Global Awards News

LONDON: Boomers are now increasingly in pursuit of architectural originality as their final home choice.

Look up – a house floating high in Victoria’s mountain region has reinvented 1970s style.

Architects have elevated a decades-old property into an intriguing part of the landscape. On what looks to a lay person like stilts, 12 Brocklebank Drive, Kyneton, is a remarkable home in a high-profile pocket of Victoria.

The yellow poles on the cutting-edge cantilevered pavilion pop against the forest backdrop, propping up the striking black structure – a bedroom – which gives away nothing of what is inside.

The home is on the market with a price guide of $2.8 million to $3 million via expressions of interest, closing March 23.

Modern flourishes, reinventing the original ’70s house, meet creature comforts, including a wood-burning baker’s oven in the sleek kitchen.

MRTN Architects and Covet Homes Builders are behind the four-bedroom house, adjacent to farmland and the Kyneton Racecourse and lake.

Agent Kim McQueen said the choice of artwork, fittings and architecture by the owners reflects a respect for design and an international flavour, including Danish and German bathroom fixtures and lights sourced from Japan.

The new cantilevered section houses a luxury, timber-lined bedroom with a verdant outlook across gardens and forest beyond.

A craftsperson was engaged to give the property an authentic yet high-end finish.

“Stunning picture windows spanning two levels look out through a curtain of grapevines with panoramic views of the extraordinary garden’s century-old trees, meandering pathways, barbecue terrace, drought-resistant plantings, and sculptures,” the listing, on the books of McQueen Real Estate, says.

“Fully lined internal walls and ceiling have been painstakingly replaced with timber tongue and groove and finished with beautiful heritage colours sympathetic to the era of the home.”

Kim said the generous proportions of the house and the garden aspect lend a sense of calm.

“What I love about it is the incredible volume – ’70s homes have this volume – and the indoor and outdoor aspect, through walls of glass in the main living area. You feel like you are sitting in the garden,” she said.

The sections of garden have their own personality, from the European-style lawn to a conifer area and a vegetable patch with a hothouse, McQueen said.