‘It wouldn’t be out of place in Marrakesh”: Electric blue mansion for sale

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Orara Valley, this property is just 20 minutes’ drive from Coffs Harbour, but it feels like a world away.

“We pull up the driveway, and I swear, pretty much every time we go ‘Wow’,” says owner Annika Henson. “It’s all just one big exhale.”

The four-bedroom home was first built in the 1980s by a couple who were inspired by their extensive travels. 

“This house would not be out of place in, say, the Algarve, in Marrakesh, or in Greece,” says Barry Henson. 

“The walls are 37 centimetres thick, and when [the original owners] built them they wanted them to have an organic feel, so the brickies took hatchets and axes and rounded all the corners by hand.” 

POA

79B Walters Rd, Upper Orara NSW 2450

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You enter through a curved gateway painted a dazzling shade of cobalt blue. 

Inside, the home opens to a sun-soaked courtyard filled with lush planting, and edged by decorative pillars that took three months to paint by hand. 

Along with the four bedrooms and three bathrooms in the main residence, there are equestrian facilities for horse-lovers, a resort-style pool, fenced paddocks, and self-contained guest quarters that have the potential to generate up to $50,000 per year. 

For Barry, the home has always reminded him of a quote he heard once about unique houses. 

“Most people spend 48 weeks a year working so they can go and spend four weeks in some place really special,” he recalls. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you made your home so special that you didn’t really want to leave it?”

The couple have decided to sell the house and downsize to a smaller home, but the transition comes with some sadness. 

“It’s bittersweet because I know I’ll never have anything this beautiful again,” Barry says. 

The home will go to auction in mid-December with price expectations around $4 million. Janis Perkins of Real Estate of Distinction Byron Bay is the listing agent.