Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Making a New Home Abroad in Melbourne
A British family's new Australian house is open, sustainable and flexible for long-staying relatives
Australia may be a popular destination for people emigrating from overseas, but those who move here usually require extra space for relatives to come and stay. Trail House, designed by Zen Architects, is the new residence of a British family wanting a house that felt Australian, was connected to the landscape, and provided versatile spaces for visiting family and friends.
“The family needed a flexible design to accommodate guests without creating multiple rooms with little use,” says project architect Luke Rhodes. “This house achieves that through a split-level design, and it integrates seamlessly with the inherent natural beauty of the site.”
“The family needed a flexible design to accommodate guests without creating multiple rooms with little use,” says project architect Luke Rhodes. “This house achieves that through a split-level design, and it integrates seamlessly with the inherent natural beauty of the site.”
Ashburton is a Melbourne suburb with expansive parklands, bike trails and large leafy green blocks. Aptly named, Trail House is built on a section of gently sloping land, the front open to the street, and the rear facing the Anniversary Trail, a shared cyclist and pedestrian pathway.
“The front garden is given back to the neighbourhood with no front fence or obscuring vegetation. It results in a number of passersby stopping and interacting with the residence, and even knocking on the door,” says Rhodes.
“The front garden is given back to the neighbourhood with no front fence or obscuring vegetation. It results in a number of passersby stopping and interacting with the residence, and even knocking on the door,” says Rhodes.
Trail House is a light-filled split-level home based on sustainable design principles, with flexible spaces. From the rear of the north-facing house, the living spaces are configured to the left, or east, and the bedrooms to the right, or west. Large glazed windows and doors open the house to the garden and northern light, with timber awnings for shade control.
Cypress rough-sawn timber exterior cladding: Frencham Cypress
Cypress rough-sawn timber exterior cladding: Frencham Cypress
Entering the home from the front, the open-plan living, kitchen and dining area is to the right. Stairs lead up to the bedrooms and down to the second living area and rear garden, and a hallway to the left serves the other bedrooms.
“Visibility across and throughout the house was important to the family, so Trail House has been designed as a series of interconnecting rooms to allow clear lines of vision and to maximise available light,” Rhodes says. A series of shutter doors open and close the bedroom and living areas, allowing the family to interact or to have privacy when required.
Timber interior wall lining: Frencham Cypress
“Visibility across and throughout the house was important to the family, so Trail House has been designed as a series of interconnecting rooms to allow clear lines of vision and to maximise available light,” Rhodes says. A series of shutter doors open and close the bedroom and living areas, allowing the family to interact or to have privacy when required.
Timber interior wall lining: Frencham Cypress
The living area extends from the front to the rear of the house through a progression of defined and functional areas, with stepped platforms that mimic the slope of the site. At the front, a window seat and study has a view of the street; the kitchen and dining area is in the centre; and the living area stretches out to the back of the house.
The dining table with built-in bench seat nestles up against a timber partition that separates the living area from the entry passage. “The design of the dining area is about saving space and it defines a zone of intimacy within what is a large-volume living/kitchen/dining,” says Rhodes.
The timber enclosure also brings residents in closer contact with the natural material palette used throughout the house. Zen Architects selected materials that are predominately lightweight in construction and sustainably sourced, including recycled timbers and environmental concrete mixes. “The approach favoured natural materials inside and out to create a relationship between the house and the surrounding Australian landscape, and to minimise embodied energy,” says Rhodes.
Ceiling fans: Cinni Milano
The dining table with built-in bench seat nestles up against a timber partition that separates the living area from the entry passage. “The design of the dining area is about saving space and it defines a zone of intimacy within what is a large-volume living/kitchen/dining,” says Rhodes.
The timber enclosure also brings residents in closer contact with the natural material palette used throughout the house. Zen Architects selected materials that are predominately lightweight in construction and sustainably sourced, including recycled timbers and environmental concrete mixes. “The approach favoured natural materials inside and out to create a relationship between the house and the surrounding Australian landscape, and to minimise embodied energy,” says Rhodes.
Ceiling fans: Cinni Milano
The window seat faces the street, and a large picture window connects the interior of the house with the streetscape. Glazing above maximises southern sunlight and heat in winter, while the operable windows allow for cooling breezes in the summer.
A bookshelf under the seat and a timber bench alongside makes for a convenient study or homework desk.
A bookshelf under the seat and a timber bench alongside makes for a convenient study or homework desk.
The kitchen is in the centre of the open-plan space, with seamless joinery and a window that serves as a splashback. The kitchen island is recycled messmate timber with a concrete benchtop and built-in sink.
Overhead, custom-made lights extend throughout the space. Composed of LED lights with recycled messmate timber cladding, the lights are long and linear with a form that reflects the shape of the space as whole.
Overhead, custom-made lights extend throughout the space. Composed of LED lights with recycled messmate timber cladding, the lights are long and linear with a form that reflects the shape of the space as whole.
The open-plan space steps down to the lounge, which opens to views of the rear garden and trail beyond. Exposed and insulated concrete is used to maximise thermal mass, as the heat from the northern sun passes through the glazing.
Built-in furniture also defines this zone, and includes a sofa and daybed, a sideboard and a bookshelf along the eastern wall.
Wood burner: Cheminees Philippe
Built-in furniture also defines this zone, and includes a sofa and daybed, a sideboard and a bookshelf along the eastern wall.
Wood burner: Cheminees Philippe
The master bedroom faces north at the rear of the house, looking out to the swimming pool and an old gum tree. “A protected balcony around the bedroom provides appropriate shading to windows for maximum winter sun and minimum summer sun,” says Rhodes. This approach to shading applies throughout the house, as well as north/south cross-ventilation through each room and heavily insulated walls, floor and ceilings.
Here, the master bathroom juts out to the west of the bedroom. “By pushing the bathroom slightly outside the building line it allows a northern view, and landscaped access to and from the pool,” explains Rhodes.
Various glazing was selected for different areas of the house depending on the room’s exposure to the sun, including double glazing and low-E coating for better insulation and solar heat gain where needed. Low-E louvre windows allow for cross-ventilation in the bathroom. The timber frames are Australian hardwood.
Various glazing was selected for different areas of the house depending on the room’s exposure to the sun, including double glazing and low-E coating for better insulation and solar heat gain where needed. Low-E louvre windows allow for cross-ventilation in the bathroom. The timber frames are Australian hardwood.
The bedrooms are designed to perform multiple functions, offering sleeping and living spaces. “All bedrooms have an element of versatility to them and allow each resident to have their own living space within the house, whether it be for entertaining friends or quiet time alone,” says Rhodes. The front bedroom, for example, has a mezzanine level with a colourful mural that’s visible from the street.
The bedrooms and services are configured along the west of the house, with minimal west-facing windows.
The bedrooms and services are configured along the west of the house, with minimal west-facing windows.
On the lower level of the house, the downstairs bedroom steps down to a daybed that soaks in northern sun and overlooks the pool and garden.
The second living area, underneath the main lounge, is accessed from the back door. It is designed to act as separate independent accommodation for visiting family, and has its own kitchen and bathroom. An indoor garden under the stair integrates the house and landscape, forging the Australian connection even further.
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Who lives here: A family of four from the UK, with relatives who come to stay for long periods.
Location: Ashburton, Victoria
Size: 340 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a home office that converts to a guest room and a separate living area than can be used as self-contained accommodation.
Design: Zen Architects