July 25, 2023

95 - Sunny South on restoring an historic riverside sanctuary, cultivating a creative, community-focused life centred on a love of hosting in the process

1 hour 2 minutes

Sunny South in so many ways epitomises what heartful hosting is all about. A former teacher, she and husband Brett have forged a deeply enriching life for themselves in the Hawkesbury River region about an hour north of Sydney, one that has been built around a love of art, creativity, community and hospitality.

With a background in restoring and renovating historic properties and having determined that - for a variety of reasons - the Hawkesbury was the right location for them to secure a holiday house, Sunny and Brett serendipitously happened upon a property that ticked all the boxes, going on to purchase it very fortunately without the involvement of real estate agents.

Over the 6 months that followed, with the added challenge of the house only being accessible by water, they worked hard to bring the property back to its former glory, replacing the roof and stumps but maintaining most of its original features and opting to retain a number of pieces of vintage furniture.

They subsequently named the property Riverbreeze and first welcomed guests in November of 2021, managing all of the housekeeping themselves and doing so with a focus on simplicity, efficiency and organisation - an ethos which has worked perfectly for them since day dot.

Sunny's passion for involving the local community in the running of Riverbreeze absolutely shines through in this episode, as does her respect for the natural environment and for the need to be continuously mindful about consumption.

I thoroughly enjoyed our chat and I'm positive that no matter where you might be in your hosting journey, you will get a lot out of it too.

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