Palm Beach holiday house Crane Lodge gives a natural high
There are beach houses with sand virtually on the doorstep and there are those of more imperious ilk that laud it over the landscape.
Up and up we go for a soaring bird’s-eye view past tamed bush, rocks, sub-tropical rainforest and grottoes to an eyrie with views stretching towards the blue expanses of Pittwater’s bays and bosky headlands. It’s a world of green, the one shade that has a real tactile substance. It’s the colour of nature, of growth and myriad textures, and at the lofty heights of Crane Lodge, it’s a vibrant and vigorous presence.
There are beach houses with sand virtually on the doorstep and there are those of more imperious ilk that laud it over the landscape and offer vistas that feel spied through a telescope. This holiday home, set snug above a cul-de-sac between Palm Beach and Avalon on the far neck of Sydney’s northern beaches peninsula, is firmly in the latter category. And that slog to the top? No need to lace up the climbing boots. Take the jaunty little inclinator up its steep tracks and rise slowly and imperiously to the top deck. It’s almost impossible not to wave royally at the angophoras. What an arrival.
Kim Ellis, owner of Crane Lodge and founder of the Wild Luxury collective, has a keen artistic eye and her design choices are top-notch. Every detail in the two-storey building has been carefully considered, from kitchenware and glasses to premium-quality bedding, artwork and craft flourishes. Hand-woven baskets hung on stylish timber hooks work as mini art installations. Five key commissioned pieces, including the signature “luminaire” light fitting in the conservatory-inspired dining alcove, are linked with a theme of nature’s endless renewal and recovery. In the master bedroom, textile artist Julie Paterson’s hanging, Overgrown, is her response to the devastating NSW bushfire season of 2019.
But the interiors do not mimic a stylised gallery, and comfort is paramount. It all feels floaty and seamless, with high ceilings, big windows capturing the play of light and clouds, and a sense of being enfolded in the environment. Teaming with Melbourne-based interior designer Carole Whiting, Kim’s chosen palette is of greys, creams, rinsed greens and rusty pinks. These are the tones of Crane Lodge’s natural habitat, including a soft terracotta in the hallway leading upstairs and present in further detailing and fittings through the house.
Kim has also been meticulous in researching the Indigenous history and botany of the region, and there’s a small forest of Pittwater spotted gums trees on the property of great significance that “host”, as she puts it, boobook and powerful owls. Bandicoots and water dragons are often spied. Kookaburras cackle madly and rainbow lorikeets zoom past in a vivid blur. The free-form pool with a backdrop of weathered sandstone and immense boulders sprouting elkhorns looks like a swimming hole, except it’s softened with magnesium salts and the water feels like silk; there are ample outdoor perches to loll, including hammocks strung between palms; and a cedar hot-tub, set to a comforting 38C. The window with bar shelf and stools between the kitchen and pool terrace is worthy of the smartest of boutique resorts. Margaritas are calling amid the musical cries of magpies.
The backstory, however, is anything but easy-breezy. When Kim and husband Derek bought the demanding block in 2019, it required heroic clearing and landscaping that took about a year. Leading Sydney firm Secret Gardens was hired for the project. Slopes were threaded with pebbled paths and clever nooks scooped out in which to pause and contemplate, and later makeover features included inventive spot lighting and a firepit. The existing timber house was also reconfigured and extended for better flow and leisure areas, although its siting was already superb. Beyond sheltering rocks up and over to the east lies Whale Beach, Avalon is to the south, Palm Beach to the north. The setting might be magisterial but it’s almost impossible to imagine the work involved on such a tough site.
It’s rare to stay somewhere so detailed and to feel the urge to check the brands of amenities. Tick off Sodashi hair and body products; Ra.Con.Teur soy wax candles in a fragrance inspired by the native plantings of the northern beaches and featuring essences of Crane Lodge’s garden heroes, such as lemon myrtle and lilly pilly. I instantly recognise the Brian Tunks coloured cut-glass tumblers and Robert Gordon plateware from my own cupboards. My kitchen, however, is a meagre and low-tech version of Crane Lodge’s amazing showpiece, which could double as a cooking show set. It is here, in this supercool culinary theatre with envy-inducing terrazzo benchtops and dedicated wine fridge, that chef Manny Affarian of Secret Dining cooks my partner and I a pre-ordered dinner with incredible care, including turning out a set of raspberry souffles that could surely win a bake-off final.
Sleeping details? The owner’s suite has a balcony-style annexe with a semi-alfresco bathtub that invites a contemplative soak. Other bedrooms are pretty flexible in configuration, including the expected kings/queens, murphy pull-downs, bunks, cots and singles/daybeds. It’s all very soothing, pastel-painted and beautifully accessorised. All up, the property sleeps 11 and there’s a self-contained studio at garage/street level that can be booked as additional accommodation and works for a maximum of one couple and two children. With indoor-outdoor fireplaces and heating, Crane Lodge works as a perfect cold-weather hideaway as well.
And why call it Crane Lodge? There are no cranes high-stepping about and widening their wings.
It’s the official signposted name of this almost secretive close at Palm Beach but also stands as a witty homage to the mechanical crane needed on site to redo the gardens and access while preserving those utterly magical high-in-the-sky gardens.
To-Do List
Dine: Book in advance for Manny of Secret Dining to prepare a special meal at Crane Lodge. Drive down to The Boathouse Group’s Barrenjoey House, diagonally opposite the Pittwater ferry pier, for a superior meal (reserve a table on weekends) or happy hour drinks and snacks, 4pm-6pm. Great coffee and casual meals at Coast, 1031 Barrenjoey Rd, Palm Beach – it’s an offshoot of the Ettalong Beach original, a 20-minute ferry ride away.
Explore: Crane Lodge guests can hire the owners’ 7m Scandinavian Falcon BR7 powerboat to get out onto the broad stretches of Pittwater. The area offers a wetland boardwalk, headland trails and three beaches, plus village-style shopping and cafes. Take a retro ride in a chauffeured ’70s Mercedes on a customised itinerary with peninsula-based That Pink Merc.
Browse: The bungalow-style store Boathouse Home at 1 Beach Rd, Palm Beach, showcases the coastal-themed flair of group design director Pip Goldsmith across a wide range of accessories and household items. There’s an attached bakery and cafe that serves light meals 7am-3pm.
The Essentials
Wild Luxury also operates Calabash Bay Lodge on the NSW Hawkesbury River. Crane Lodge is about an hour by road from the Sydney CBD. Transfers can be arranged from Sydney airport or city. Minimum-night stays apply for both midweek and weekend stays. Rates vary according to season and number of guests; the property is also listed at Airbnb and leading accommodation platforms.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Wild Luxury.