Surrounded by natural beauty

Ross and Lisa pictured their new home as being light and breezy, low maintenance and well suited for the practicalities of their life together. This stunning build delivered all that, and then some.

When approaching Ross and Lisa’s striking new home on top of a ridge in Pokolbin, it is the skillion roof, held up by sculptural, V-shaped beams, that captures instant attention.

Opening the build up towards the valley and the mountain ranges beyond, it cantilevers over a generous alfresco space, offering protection and a perfect vantage point to admire the natural beauty of its surrounds.

“We could have simply had a square verandah and be done with it,” Ross laughs. “But I wanted something special. Maybe not the opera house, but something that would stand out.”
He had had the plans for the house drawn up years ago, albeit with a different location in mind. Then he and Lisa decided to build a home that was all theirs, suited to their tastes, and their stage of life.

Coincidentally, Len Pro Building owner Lance Lennard, who had done plenty of work for Ross on his various commercial ventures, was looking for additional projects during the upheaval of the pandemic’s early stages. It was time to get those plans out of the drawer.

Lance explains, “the large, splayed alfresco area is the focal point of the home. The sharp angles made it a compelling, but also somewhat challenging build.

“The installation of the industrial steel raking columns required expert craftsmanship. They are, however, a major feature that contributes to the overall wow factor of the home while acting as a cantilever to the roof.

“With the lower level built into the side of the hill, the enormity of the project is effectively hidden from view.”
Ross elaborates, “I’ve always wanted a house that was well protected from the weather, while opening it up to natural light as much as possible.

“Getting the orientation right was a crucial part of the project.” With most of the heavy rain in the area coming from the north and west, the eastward facing orientation offered the protection he was after.
It was to be a build well suited for the extreme summer heat, with sufficient roof space to capture enough water for both drinking and irrigation.

“We don’t have a connection to town water. During the drought, we lived in a house where we had to buy in water, and I wasn’t going to do that again,” he says.

Pointing towards the east Ross adds, “The sun comes up over Sugarloaf Mountain, and we get two hours of sunshine on the verandah in the summer.

“It goes straight across the house, so from about 9.30am we get some shade and it’s nice and cool and perfect for entertaining, even if the ambient temperature is quite high. Being on top of the ridge, we always get a nice breeze too.

“By the time the afternoon comes around, you can hang out in the pool and still enjoy the sunshine.”

Read more about this stunning home in our Spring Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.

Story by Cornelia Schulze, photography by Joshua Hogan