The Quiet Magic of Temple Hangars

Temple Farmhouse, a secluded country estate overlooking a valley overgrown with subtropical rainforest, has been drawing travellers to Nashua since it opened in 2018. Though the Northern Rivers region has no shortage of luxury accommodation, with the launch of Temple Hangars owners Alita and Lawrence Temple have set out to offer something thoughtfully grounded in place.

Each of the four new self-contained residences have timber and stone interiors softened by layered soft furnishings, freestanding bathtubs and arched windows that look out onto private courtyards fringed by lush, native vegetation. Custom-made skylights allow daylight to filter through the interiors and reveal the stars after dark. Each suite has its own distinctive personality, calibrated to please different kinds of travellers.

Booyong is designed to feel rugged and warm, utilising bold materials like dark timber, burnished brass and steel. A wood-burning fireplace holds court in one corner, while sculptural folded lamp by Studio Henry Wilson offers a grounding presence. “Its courtyard follows the same direction, with restrained, masculine plantings of grasses, stone and bottle trees, rather than an abundance of flowers,” says Alita.

Pepperberry has pale walls rendered in textural microcement, giving it a serene, almost monastic feeling. “It’s defined by luxurious textures, decadent finishes and details that invite you to touch and feel,” says Alita. Outside, rammed earth walls enclose a curved seat and small, tranquil pond.

Sassafras introduces a bolder, somewhat brutalist aesthetic, with a bank of monstera plants overhanging the expansive bed and a pitch-black feature wall. Alita highlights the textural stone flooring and the “cave-like feeling that envelops you as you enter”. Tasmanian tree ferns, planted just beyond the windows, create the sense of being contained within nature, rather than separated from it.

Lastly, Coolamon is clad in Nordic-inspired timbers, with pale stone floors and an atmosphere that recalls the calming interior of a bathhouse. This is the property’s fully accessible suite, with step-free access and a generous, open-plan layout designed to feel “quiet, grounded and restorative”. Outside, there’s a sunken firepit and sculptural cane seating.

Bringing the four spaces together is a communal, open-air courtyard made from stone and reclaimed timber, positioned to offer sunset views over the valley. “From the beginning, we wanted Temple Hangars to feel like more than four private cabins,” says Alita. “While each retreat offers complete privacy, it was equally important to create spaces that encourage guests to venture beyond their own sanctuary, wander through the native gardens, and experience the property together.”

To encourage that cross-pollination, the pavilion has a fully equipped kitchen, and a large open fireplace provides a space where guests can come together to share food or conversation. Rounding out the offering is a cedar hot tub and Finnish-style sauna, set in a landscape of native vegetation and weathered bush rock.

If you don’t feel like cooking, Alita recommends a visit to the Japanese-inflected Doma Cafe in Federal for breakfast and Bangalow pub You Beauty for a classic steak dinner, or taking a picnic to Dunoon’s Whian Whian Falls. And if you’re heading into Byron Bay? Two experiences stand out to Alita, iconic for a reason: taking in the sunset over Wategos Beach and the Byron lighthouse walk, “especially [in August] when the whales are passing by”.

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