A boutique hotel was the last thing on David and Emelia minds when they moved to back their family farm in 2012. Eight years later and the couple’s boutique hotel, Flash Jacks, is a hit with locals and tourists alike.
We found David and Emelia’s account, @flash.jacks on Instagram when they tagged us in their hotel images featuring our products.
Their unique style and fantastic business had us wanting to know more. We contacted David to learn how their boutique hotel turned into a tourist’s paradise!
A new business venture
David and Emelia moved from Noosa to their family farm in Gundagai in 2012. Their original plans were to revitalise their farm and create a new business opportunity.
The farm, Kimo Estate, is a 7000-acre sheep and cattle farm that offers venue hire (weddings are very popular!) and guest accommodation.
“We saw an opportunity to expand our accommodation business into the Gundagai township,” said David.
“After that, the concept of Flash Jacks was developed. We purchased the property in 2018, and the planning began!”
Transforming into a boutique hotel
The property David and Emelia purchased for their boutique hotel consisted of two buildings. The main building of the hotel is a former convent built in 1888!
Keeping this history was important to David and Emelia. So, the couple wanted to maintain some of the building’s heritage when renovating.
“It has been designed to have an authentic Australian feel with odes to rural life and the pioneering nature of the town. We achieved this through the use of timbers, steel, and wool,” said David.
Similarly, David and Emelia wanted to pay homage to the native area, so they redesigned the garden to attract Australian birdlife throughout the year.
Using Hume Doors to complete the transformation
David and Emelia’s small design choices have made their boutique hotel into a beautiful space. When transforming the interiors, the couple wanted to maintain that rustic-Australian style throughout the space.
Who better to help them achieve this goal than Australian-owned and trusted Hume Doors & Timber?
Firstly, the couple chose to use our Frontier barn doors in FBDU4 on all of the bathrooms to maximise space and maintain the country feel.
“We used a heavy black rail with the doors as we felt that the product fitted our brief of the rustic country style,” said David.
The couple discovered these doors through a simple Google search. In the end, they chose our products due to our fast delivery times and a cost that suited their budget.
When asked if they would recommend Hume Doors to other renovators, David said:
“Definitely. Everything ran smoothly and the doors operate effortlessly on their slides.”
The final design touches
The couple says they owe most of their hotel’s beautiful furniture styling to Carli Oats from Curators Collective. Together the couple were able to create the beautiful, rustic feel they wanted the boutique hotel to emit.
David and Emelia are excited for the future of the hotel with big plans in place including a hot tub, sauna and on-site restaurant.
“The second building on the property is the old school house, built in 1897,” said David.
“It’s going to be an onsite restaurant. It will be ‘casual fine dining’ – with an emphasis on casual.”
They’re hoping the restaurant will have food to fit the Australian theme of the whole property.
Flash Jacks boutique hotel was completed in April 2020 and is now available for people to stay! Learn more about the beautiful property here.
Have you recently used Hume Doors products in your build? Don’t forget to tag us in your posts too! Or if you’re in the market for some new doors, find your local Hume distributors here.