Photography: Brigid Arnott | Styling: Kayla Gex
Life at the beach comes naturally to the Bartlett family, for whom surfing roots run deep. Kayla, a stylist and artist, grew up in California and spent her summer holidays at Encinitas, a surf town near San Diego. It was there that she met Byron, then a professional surfer, and the pair lived in Sydney before taking a chance on Byron’s home town of Manyana on the NSW South Coast, on the traditional lands of the Yuin and Jerrinja peoples.
“We were both at a turning point in our lives,” says Kayla of the couple’s plan to rent in the area and perhaps look to buy a holiday home, while still considering a move back to California. But, as always, life unfolded in its own way. A new chapter began for Kayla, 36, and Byron, 37, with the arrival of their little boys Leo, now six, and Laurence, three. Then the pandemic kept them in Australia, and gave them the time to properly get to know their little slice of coast.
“I had always thought Manyana might be too quiet for me,” says Kayla. “But during COVID, I really fell in love with the area and realised the slower pace of life was perfect for us at that time.” An influx of young families and fellow creatives during the pandemic years cemented the feeling that this was home.
The little cottage they found just before Leo was born was unprepossessing: a basic painted besser-block box, with a flat roof and no visible front door. “It was so run-down and needed a lot of work,” recalls Kayla. “But when we looked out the back doors, into the bush over the back fence, we thought, ‘Oh, this is it’.”
The first two months of Leo’s life coincided with a sudden whirlwind of renovation, with Byron’s skills as an electrician and his brother’s as a builder coming to the fore. With the simple, Spanish-inspired bungalows of Kayla’s childhood as inspiration, the couple rendered the house and replaced all the windows with a set of beautiful old windows found at Chippendale Restorations in Sydney. A vintage Indian door from Few and Far added soul and a better sense of entry, with a re-sited kitchen allowing a connection to the garden.
A small garden shed was lined and clad, and now acts as an art studio for Kayla (and occasionally the boys). “I’ve been spending more time painting and working on my papier-mâché boats, and I can just close the door and not make a mess inside the house. It’s been so nice,” says Kayla.
The family spend every second Christmas in California with Kayla’s extended family, where the holiday is a weeklong extravaganza, with traditions including delicious Guatemalan tamales served at midnight on Christmas Eve, followed by a hearty dinner on Christmas evening. The festive season in Manyana is a more laid-back affair, with a glazed ham, prawns and pavlova for lunch on the back deck with Byron’s parents, his two brothers and their families.
“I make an effort to decorate the house for Christmas and make it feel really special, and Leo just loves it,” says Kayla. “I use traditional colours – reds and greens and tarnished brass, and anything that looks really vintage. I always look out for ornaments that have a classic, vintage feel.”
Manyana itself has a timeless feel, with not much having changed since Byron grew up there. “There are a lot more families now, but it’s pretty spectacular that in this day and age, when things change so much, it has stayed the same for such a long time,” says Kayla. “It’s a little paradise.”
Kayla and Byron’s Home, La Casita Manyana, is sometimes available to rent via airbnb.com.au. View Kayla’s papier-mâché sailing boats at her Etsy store.
Shop the look
Colorful Kilim Christmas Stocking
Sarikaya Kilim Pillows, $17.72
Handmade Paper Boat
KGexArt, $150
Smeg 50’s Style Retro Fridge
Harvey Norman, $4,790
Villeroy & Boch Annual Christmas Plate
David Jones, $59.95
