Built by Hand.
Experienced with Love.
Our story
The Tuckers Lane Story
Some decisions take years to make and about five minutes to know we’re right.
For Paul and Carolyn Shields, leaving Sydney and the corporate world they’d spent decades in wasn’t an escape, it was a beginning. In 2016 they bought 43 acres in North Rothbury in the Hunter Valley, with a vision clear enough to stake everything on: build something genuinely beautiful, entirely by hand, and share it with people who’d appreciate it.
What followed was years of designing, building, and crafting, from the first shipping container conversion to the last ironbark beam of the Pavilion. Every cabin on the property was conceived and constructed by Paul, fashioned from recycled shipping containers and fitted out to a standard most venues would outsource. The handmade timber bridges. The landscaped grounds. The Ironbark Pavilion, built alongside their son Cooper from century-old timber salvaged from the original Wingham Library in northern NSW.
Nothing at Tuckers Lane was handed off. And it shows.
Tuckers Lane Boutique Accommodation opened in January 2020 as an adults-only retreat, and despite everything the world threw at its first few years, it has grown into something Paul and Carolyn are genuinely proud of. They live on the property. They’re here when you arrive. And they’re still finding ways to make it better.
The People
Paul Shields
Builder, craftsman, furniture maker. Paul is the hands behind Tuckers Lane, from the structural design of the cabins through to the ironbark joinery in the Pavilion. When he’s not on the property, he’s in the workshop at Tuckers Lane Custom Furniture, crafting bespoke pieces for homes and businesses across Australia, and building custom 4WD storage systems through Tuckers Lane 4×4.
Carolyn Shields
Carolyn is the heart of the Tuckers Lane guest experience. She oversees the accommodation, leads the wedding team, and has a gift for making every guest feel like the property was built just for them because in many ways, it was. Her attention to detail is not a professional trait. It’s personal.
Hayley
Hayley works alongside Carolyn to ensure every event and stay runs beautifully. Alongside Carolyn with the vision, Hayley helps with the execution, calm, considered, and across every detail.
Cooper
Paul’s son and co-builder of the Ironbark Pavilion. Cooper’s hands are in the bones of this place too.
Once you stay at Tuckers Lane, you become part of the family.
Our Philosophy
Tuckers Lane exists because Paul and Carolyn believed that beautiful things are worth taking time over.
Not a branded aesthetic or a design brief handed to a contractor. Real craftsmanship, the kind that comes from someone who genuinely cares about the outcome, who built the thing themselves and will still be here the morning after you check in.
That philosophy runs through everything: the way the cabins are fitted out, the way the grounds are kept, the way weddings are coordinated, the way guests are looked after. A genuine passion for creating great products and experiences, made by people who mean every bit of it.
This is still a working property, still evolving, still improving. Paul and Carolyn have never stopped imagining what Tuckers Lane could be next, and that restlessness is, quietly, one of the best things about staying here.
Our Other Branches
Tuckers Lane is part of a small family of businesses built on the same philosophy of craft and care.
Tuckers Lane Custom Furniture
Paul is a furniture craftsman who works alongside a network of trusted suppliers and contractors to bring full interior visions to life — from bespoke home pieces to commercial fit-outs.
Tuckers Lane 4×4
Custom 4WD drawer systems and fitted storage solutions, designed and built to order. Visit Tuckers Lane 4×4 →
Recognition & Memberships
Tuckers Lane is proud to be members of:
Awards
2024 Hunter Local Business Awards — Finalist, Outstanding Tourism Services
