Some places fill time. Bushy Summers restores it.
Featured in Country Style magazine and hand-restored by artist Matthew Usmar Lauder and author, photographer and Vogue art director Claire Lloyd, Bushy Summers is the most private and most lovingly designed shack in all of Lettes Bay. This is not a rental that happens to be beautiful. It was made by people who have spent their lives understanding what makes a space feel like a sanctuary — and it shows in every single detail.
The space
Bushy was originally a historic miner's shack, built into the quiet foreshore community of Lettes Bay on Tasmania's wild west coast.
In 2018, Claire and Matthew spent months restoring it by hand — sourcing found objects, up-cycling treasures, choosing every textile, fitting and finish with an artist's eye. The result is a shack that is deeply Tasmanian and entirely singular.
Water views greet you from almost every room.
The light here moves and changes all day long, and you will notice — because at Bushy, you have nowhere else to be.
The bedroom holds a cast iron double bed dressed in soft luxe flax linen.
A large internal picture window looks through the living space and out directly over the bay, so you can watch the water slowly wake up without leaving the warmth of the bed.
The bathroom is entered through our iconic hand-carved blue wooden doors — a detail guests write about again and again. Inside, the cast iron clawfoot bath is perfectly positioned so you can lie back, look
up through the window, and watch the tops of the gum trees sway across the sky. This is a bath as ritual, as restoration. There is no freestanding shower — and guests who understand the difference never miss it.
The living space has a cosy daybed by the window — the right spot for a book, a pot of tea the right spot
for a book, a cup of tea, and a long uninterrupted afternoon. . The kitchen is fully equipped for those with no desire to leave the peace of the bay. Meals eaten at the kitchen window are framed perfectly by the water.
The deck is where mornings begin and evenings end. The birdsong is extraordinary. Ducks wander the shoreline. The light on the bay shifts constantly. There is nothing to do here but be entirely present.
Guests come here to breathe, to write, to slow down completely. They leave restored.
WHAT MAKES BUSHY UNIQUE
✦ The most private shack in Lettes Bay — tucked at the very end of the bay, shuttered for complete seclusion
✦ Hand-restored in 2018 by two working artists using found and up-cycled materials — genuinely bespoke, never replicated
✦ Featured in Country Style magazine, August 2021
✦ Designed by Claire Lloyd — author of Sensual Living and My Greek Island Home, and an art director for Australian Vogue, The World of Interiors and British Elle Decoration
✦ The iconic cast iron clawfoot bath with gum tree views — our most-loved, most-photographed feature
✦ Bay views from every single room, including from the warmth of the bed
✦ Hand-carved blue wooden doors — unique in Lettes Bay
✦ Luxe flax linen bedding throughout
✦ Deck directly on the foreshore — birdsong, ducks, ever-changing harbour skies
✦ Fully equipped kitchen for those who want to stay put
✦ Cosy daybed for long slow afternoons
✦ Wi-Fi throughout
✦ Self check-in via key safe
YOUR WELCOME
Arriving at Bushy Summers, you'll find a small Tasmanian welcome waiting — locally sourced provisions to ease you gently into the pace of the bay and a delicious, complimentary bottle of Tassie wine. We want your first hour here to feel like you've arrived somewhere that was already expecting you.
Guest access
The entire shack is yours. Bushy Summers sits tucked at the very end of Lettes Bay — the most secluded position in the community, with shutters for complete privacy. You are welcome to wander the communal foreshore and grounds shared by the historic shack village.
Parking is communal and available 25 metres across the road.
Other things to note
GOOD TO KNOW
→ Bath only — there is no freestanding shower. The clawfoot bath is a centrepiece, not a compromise.
→ No TV. There is Wi-Fi, birdsong and a bay. Most guests find this more than enough.
→ Double bed (not queen) — exceptionally comfortable with luxe linen.
→ Four steps up to the front door. Bushy may not suit guests with significant mobility concerns. Parking is also 25 metres from the shack.
→ Phone coverage can be patchy in this area. Telstra is the most reliable carrier. We'd recommend downloading any essential information before you travel.
→ West coast weather can be wild and wonderful — roads are very occasionally affected in winter. Travel insurance is a sensible precaution for any off-season trip.
Registration: DA2020/16
FOR ELOPEMENTS, PROPOSALS, ROMANTIC CELEBRATIONS
Bushy Summers has become a quietly beloved setting for those wanting something more intentional than a standard venue.
The waterfront position, the artistic interiors, and the complete privacy make it a natural choice for elopements, romantic celebrations, and solo creative retreats. If you are a writer needing genuine solitude, a couple looking for a meaningful and beautiful setting, creative professional seeking a location with real soul — please reach out directly before booking and we will do everything we can to make something beautiful for you.
NEIGHBOURHOOD HIGHLIGHTS
Lettes Bay is one of Tasmania's most quietly extraordinary places — a historic village of miner's shacks on the edge of Lettes Bay, alive and glowing in summer, contemplative and atmospheric in winter. Both are worth experiencing.
The West Coast Wilderness Railway departs just 5 minutes from the shack — one of the great train journeys in Australia. The Gordon River Cruise terminal is less than 10 minutes away. In Strahan, the Coffee Shack serves the best coffee on the west coast, alongside good home-cooked food. The local IGA has everything you'll need and is a 10-minute drive.
Summer brings long golden light, wildlife and warmth. Winter brings enormous skies outside, and a quality of stillness that is genuinely rare. We love both equally and guests who come in winter often say it changed them.
Please note: there is a signed Private road at the end of Lettes Bay road — this is not for guest access.
Registration details
DA2020/16
