Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Planning Pays Off for Geelong Tree-Changers
A creative family heads for the hills to build a house they're proud to call home
When Howden Homes builder Shane Howden and his wife Kristie designed their dream house in Batesford – a quiet, friendly community just five minutes’ drive west of Geelong, Victoria – it wasn’t an arduous task. “We knew exactly what we wanted,” Kristie says. As well as putting Shane’s experience as a builder to good use, the couple had just gone through a renovation on their California bungalow in Geelong, all the while gathering ideas for their next home and planning it meticulously. Building from scratch and moving out of town would give them the room they needed to really spread out. “Our biggest challenge was that we wanted our new home to have wow factor but we didn’t want it to be in any way over the top,” Kristie says. Keeping detail to a minimum and streamlining the interior turned out to be the key to giving the house a homely feel.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Shane and Kristie Howden, with kids Thomas (11), Charlotte (8), Max (5), and Mick the staffy.
Location: Batesford, Victoria
Size: 560 square metres (master with lounge and ensuite, plus 4 more bedrooms and 2 more bathrooms)
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Shane and Kristie Howden, with kids Thomas (11), Charlotte (8), Max (5), and Mick the staffy.
Location: Batesford, Victoria
Size: 560 square metres (master with lounge and ensuite, plus 4 more bedrooms and 2 more bathrooms)
One of the best things about moving to Batesford was having the space to have a vegie patch, fruit trees, a playground and plenty of grassy expanses for the kids to run around.
The first purchase the couple made for the build was a set of recycled verandah posts rescued from the old Cairns pier in Far North Queensland. “These were to be our feature posts around the house from front to back,” Kristie says.
“The space is big enough for us to spread out but not so big that it rules our lives,” Kristie says.
Shane designed the house so that it could sit on the land without the need for retaining walls. “We wanted a seamless transition from inside to out,” Kristie says.
In just seven months, the house was finished – quite a feat given that Shane squeezed in the construction between his other building jobs.
The grand main entrance and dining area has five-metre-high ceilings lined with ply and featuring high slot windows.
Pendant light: Living Etc; rug: High Eight, Inverleigh; sideboard: Freedom
Kristie and Shane chose concrete floors for their hardiness and ease of cleaning. “They turned out to be amazing,” Kristie says. “We wanted the industrial warehouse look to the floors; all the imperfections and cracks just help to give it authenticity and character.”
Tables, chairs and light fitting over table: Living Etc
The island bench in the galley-style kitchen is five metres long. “This was a must because we wanted enough space so that the kids could use the bench while I prepared meals in the kitchen,” Kristie explains. Large windows and lots of them were also a must to make the most of the hill and valley views.
A glass splashback in the kitchen highlights the red brick wall of the children’s lounge room across the garden.
The couple used recycled old red bricks on the exterior for their history, but also to give the home rustic, industrial charm.
An old clawfoot bath sits outside on a deck in the garden between the master retreat and lounge room. “It has hot running water and a perfect view of the stars on a clear night,” Kristie says.
Check out other ways to take your bathroom outside
Check out other ways to take your bathroom outside
In the main living area, the couple opted to replace a few of the larger windows on the original plan with strategically placed slot windows to not only allow the view to shine, but also for better furniture placement. “This meant that we now have 180-degree views of our land from the living space so I can pretty much see the kids wherever they are,” Kristie says.
Kristie made the artwork herself out of patchwork fabric.
Rug: Living Etc; lounge suite and yellow chairs: Jardan
Kristie made the artwork herself out of patchwork fabric.
Rug: Living Etc; lounge suite and yellow chairs: Jardan
A photo mural covers one wall of the children’s lounge room. Taken by Geelong photographer Pam Hutchinson, children Thomas, Charlotte and Max are captured playing at Dog Rocks, a natural rock formation just up the road. The Wall Sticker Company then turned the photo into removable fabric wallpaper with an adhesive backing.
“We do not plan on doing this again any time soon so we thought ahead to when the children will be older,” Kristie says. “We each have a retreat area but we also have a large family area in the centre of the house.”
Kristie painted the back wall in the TV room with Dulux ‘Domino’ and made the sheer curtains herself. The “very comfy” modular sofa is from Plush. Kristie and the kids made the round paper wall art from the pages of an old book.
Lamp: Beacon Lighting; Cowhide: KYO; orange pouff: Living Etc; faux fur cushion: Freedom
Kristie painted the back wall in the TV room with Dulux ‘Domino’ and made the sheer curtains herself. The “very comfy” modular sofa is from Plush. Kristie and the kids made the round paper wall art from the pages of an old book.
Lamp: Beacon Lighting; Cowhide: KYO; orange pouff: Living Etc; faux fur cushion: Freedom
All three bathrooms have concrete floors, including in the shower recesses.
Bath: Reece; Lighting: Living Etc; Mosaic tiles: Walkers
Bath: Reece; Lighting: Living Etc; Mosaic tiles: Walkers
The TV faded into the background when Kristie surrounded it with framed prints – just what she was hoping for. Shane custom-made the desk using ply with a black laminate top.
Chairs: IKEA
Chairs: IKEA
In the hallway, family photos from Kristie’s digital scrapbooking hobby have been glued onto plywood. It was a task to mount the pictures evenly – they’re hung with picture hooks but kept in place with Blu-tack.
Mick, the staffy, feels just as at home here as the rest of the family.