Designer stays connect with history and surrounds
Creating a holiday home for others to enjoy means imagining the space in a new way. We look at four homes away from home designed to make the most of the surrounds while being mindful of resources.
Vist Yallingup, Bremer Bay, Mt Lawley and Broome with us. There are designer tips for your own projects along the way.
BREMER BAY
Oregon floorboards salvaged from a turn-of-the-century Kalgoorlie miner’s cottage, pressed tin from a derelict station house near Laverton, discarded bottles collected off the ground around the Goldfields, and a surfboard found in a Fremantle skip bin have all been given new life at Blossoms Earth Retreat in Bremer Bay.
Owners Mel and Rory Haymont spent seven years building and salvaging materials from around WA to create a one-off home perched on the Point Henry Peninsula overlooking the Southern Ocean.
“We wanted a modern house with an old-house feel. The old materials used really impart a relaxed feeling of another era, without the maintenance,” Mrs Haymont says.
The family-friendly home had to cope with sandy kids and pets rolling through in summer and embrace the environment through all the seasons.
On a mission to incorporate the old, the owners grabbed the salvage rights to a 1900s Kalgoorlie cottage, taking everything bar the chimney to create the internal timber, some stained-glass, feature windows and internal doors of their home. Pressed tin on the kitchen cabinetry was saved from Laverton, and weathered bottle glass used to fashion the kitchen windows was collected by Mrs Haymont while she was picking native seed for a mining company in the North Eastern Goldfields.
“The outdoor shower came from a board a friend found in a skip bin in Freo. He thought we might like to use it in the waves around Bremer. After a few attempts in the water, I felt it would be better served as a backdrop for a luscious outdoor shower.”
Family heirlooms are also incorporated. The old piano is Mrs Haymont’s mother’s.
“It’s an old pianola she learnt to play on in Kalgoorlie. My grandmother had the pianola disabled so she could not cheat during practice.”
The home is now rented on Airbnb after the Haymonts moved to Denmark for their children’s high school. Now managed by Raegan Zacher and Jack Resta, the young couple bring their own zest for eco-living to the home.
The house is run entirely on rainwater so guests are encouraged to be conservative with their water use. Miss Zacher uses only natural cleaning products and provides natural hair and body-care products to guests. They also grow organic produce and use a three-bin system (general, recycling, compost) to minimise waste.
Food scraps are fed to the property’s chooks and other organic waste is composted and used as garden fertiliser. Organic eggs and seasonal produce are provided to the guests. “We would love if Blossoms Earth Retreat can inspire guests to live more sustainably,” Miss Zacher says.
Renovating Tips
Blossoms Earth Retreat manager Raegan Zacher gives her tips for eco-friendly living.
- Always be aware of the impact you are having on the environment. Conserving water, power and minimising waste are great ways to be more eco-friendly.
- Put in the time to research good products that are free from chemicals and have less impact on the environment. Vinegar and bicarb soda are two of the best cleaning products you will ever buy — as well as eucalyptus oil.
- Our favourite products are Who Gives A Crap toilet paper, Ena Products for skincare and The Swag bags for keeping food fresh.
MORE HABITAT
MT LAWLEY
Six months living in Copenhagen and a career spent in environment and sustainability fuels Tanya McKenna’s passion for design and renovation. With partner Peter Chadwick she has created a well-designed small space with their ply-clad, minimalist apartment overlooking Perth city gem, Hyde Park.
Tanya has the vision for the finished product and the eye for sourcing materials (for this project think sexy matt black tapware, Scandi-style furnishings and pops of greenery). Peter has the execution skills — he is a trade manager at a renovation company. “It can be tiring and we do this around our full-time jobs but the creative process is quite humbling and you learn a lot throughout the journey,” Tanya says.
Renovating with Airbnb in mind, the couple wanted to create a minimalist and sustainable interior for the original 1970s 38sqm studio. Referencing 1970s materiality in plywood, concrete and linen, the look is kept clean and timeless to not overcrowd the petite proportions.
Plywood is used for its timeless appeal, with the bonus that it is easy to obtain, comes in several forms and finishes and is versatile enough to get creative with. Plus you don’t have to paint the walls and ceiling.
“I really wanted a unique, warm finish that stood out from other apartments, inspired by the 1970s and by cabins and apartments we’ve seen in Scandinavia, with a slight touch of Japanese design. In such a small space, having a uniform finish also makes the apartment feel quite spacious,” she says.
The couple rent the apartment through Airbnb (listed under Mt Lawley called Plywood Box on Hyde), enabling them to share their dreams and passions with tourists from all over the world. “It’s been a huge success on Airbnb, particularly with design-conscious travellers,” Tanya says.
