Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The house on the hill

the house on the hill - kitchen & dining
The house on the hill - kitchen & dining areas

Over the weekend I went down South East Gippsland way and visited a dear friend who moved there a few years ago. 'Moved' doesn't even begin to describe it, not only has he established a very successful cafe in Leongatha, but he also personally designed & built the most amazing home I have ever set foot inside.

The doors - all salvaged. The windows - all north facing, with sun warming the polished slab floor in winter but sheltered by the cantilevered roof in summer. The kitchen - featuring a wall of recycled weatherboards and bricks, and benchtops made from the offcuts from the rafters. The water & waste system - all self sustainable. Water is collected from the roof and ends up in a worm farm waste system along with the food scraps.

And as you can see from the photos - such a homely space. Look at all that art, all those books. Books books books. It's the sort of home you can just relax in and not have to feel too precious about (although everything had its place).

I was so very inspired by this house. How, with careful thought you can create a beautiful space with genuine minimal impact on the earth. I hope to one day be able to create something similar.

Photos below, more on my flickr.

the house on the hill - entrance hall
Entrance hall through to living

Ithe house on the hill - dining & living areas
Living and dining areas (spectacular hilltop views from those windows)

the house on the hill - kitchen
The kitchen

the house on the hill - kitchen
The kitchen

the house on the hill - living area
Living area (with familiar lamps!)

the house on the hill - bathroom
The bathroom

23 comments:

Jacqueline said...

I absolutely love it - very inspiring. Esp. love the recycle weather boards inside. And look at those lovely lamps on the sideboard...

Tania said...

How could you bring yourself to leave? Especially with the cosy indoors, great view outdoors and that serious looking coffee machine. Bliss.

meredith cheng - munaluna said...

What an adorable little place - I would love to see it!

suburban farm said...

Great photos of an amazing little place.

Karin said...

Cool views from the window!

Meg said...

Is he a giant? How does he functionally use some of those shelves? Just curious from a designer standpoint.
It is a lovely house and I love his lamps. ;)

Sandra @ Pepperberry and Co. said...

Ah! Sharon and I have just put an offer in on a bush property and we are going to be doing the very same thing! 100% off-the-grid, eco-friendly, totally sustainable living. This is perfect timing for some inspiration!

Nicole said...

so cool!

babalisme said...

amazing place, I absolutely want to live in. And it's good to see "real" homes, not the ones carefully conducted by a stylish on magazines (although they are undeniably an eye candy too).

I envy the scale!! But my kitchen is too small for that, nonetheless, I love the spacey kitchen, has a lot of rooms for the scale and the coffee maker.

Danielle said...

What a wonderful house - so interesting and definately very inspiring!

joyflea said...

What a beautiful house! And a lovely area- I used to live down that way. The house has gorgeous light and such a relaxed feel. I imagine we will be seeing this in one of our home decoration magazines soon. At least I hope so!!

Claire - Matching Pegs said...

Beautiful.

Thank you, and your friend, for sharing it.

Lara said...

Thanks everyone! I'll pass on your kind words :)

Meg: He's not quite a giant but there is a step ladder... and a rolling library ladder is the plan for the future!

Sarah and Jon said...

Wow! What an inspiring home! I love those bookshelves over the windows.

Kristen Doran said...

Should be in a magazine.

Penny said...

That house is amazing. And, the bathroom! The bathroom! I want a house like that, and if not a whole house, just a bathroom like that!

lindsey clare said...

wow. i am so impressed. it's beautiful!

leslie said...

stunning. absolutely stunning. the colours of the weatherboards are so perfect together, too :)

P R I M O E Z A said...

absolutely lovely. he's done a wonderful job.

Natalie said...

Holy moly, that's the kind of place I love to stay in! We stayed in a similar little cottage for our honeymoon but this is even more beautiful!

Natalie Ryan said...

Love those bookshelves! And the lampshades... a lovely space.

Anonymous said...

This is so neat! The rooms look so warm and welcoming. I love how your friend has integrated "recycled" objects with new and done other things to make this new house more environmentally friendly!

Mookah Studio said...

For starters I am totally in awe of those bookshelves over the windows in the dining area! I now live in Inverloch, bu grew up in the gath, who is your friend or which cafe do they own? Very curious, and I might have to drop in and offer a positie comment.