Tree Changes: 7 House-Shaped Reasons to Quit the City
Meet the flirtatious rural abodes that are causing more and more Australian homeowners to up sticks
According a recent study by Australia Post, almost 15 per cent of people who moved home in 2013 relocated from inner-city areas to rural pastures. Known as the ‘Tree Change’ movement, more and more Australian homeowners are swapping urban bricks for the sticks in order to help them live out their design dreams.
We step inside the new homes of seven families who have successfully made the move.
We step inside the new homes of seven families who have successfully made the move.
Built in 1875, the estate’s cottage is packed with history and charming features, including a traditional wraparound verandah, outlined with creeping wisteria and delicate fretwork.
See more photos of this impressive Australian estate
See more photos of this impressive Australian estate
The Style Discoverers
The high ceilings and hardwood floors of this delightful home in the Southern Highlands were too much for the Macdonald family to refuse, having spent one too many years huddled inside a cramped terrace house in busy Sydney.
The high ceilings and hardwood floors of this delightful home in the Southern Highlands were too much for the Macdonald family to refuse, having spent one too many years huddled inside a cramped terrace house in busy Sydney.
With much more space and a neutral palette to play with, the Macdonalds rediscovered their love of eclectic home furnishings and used the simple country aesthetic to reclaim their love for pops of colour.
See more photos of this colourful home
See more photos of this colourful home
The Eco Warriors
Fuelled by their passion for organic food and subsistence farming, Australian musician Will Onus and his model-artist wife, Simone Viljoen, moved to Adjungbilly in rural New South Wales hoping to find true sustainable living on a 3000-acre cattle farm.
Fuelled by their passion for organic food and subsistence farming, Australian musician Will Onus and his model-artist wife, Simone Viljoen, moved to Adjungbilly in rural New South Wales hoping to find true sustainable living on a 3000-acre cattle farm.
What the couple hadn’t bargained on was Simone’s mother, Mickey, taking new meaning to the term ‘reclaimed’ and converting an old 1970s caravan into a Gypsy-inspired guest house.
Transformed from a dated relic, this caravan is the perfect place to enjoy starry skies untainted by the bright lights of the city.
See more photos of this creekside cattle farm
See more photos of this creekside cattle farm
The Free Spirits
Fortune smiled on Harriet Goodall, Mat Campbell and their two children when a friend offered them the chance to live in this relaxed country cottage up in the Southern Highlands. In return, the family would be required to manage the 96 acres of land and livestock for the property’s owners. You can imagine what their answer was.
With views of rolling green pastureland, and a fresh southerly breeze enveloping their home, this farm suits their free-spirited style to a tee … and that’s just the outside.
Fortune smiled on Harriet Goodall, Mat Campbell and their two children when a friend offered them the chance to live in this relaxed country cottage up in the Southern Highlands. In return, the family would be required to manage the 96 acres of land and livestock for the property’s owners. You can imagine what their answer was.
With views of rolling green pastureland, and a fresh southerly breeze enveloping their home, this farm suits their free-spirited style to a tee … and that’s just the outside.
Inside, warm rustic tones serve as a backdrop to a mix of accessories, textiles, gifts and souvenirs from the family’s travels in India, South America and Africa, showcasing their artistic and Bohemian flair.
See more photos of this Boho-chic country house
See more photos of this Boho-chic country house
The Caretakers
You don’t often get to go back to your roots, but Terry and Ros Matson did exactly that when they purchased from Terry’s dad this beautiful pocket of land in the Adelaide Hills, complete with a 140-year-old mud-brick cottage. They’ve worked hard to preserve its history ever since.
You don’t often get to go back to your roots, but Terry and Ros Matson did exactly that when they purchased from Terry’s dad this beautiful pocket of land in the Adelaide Hills, complete with a 140-year-old mud-brick cottage. They’ve worked hard to preserve its history ever since.
Despite being built more than 100 years ago, the couple kept many of the original features in place as a testament to the home’s innovative design. The mud-brick walls retain heat in winter and cool the cottage in summer. All the water for the house is collected in rainwater tanks on the property and wastewater is treated on site.
See more photos of this artistic mud brick cottage
See more photos of this artistic mud brick cottage
The Solar Seekers
When architect Mark Thomas started plans to build his family home, it wasn’t a strong aesthetic that guided him, but sustainability and cost-efficiency. “From the start this was never going to be a sexy, minimalistic, highly specced architectural masterpiece,” he says. “It had to be an affordable, functional set of spaces that matched our family’s requirements.”
When architect Mark Thomas started plans to build his family home, it wasn’t a strong aesthetic that guided him, but sustainability and cost-efficiency. “From the start this was never going to be a sexy, minimalistic, highly specced architectural masterpiece,” he says. “It had to be an affordable, functional set of spaces that matched our family’s requirements.”
Clever design tricks mean that the home is heated and cooled in an eco- and budget-friendly fashion. In winter, sunlight streams through the northern window providing heat, which is retained in solid concrete-slab flooring and rammed-earth walls. In summer, a mix of high- and low-level windows let in cooling breezes that flow through each room.
See more photos of this global-style hilltop house
See more photos of this global-style hilltop house
And then there’s the ‘Sea Changers’…
If leaving the city streets for leafy lanes is not quite your style, find inspiration from Patrick and Linda Meldrum who hung up their London city hats to live the ultimate Australian dream: a laid-back beach lifestyle in tropical Noosa Sound.
If leaving the city streets for leafy lanes is not quite your style, find inspiration from Patrick and Linda Meldrum who hung up their London city hats to live the ultimate Australian dream: a laid-back beach lifestyle in tropical Noosa Sound.
Waking up each morning to the murmur of the ocean and an abundance of wildlife, means urban living never feels more further away.
See more photos of this beachside retreat
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU…
Are you thinking of moving somewhere out of your comfort zone? Perhaps you’ve just plucked up the courage to take the plunge? Let us know and share a photo of your new pad in the comments below.
MORE IDEABOOKS
Relocating? Here’s how to make the big move better
Low-cost tweaks to help your home sell
14 bedrooms with unbelievable views
7 things to do before you move into a new house
See more photos of this beachside retreat
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU…
Are you thinking of moving somewhere out of your comfort zone? Perhaps you’ve just plucked up the courage to take the plunge? Let us know and share a photo of your new pad in the comments below.
MORE IDEABOOKS
Relocating? Here’s how to make the big move better
Low-cost tweaks to help your home sell
14 bedrooms with unbelievable views
7 things to do before you move into a new house
Halfway between Sydney and Canberra sits Summerlees – a heritage-listed estate comprising 70-acres of lush grazing and the home that Patty Mouhtouris and husband Roger Keys had spent a lifetime waiting to discover. It wasn’t long before their family drove down the grand driveway armed with the keys.