Tanya’s renovating tips
- Design should be unique and challenge the boundaries of the norm to keep it interesting and tasteful.
- Reference original or historic features of the existing building and/or the surrounds, so the finished product resonates with what it used to be, even in just a small way.
- Consider sustainability with everything you do, from opening placement to maximising natural light and airflow, to the use of building materials and choice of local suppliers.
- Private sale sites such as Gumtree can save you money, support the local community and reduce waste.
- Mix second-hand with new to create a warmer, more inviting environment, while reducing environmental impact.
- Indoor plants are always a good idea, bringing life to interiors as well as health and amenity benefits.
YALLINGUP
While working in Copenhagen, Paul Moscardini saw a summer house he knew would be perfect for his bush block in the Dunsborough-Yallingup hinterland.
Mr Moscardini bought the block eight years ago and together with partner Adrian Foster worked on a house design and orientation to suit the property over a few years.
“The intention was to have a luxury one-bedroom adult’s retreat which we could use ourselves and also rent out short-term. We then utilised the architectural knowledge and skills of Chindarsi Architects to finalise the design,” Mr Moscardini says.
“The aim was for a functional, simplistic, luxury, maintenance-free, solar-passive and comfortable home which blended with the native environment. The building had to take full advantage of the views over Geographe Bay and Dunsborough from its elevated position.”
The home uses simple and contemporary clean lines, while the minimalistic interior gives a relaxed feeling throughout. “It was important to include wood in the interior design both in feature and furniture. This, coupled with artwork from local national parks provides a feeling of bringing the outside in,” Mr Moscardini says.
Timber is used best in the dark timber ceilings imparting a sense of calm, and is offset by the plain teak furniture.
Concealed LED lighting in each room allows different moods to be created. The heated polished concrete floors are a must for those cold “down-south” nights, as well as being practical.
Mr Moscardini says he has no favourite room, with each one offering views of the coast or bushland and a sense of harmony with nature thanks to its open-plan design.
The home can be rented through saligia.net.au.
Renovating tips
Paul Moscardini and Adrian Foster’s top tips for creating a contemporary home in tune with nature:
- To develop a functional, comfortable building, take your time.
- Spend time through the four seasons getting to know and understand the features of the area where you will build.
- Winter and summer sun, the prevailing winds and winter storms all need to be considered.
- Engage a quality architect with a style you like and a quality local builder.
- Above all, be open and respectful to all involved and be prepared for a challenge.
BROOME
Trish Pepper has collected art all her life. While she can’t pinpoint when her love affair with art began, she says in 1951 her mother had her portrait painted by Howard Taylor who went on to become one of this country’s most significant artists of the 20th century. “I still have that portrait today, and it hangs in my bedroom,” she says.
Her mother’s friend, Fremantle artist Joan Campbell, encouraged her to buy from emerging artists from a young age. Coupled with her job in health promotion taking her to remote communities and galleries through the Kimberley, Trish has plenty of opportunity to meet artists and appreciate their works.
The art acts as the design bedrock of her Broome home that she rents to travellers, using the grey blockwork walls, Kimberley light and abundant hanging space to show her collection.
She counts three paintings by Weaver Jack as stand-outs, with the living area dominated by colour and large Western Desert pieces. Across the deck, the downstairs guest area has a bird theme where artists Kylie Porter, Mark Norval, Judy Prosser and Humphrey Price-Jones are represented, with watercolours and a few early works by Claire Bausein and Mary-Lynn Stratton upstairs.
A portrait of the Queen rescued from her father's service station during the 1950s looms large over the open stairway, and works by Ernie Dingo and Broome artist Kerry Stokes hang in the guest living area.
A fan of the colour and bold design of Marimekko fabric, she uses it for pops of colour on the chairs and sofas.
A boab tree growing in the middle of the small block is the focal point of the home. Trish has built the house in two parts around the tree; a two-storey guest pavilion at the rear and a large open-plan pavilion for her.
The shaded decked joining the pavilions is also home to a bronze bird bath and other sculptures.
“I wanted to create a friendly, interesting, unpretentious and easy place. Concrete floors and no doors, drain holes in every room and all furniture on castors so I could hose the place out,” she says.
Search for Trish’s place on Airbnb under Treehouse Broome.
Trish Pepper’s renovating tips
- Be bold with colour and canvas size.
- If you have small watercolours, consider making a salon wall.
- Don't buy everything on the same day, add pieces slowly to make an eclectic style.
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