A refurbished coastal NSW motel revels in nostalgia

The former Surfbeach Motel, a standard-looking 1980s establishment (tan bricks, utilitarian grey carpet) with polite but passionless online reviews (“neat, tidy and pleasant”) was taken over by Knox Developments last year. The company tasked interior design and architecture practice Richards Stanisich with the multimillion-dollar transformation. The result is candy-hued coastal chic with a nod to nostalgia, though they have eschewed the full retro look – no winking neon signs here.