Every move Australian creative Holly McCauley has made has brought her farther from the crush of crowds and closer to the sounds of nature.

The graphic designer and gallery owner grew up in inner-city Sydney, but after graduating from college, she decamped for Byron Bay, a mecca for surfers and former hippie town. From there, she and her now-husband, Nich Zalmstra, a filmmaker, moved into a tiny one-bedroom, their first home, in the nearby historical town of Bangalow (population: 2,813). With the arrival of a second daughter, the couple considered adding another bedroom, but they had a change of heart when they realized what they really wanted was a larger home and more land. They found both by moving deeper into the bush, to Rosebank (population: 423), a small hinterland town 30 minutes from the coast and on the edge of World Heritage-listed rainforest Nightcap National Park.

Today, “we live on five acres, and almost all of it is pretty wild rainforest,” says Holly. And while their classic 1880s Queenslander cottage (built from timber, raised on stilts in case of flooding, with a wrap-around porch for shaded outdoor living) has two bedrooms, it’s still modest in size. “All in all, the home is just over 100 meters squared [1,076 square feet], and this feels like more than enough space for us. We don’t like living beyond our means and this home actually feels super-luxurious in space compared to our last place.”

Below, she gives us a tour of their laid-back home.

Photography by Amelia Rushforth, courtesy of In Bed.