Barry Palmer performs with Hunters and Collectors headlining the Red Hot Summer Tour.
Hunters and Collectors lead guitarist Barry Palmer and partner Jodie Cousins are looking for a buyer to throw their arms around the pair’s “quintessential beach house”.
Palmer joined the band in 1989 after playing with Aussie groups including Sole Twisters, Harem Scarem and Crown of Thorns.
Decades performing and recording as well as undertaking Australian and global tours with Hunters and Collectors has led to recognition in the ARIA Hall of Fame.
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Palmer has also run his own music production company, Gigantically Small, which he founded in 2008, and the rocker was also one of the founders of Vampr, essentially LinkedIn for bands and musicians, alongside Aussie music industry boss Josh Simmons.
But his 3 Library Rd, Balnarring Beach,home might be his most surprising gig yet.
When he and wife Jodie bought it in 2013 it was a deceased estate that had been turned into a rooming house of sorts.
“The house used to be for itinerate workers, it had about 10 bedrooms when we got it, and we brought it down to four,” Palmer said.
“The beds were actually still in there when we got it.
“But we wanted to retain as much of the quintessential Aussie beach house as possible, so while we added a lot more windows and light, we retained the floor boards and the essence of the house.”
3 Library Rd, Balnarring Beach, has been designed to make the most of natural light and incredible native coastal surrounds.
The home’s open-plan living area can be expanded, with decks on both sides.
The $3.95m-$4.3m home now features a four-bedroom, three-bedroom floorplan that includes an open-plan living area and kitchen in its eastern wing, and another family room on the western front.
The bedrooms, a deck, pool and outdoor entertainment space are located in between.
The garage, which had been converted into two bedrooms by the former owners, has since become a studio for their kids to play video games in, and for Palmer to learn to play the piano; he’s still looking for new challenges.
But one of their most loved spaces is the courtyard-style garden, seamlessly accessed from the house that wraps around it on three sides.
With a pool for a water view, it has the vibe of an entertainer’s space where his family gathers to eat, drink and party at all times of the year.
Occasionally, Palmer takes a guitar out there, giving new meaning to the concept of an entertainer’s back yard.
The central courtyard is wrapped on three sides by the house.
With a pool and plenty of room to relax, it’s a perfect spot for entertaining — or rocking out.
“And my neighbours just ask me to turn it up … I’m very fortunate to have incredible neighbours.”
So much so, he’s only moving two doors down to a block of land where they will build a home that’s designed for multi-generational living — but still has the U-shaped design of their current residence.
While in their younger years Palmer and Ms Cousins enjoyed the bustle of inner Melbourne, they’re ironically now living the, mostly, quiet life on a street named for the town’s original library.
Other residents are at a similar stage in their life where they’re also mostly looking to enjoy good company, good food and good wine.
“Every time we come down here, it’s just a big sigh,” Palmer said.
“I wake up to bird song and silence.”
There’s also the sound of the beach, separated from the home’s front door by a strip of bushland.
If direct access to the sand and the water wasn’t good enough, the title also includes a buoy out in the water to tether a boat to.
The kitchen of the home is ready to cater to a crowd.
Renovations also freshened up the home’s bathrooms.
Homes and Acreage agent Candice Blanch is handling the sale and said it was a home you walked into and immediately loved.
“The main thing is the location, the main access is a beach trail, so it has direct access to the sand,” Ms Blanch said.
“It’s just bushland between you and the waves, and you can hear the water from every room.”
With the mid-century-style home that is wrapped around a central pool.
“This is really unique,” she said.
The agent added a few groups had inspected the property, most looking for a holiday home.
And it’s likely they will get a bit more than just an escape from Melbourne.
With local horse trainers allowed to ride on the beach and into the water at Balnarring Beach, it’s not uncommon to see a school of dolphins frolicking around the horses in the water.
“It is the weirdest thing to watch, as they circle the horses, but they obviously enjoy each others company,” Palmer said.
“And the dolphins will swim around you in the water in summer, too.”
Having discovered across his life that he’s a “sucker for pinot noir”, an address a short distance from Eldridge Winery in Red Hill has been handy.
Accommodation ranges from the main suite to more child-friendly options.
A spacious family room provides a second interior space for family and friends to gather.
“And we do have an incredible live music scene here,” Palmer said.
“For a small population, it’s batting way above its weight on the social and music side of things.”
Gigs get played at the Balnarring Yacht Club, in the beer garden of the Balnarring Social Club and it’s not just local acts, with punk groups the Painters and Dockers as well as the Cosmic Psychos among recent performers.
Every so often, Palmer will join a band on stage for a song or two.
They’re not his only gigs.
Earlier this year he joined Hunters and Collectors drummer Doug Falconer and a few other band members, as well as Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey for a charity gig that raised $30,000 to support bushfire affected communities.
No. 3 Library Rd is being sold via private treaty.
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