Lay Of The Land

Located on a cattle farm in the Adelaide Hills, this luxe homestead breaks the mould beautifully.

- Carli Philips

The chance to create an elegant farmhouse presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for interior designer and art consultant Swee Lim. “This is not your typical rural retreat,” she says. “It reimagines the Australian farmhouse by harnessing the rugged elements of the bush and, at the same time, has a contemporary spin and polish.”

The owners had been looking for about a year when they found the 120-hectare site in the Adelaide Hills. They would have to put in fences, dams and new cattle yards, but since they had a long-term plan to retire there, the investment would be worthwhile. “When we came across the land for sale, we immediately loved it and saw great potential,” they say. “It was the only place that would have worked for the build we planned. It has a backdrop of magnificent, huge gums and rolling hills.”

The couple called on Black Rabbit for the initial concept design and then engaged Genworth Group to complete the architecture and build. Enabling it to take advantage of its beautiful, sweeping vistas, the house is north facing; this orientation also maximises the flow of natural light into key areas of the house. “The result is a home where the occupants are visually connected with the surrounding property at all times,” says Damien Jenke, director of Genworth Group.

The owners are frequent entertainers and wanted a house big enough to comfortably host guests overnight. A long hallway runs from the entrance to the kitchen, with a games room, bunkroom and bedroom off to the left. This corridor meets the kitchen at the heart of the house and a second glass door behind leads to another hallway, with dining and living on one side and bedrooms on the other. Further down, another door opens into sleeping quarters and a separate master suite.