and is a short stroll to the small beach at Second Valley – which Trethowan likens to a teal pond during summertime – for swimming, snorkelling and diving.

It’s only an hour’s drive from the family’s busy lives in the Adelaide Hills (where Trethowan and husband Alistair raise their three young children).

“We longed for a shack because of the simplicity they bring,” Trethowan says. “We wanted a sanctuary to come to, where everything else was stripped back and we could breathe out.”

Sanctuary wasn’t quite an accurate description of how the shack looked when they bought it. Abandoned and unmaintained for a decade, the fibro structure languished on the market for two years, optimistically listed for sale as ‘the handyman special’.

“There were many people, including a builder, who told us to tear it down,” Trethowan says. “But we could see the potential.”

The couple had some experience behind them to back up their creative vision; they’d already renovated a farm property together, and Alistair is a project manager in the building industry while early childhood educator Rebecca grew up in a real estate business.

“We joke that [renovation] projects are one of our love languages,” she says.

Firstly, the shack’s structural issues had to be addressed and with help from a builder, they replaced the crumbling ceiling and restored the floorboards damaged by termites.

But other aged parts of the shack glowed with the cool of its era – Trethowan loves the “real ’70s vibe” of the bottle glass windows, and that “the original oven works better than any of the fancy ones I’ve cooked in”.

Simplicity guided the choices for the interiors; the walls and floorboards have been painted white, and the furniture is a mix of woods and wicker in what Trethowan says is their signature style. “We’ve always loved white and wood – all our homes have looked the same despite what’s in fashion.”

Curated bits and bobs – many found in nature – that reflect the wild and woolly vibe of the area and its famously rugged coastline round out the interior, alongside pieces made by friends and items sourced from local thrift shops.

Meaning is everywhere. The dining table belonged to Trethowan’s parents “and has crayon marks from when my children were teeny tiny, and I love that about it,” while a favourite item is a treasure jar lamp from her father that the children fill with the green sea glass they collect on their walks.

“That’s a lovely focal point for our family adventures, and that’s what this shack is about – family time and connection to this incredible spot.”

The three children share the main bedroom, which is full of bunk beds, while their parents have the smaller bedroom for themselves.

There are plans to turn the shack’s double garage into a children’s retreat in the future, where they can play table tennis and lounge on couches. As a family, they will build a new deck for the shack at Christmas.

Perhaps the most important factor in the shack’s sanctuary feel is the presence of Trethowan herself, and her deep love for the Second Valley area. She learnt to scuba dive there in her youth and developed a connection that endured even while she travelled the world and then set up home in the Adelaide Hills.

“This place by the ocean is my true north,” she says.

She has decided to share the shack, named Arcadia, with others in the hope it can bring them a sense of calm and connection too. A one-day “restoration retreat” for women that Trethowan organised, including weaving, walking, swimming and feasting, booked out the day she shared it online.

She muses that beach shacks in the coastal area have become something of a drawcard this year as people holiday close to home, evidenced by rising prices. She says she feels lucky they bought when they did since “interest in property around the area has rocketed”.

“The shack is back,” she says. “Simple can still be stunning, and having the bare essentials that are functional, yet beautiful, is key.”