Our stay at Lisa's
Sable
Mae
This one was a bit different than our other stops along our Signature Tour. We had the pleasure of staying with Lisa and her family, husband Kent and daughter Lara, as they get Sable Mae ready for future guests. This gave us a chance to take a sneak peek of their beautiful home in the blue mountains before anyone else.
Lisa was standing in her new doorway to greet us as we pulled into the driveway next to the olive trees she planted.
It was nice to see a familiar face. Lisa and I have been talking for years over our monthly Zoom calls; getting together in this way was so lovely. It was like visiting a long time friend. Of course, she made us feel right at home by giving us a tour and insisting that we treat it as our own space. She lead us to our recently renovated bedroom and our bathroom, which I fell in love with. I couldn't stop taking photos of this dusky guest room.
After we dropped our bags, Lisa gave us a tour of her home and explained all the recent changes that they made. For example, our bedroom used to be the garage! I love what Lisa has created here. A mix of relaxed modern luxury, natural mood, and rustic edge makes it the perfect match for cold mountain nights.
They had also knocked down some walls to create an open concept living room, dining room, and kitchen to create the heartbeat of the home.
That fireplace! Lisa was looking for an industrial patina look, but couldn't find anything on the market, so she came up with her own solution by washing these metal panels for a striking look.
We spent a lot of time here in this cozy lounge with the fire on, especially after exploring The Great Dividing Ranges - more on that coming up.
They created this bistro style kitchen which overlooks their lush back garden and stone patio. Yes, that window opens up and you can sit up on the other side - although I'd only recommend doing this during the warmer summer months, it can be quite chilly in the winter.
The back garden is lovely. We had the lucky opportunity to spotting Rosella birds and Australian King parrots amongst the mandarin tree. There's also a cozy back cabin, which might be used as a bunk house...but that is to be determined.
For a full tour of the Sable Mae, check out our live. Or if you would rather just a sneak peak, have a look here.
The next day, Lisa took us on an amazing tour of the Great Dividing Range to see Orphan Rock, the Three Sisters and Katoomba waterfall. She took us to a quieter park away from the beaten path so we could have these breathtaking views to ourselves.
After our hike, Lisa introduced us to Leura, a charming town with boutique shops and cafés, where we enjoyed a bit of lunch before heading over to the Hydro Magestic - a historical hotel with astounding views of the Great Diving Range. Seriously, worth a stop. I'm sure you can appreciate, we like to go to places that are tried and tested by locals. Station Bar and Woodfire Pizza was the perfect place for a hot cheesy slice and mulled wine after a day of exploring. Yum!
I can't wait to see the finished look of Sable Mae. I know guests are going to love staying in their nordic inspired vacation rental. And it's just a matter of time now till we see someone else swap here too!
Meeting with Lisa in this way affirmed just how magical our community is.
Because of our connection, I was able to see so much in a short amount of time, stay in a beautiful accommodation for free, and best of all, build upon our friendship. Thank you so much for hosting us Lisa, it really was a joy!
XO
Sam and Nick.
Members of The Hosting Société can swap their bespoke property with Lisa- no cash exchanged - just fellow hosts swapping places for their own enjoyment.
Don't have a property to swap but still want to stay?
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