Some things shouldn’t work together. And then somehow, they just do. That’s the magic of Matilda Hobba’s 1960s Point Lonsdale beach house, a wonderfully eclectic mix of mid-century furniture, vintage treasures, clashing colour and pieces collected for their personality rather than their polish.
Bought sight unseen during lockdown, the house has evolved on instinct rather than any grand design plan. Mismatched fixtures happily coexist, old finds sit beside new favourites and a deep teal exterior sets the tone before you’ve even stepped through the door.
Matilda’s philosophy is refreshingly simple: if you love it, make it work. The result is warm, surprising, a little imperfect and packed with personality. Come inside for a closer look at a 1960s beach house that proves the best interiors rarely follow the rules.
Hi Tilly, thank you so much for welcoming us into your beautiful Point Lonsdale home! For those who may not know you, can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and the life you’ve created here?
Hello! I’m Matilda, and I’m the Co-Founder of sunscreen brand, Evil Ray. I live in a classic 60s beach house in Point Lonsdale on the Bellarine Peninsula, with my partner Simon, and our two sons, Felix and Bruno. We share our house with a dog called Parker Valentine, who once claimed to be a purebred Kelpie, but has since revealed evidence to the contrary.
I grew up at Bells Beach, but Simon and I have lived in the city our whole adult lives. In 2020, we decided to try a stint on the coast, and the effect it had on our family was so profound that after a bit of flip flopping and life adjusting, we decided to stay for good.
It’s a fun life and we’re never not grateful for it.
From advertising to Evil Ray, you’ve built a career around creativity and bringing ideas to life. How has that shaped the way you approach your own home and the way you think about colour and the spaces you live in?
The thing with creativity is that it often doesn’t make sense on paper. It’s only when it’s all laid out and put together that the penny really drops.
Our home is an illustration of this - filled with a collection of pieces that really don’t have any business being together, but to us, feel just right. We like to mix and match old and new, serious and sensible, designer and brikabrak, space and clutter. We’re not afraid to clash colours together who wouldn’t normally be friends. But it works.
Every good home has a story. What was it about this particular Point Lonsdale property that made you fall for it, and what did you see when you first walked through the door?
In lots of ways, this house chose us. We were deep in Covid lockdown when, in a moment of panic, claustrophobia and/or clarity (it’s hard to remember now), we decided to leave the city in search of water. We created an online search for a house with only two mandatories: within walking distance of the ocean, and in possession of character. We looked far and wide — everywhere from Phillip Island to Apollo Bay — but only one listing popped up. We fell in love with its lanky stilt legs and sun-drenched balcony, and bought it the following day without even setting foot inside. It was the best decision we’ve ever made.
Since moving in, you’ve given the house your own spin. What changes, renovations or design decisions have made the biggest difference to how the home feels and functions for your family?
60s beach houses have an innate relaxedness about them. They’re invariably sunny and bright spaces, with welcoming communal areas that bring people together, but also plenty of corners to escape and be quiet. We wanted to retain as many of the home’s original design features as possible - not only because we loved the aesthetic, but in an attempt to keep that ‘summer holiday’ feeling going all year ‘round.
The kitchen and bathrooms needed supercharging in order to handle a full time family, but we tried not to take our decisions too seriously. We included playful colour and texture, and mismatching fittings and fixtures to make it all feel a bit imperfect. We refreshed the interior and exterior wall colours, going with a dark teal outside for a bit of drama. We then added stripey denim awnings to keep it casual.
If it felt right, we went with it. And that approach has informed how it feels to live here. It’s a place where you accidentally sleep in longer than you meant to. Where you don’t need to wash the sand off before you come inside. Where 10 kids can turn up for a sleepover you didn’t know about and it’s all ok.
There is more to be done - and we’re always leaning over the balcony, dreaming up ideas of what we could do when we have the energy. But it’s a forgiving and patient house, and we love it for that.
Your home has such a lovely sense of personality. How did you approach the interiors from colour and pattern to furniture, artwork and those special pieces you collect along the way? Are there any details that make you think, yep, this is very us?
I think if you counted all the ‘new’ things we’ve purchased in this home, you could do so on one hand. Our approach is to collect - buying from auction houses, second hand stores or vintage markets, or finding things on our travels.
We love mid-century furniture, and pieces requiring restoration. We’ve got quite a network of people now who can help us re-upholster, repurpose, recolour or powdercoat things we find, and who patiently go along with our schemes.
Ultimately, I think the test of whether it feels like ‘us’ is whether it has a strong personality or a sense of story. This is more important to us than whether it looks good. We can always find a fitting place for something, if it makes us feel something.
We’re so excited to have Evil Ray in the Kip&Co store, as we head into summer, can you tell us the story behind it, where did the idea come from, and what made you think the world needed a little more Evil Ray?
We’re so excited to be sitting on the Kip&Co shelves, thank you for having us in your beautiful new store. We have spent our careers in creative advertising, using ideas to solve problems. A few years ago, we realised that despite Australia having the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, over 70% of Aussies don’t wear sunscreen, or, a sunscreen that sufficiently protects them.
We used all the skills we’d learnt in our careers, and created a brand that flipped our relationship with the sun on its head. Instead of it being our friend, Evil Ray calls the sun out for what it is - an evil entity trying to kill us all. The hope is that by shaking the category up a bit, we can get people to treat sun protection like their lives depend on it.
From a product development perspective, if you’re going to pick a fight with the sun, you need to be up to the task. All our products provide genuine SPF50+ protection from both UVA & UVB ray beams, and they do so without any harmful chemicals.
We also made them good for the planet. Our products are vegan, cruelty free, Hawaii Act 104 Reef Compliant, non-comedogenic and made right here in Australia.
Finally, if you like a bit of fun, our labels are UV reactive, which means when they turn orange, you know the sun is out to get you.
There’s something pretty magic about Point Lonsdale in summer. If you had to plan the perfect sunny day down the coast, what are the three places, rituals or little pleasures that would make the cut?
Ooh, yes. I love this. Let’s start at the back beach, when the tide is low and a huge network of rock pools reveal themselves. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world for me - you can spend the day snorkeling in the deep pools and jumping off the rocks with your kids. It’s magic.
From there, I’d head along the jetty to the local fish boat, Mi Shells, and buy some fresh prawns or crays (which they’ll pull out of crates, dangling in the water by a long rope). They’ll give you some great cooking tips and some terrible jokes, but you’ll come away with some of the freshest seafood of your life.
You should always end a sunny day at Point Lonsdale by taking your sandy feet to the local wine bar, Noble Rot. A glass of wine with a couple of friends to watch the sun disappear behind the Moonah trees makes you feel like there’s nowhere in the world you’d rather be.
