Provider House by Tara Bennett and TRIAS

Provider House, the brainchild of Provider Store founder Tara Bennett, is a tranquil wooden cabin located in Tasmania’s Lenah Valley that embodies the considered beauty of Japanese design.

Conceived during turbulent times, Provider House is a true passion project in every sense. It embodies everything Provider Store’s Tara Bennett has created and is a love letter to a life spent bringing Japanese design to Australian shores. “I had always wanted to do Provider House,” she says. “So much so that I had a special box labelled Provider House where I would collect items and manifest my dream cabin.”

“I loved every minute of the build. From the tiling to the craft, I wanted to be involved in everything to make my dream house a reality.”

A chance visit to Hobart and a healthy amount of manifestation led to the discovery of Tara’s dream cabin at the end of a dirt road in the shadow of Mount Wellington, 15 minutes from the Tasmanian capital. It was a true love-at-first-sight moment from which Provider House was born. The discovery of the cabin, and the subsequent design and build journey, would help steer Tara through extremely difficult times – including the pandemic years, border closures and an ailing mother – and it is the personal touchpoints that reverberate through every inch of the property (which is available for bookings) which generate the magical energy found within its walls.

Tara worked tirelessly in collaboration with Sydney-based architecture firm TRIAS, as well as a crew of local Tasmanian trades, to bring Provider House to life. “I loved every minute of the build,” she says. “From the tiling to the craft, I wanted to be involved in everything to make my dream house a reality.”

Beyond the home’s materiality, it’s the feeling of lightness you experience as you lock eyes on the cabin that makes it a truly special place.

Every element of the home tells a different story, and each book, accessory, utensil, light, chair, appliance and material is so iconically Japanese that visitors could be forgiven for thinking they’d been transported to the Land of the Rising Sun. But beyond the home’s materiality, it’s the feeling of lightness you experience as you lock eyes on the cabin that makes it a truly special place.

Whether waking up in the morning as first light creeps over the mountain and into the valley, collecting kindling for the wood-burning fire, making toast on the quirky Japanese bread machine or retiring to ruminate in front of the fire with a single malt in hand, every experience at Provider House evokes a sense of slowness, just as Tara intended.

A journey that first began during troubled times concluded in a home of intangible beauty and the manifestation of a long-held dream for a Japanese-inspired guesthouse at the bottom of the world.

A journey that first began during troubled times concluded in a home of intangible beauty, a tribute to a departed mother and the manifestation of a long-held dream for a Japanese-inspired guesthouse at the bottom of the world. The magical energy found at Provider House is designed to be shared with all. Whether you’re a family seeking to escape the fast-paced pressures of the mainland or a couple looking for a romantic weekend away, Provider House is waiting for you.

Architecture by TRIAS. Interior design by Tara Bennett. Build by Charlton Richards.