Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Vineyard Home That Absorbs Its Landscape
Swapping urban bricks for the sticks, this nature-loving couple sought out a rural property on the Mornington Peninsula
Recently retired and in search of a tree change, the owners came across a rural property on the Mornington Peninsula, surrounded by vineyards and breathtaking views. In the hope of designing a house that embraced the beautiful surroundings they sought the expert help of Milhaly Slocombe.
“We were still students then, at the end of our first year of architectural studies,” architect Warwick Mihaly remembers. “We designed the house to age well, with generous spaces that connect together in an easy way. White is the only paint colour we used – the rest of our colour palette comes from the red of the Ironbark timber flooring and joinery, or the yellow from the rammed earth walls. We let nature do the painting!”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Husband and wife, Ruth and George
Location: Vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Size: 320 square metres; 2 living spaces, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a study and an underground wine cellar
“We were still students then, at the end of our first year of architectural studies,” architect Warwick Mihaly remembers. “We designed the house to age well, with generous spaces that connect together in an easy way. White is the only paint colour we used – the rest of our colour palette comes from the red of the Ironbark timber flooring and joinery, or the yellow from the rammed earth walls. We let nature do the painting!”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Husband and wife, Ruth and George
Location: Vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Size: 320 square metres; 2 living spaces, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a study and an underground wine cellar
Seen here through the vines, the home now fondly known as ‘Hill House’ was split across two levels, the northern half filled by living spaces and the master bedroom wing, and the southern half by guest bedrooms and a second living area.
“All the rooms are filled with northern light throughout the year. The northern half of the house enjoys expansive views across the beautiful Mornington Peninsula landscape, while the southern half is more intimate, with views into the lush native Australian garden that surrounds the house,” describes Mihaly.
“All the rooms are filled with northern light throughout the year. The northern half of the house enjoys expansive views across the beautiful Mornington Peninsula landscape, while the southern half is more intimate, with views into the lush native Australian garden that surrounds the house,” describes Mihaly.
The service entry, with boot storage and a sink set into the upper floor is a taste of the elegant, natural materials and innovative function to come.
The hallway, with a polished concrete flooring strip leads the way to the living room. The timber floorboards are recycled Grey Ironbark, a beautiful and particularly dense timber from one of the eucalyptus species found here in Australia. It was sourced from an old bridge in Queensland that was disassembled then re-milled into floorboards, resulting in natural variation from board to board.
Jemima, the golden retriever, sits cosily by a hydronic heating radiator.
Jemima, the golden retriever, sits cosily by a hydronic heating radiator.
Light streams into the ensuite from above. The bathroom, much like the other rooms in the house, is designed to be as practical as it is stylish. Not only does the glass allow light to flow through – accented only by wooden fittings – but the room was completely waterproofed. The shower was fitted with a membrane over wet-area plasterboard; the shower screen was siliconed along all edges and the shower door has a rubber waterstop along its bottom edge.
A large island defines the timber kitchen space, yet the use of similar materials throughout the home allows it to flow together seamlessly – from room to room and from indoors to outdoors.
The couple make use of these connections: “Breakfast is served out on the east-facing deck on a Saturday morning – eggs and sausages hot off the barbecue – while the morning sun rises across the vines. It’s just an extraordinarily nourishing experience,” says Mihaly.
The couple make use of these connections: “Breakfast is served out on the east-facing deck on a Saturday morning – eggs and sausages hot off the barbecue – while the morning sun rises across the vines. It’s just an extraordinarily nourishing experience,” says Mihaly.
In the living room, flexible furniture arrangements and a concertina window wall lead to the outdoor living deck, providing an indoor-outdoor connection.
A key theme of Hill House is that it encourages incredibly eco-friendly habits and an awareness of the environment around it. With the help of smart heating and plumbing systems, and a 10kW ground-mounted solar array, the house and vineyard are energy positive. No air-conditioner required.
“We also integrated many passive design principles into the house, including the appropriate northern orientation of living areas, eaves to protect windows, bulk insulation in roofs and walls, exposed thermal mass from the concrete slab and rammed earth walls, and double-glazing throughout, to make the space as comfortable as possible.”
A key theme of Hill House is that it encourages incredibly eco-friendly habits and an awareness of the environment around it. With the help of smart heating and plumbing systems, and a 10kW ground-mounted solar array, the house and vineyard are energy positive. No air-conditioner required.
“We also integrated many passive design principles into the house, including the appropriate northern orientation of living areas, eaves to protect windows, bulk insulation in roofs and walls, exposed thermal mass from the concrete slab and rammed earth walls, and double-glazing throughout, to make the space as comfortable as possible.”
“We subscribe strongly to the late Robin Boyd’s antipathy towards featurism. We try to make all of our projects as holistic as they can be. A house may have many parts, some of which will be unique and particularly delightful, but they are all subservient to the whole,” says Mihaly.
“Central to our design intentions for the project was a desire for the house to be a living part of our clients’ daily habits. So instead of automating climate control via expensive electronic systems, we made all the moving parts of the house manually-operated. The windows, which help cool the house down at night, are all operated by hand or, for the high-level louvres, an extendable rod with a hook on the end. Blinds must be raised and lowered to control glare and warmth. Zoning doors must be opened and closed to minimise heating needs during winter.”
“Central to our design intentions for the project was a desire for the house to be a living part of our clients’ daily habits. So instead of automating climate control via expensive electronic systems, we made all the moving parts of the house manually-operated. The windows, which help cool the house down at night, are all operated by hand or, for the high-level louvres, an extendable rod with a hook on the end. Blinds must be raised and lowered to control glare and warmth. Zoning doors must be opened and closed to minimise heating needs during winter.”
The solar panel array powers 100 per cent of the house’s energy requirements, another example of sustainability in design and a feature of this home’s low ecological footprint.
The bedroom wing nestles into the native Australian garden, enjoying the stunning views of the vineyard beyond.
An extensive vegetable patch sits to the right of the house in front of a backdrop of corrugated steel cladding that protects the house from nature, as well as blending in with it.
“From the moment they moved in eight years ago to today, the owners have loved Hill House. Its natural materials are slowly weathering over time and becoming ever more integrated into the natural landscape. It is a central focus of the vineyard and opens up onto the land beautifully. The house performs extremely well in Victoria’s increasingly unpredictable climate, testimony to the value of good passive environmental design and the owners’ passion for environmental sustainability,” Mihaly reveals.
“We also extended the indoor living spaces out into the landscape via decks, a vegetable patch, lawn areas, a cricket pitch and a 25-metre lap pool. In this way, living on the vineyard takes place outdoors as much as it does indoors,” says Mihaly.