HOME SALLY CROXTON
ENDLESS SUMMER A seaside sanctuary for all seasons, this newly built retreat isn’t your average retirement home.
T
his superb Hawks Nest holiday home gives its owners the choice of three waterways and the best of both worlds. At present Ronelle and her anaesthetist husband Stephen McKay call their cherished 100-year-old Lorn residence home. But after a decade enjoying holidays at their Hawks Nest weekender, the pair is thinking of making the still-unspoiled area their permanent residence in retirement. With the
future in mind, they bought an 800-squaremetre corner block opposite the Myall riverfront and sold the older weekender. Their idea was to create a fresh, contemporary, carefree house with room for their immediate and extended family and friends to enjoy that could also double as an upmarket holiday letting, with the option of making the up-to-the-minute pad a retirement haven for the future.
Ronelle said her husband’s love of the water and their enjoyment of ornithology sealed the choice of Hawks Nest with its access to river, lake, ocean, port and national parks. It took three years from buying the block to achieving their goal but after a year-long building period the distinctive, luxurious Alkira Beach House with its beachy, comfortable modern furnishings chosen by the couple in Maitland and Newcastle was completed a year ago, ready to enjoy last summer. ‘‘You don’t have to go to Sydney any more to find lovely things,’’ Ronelle says. Now they have the choice of a Federation and a modern property.
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FAVOURITE FEATURE
These unusual lights suspended above the kitchen benchtop were sourced from Rovert Lighting in Broadmeadow. All the lights were selected there and chosen by the owners. These complement the area’s stainless steel and glass theme and prove Ronelle’s point that there is no need to travel outside the Hunter to source interesting interior design products.
HOLIDAY HAVEN: Clever use of high, angled windows allows the winter sun in while capturing north-east sea breezes on summer afternoons. PICTURES: NATALIE GRONO
Ronelle, while still attached to Lorn where they brought up their four children, is revelling in the ease of cleaning, the indoor/ outdoor lifestyle, the winter sun and the summer breezes that come with a welldesigned new house. ‘‘It’s fun,’’ she says. ‘‘I suppose the houses are the two extremes and this is fabulous,’’ she says of the fourbedroom house arranged to allow a separate guest suite on the ground floor. It also offers two sleek bathrooms tiled to the ceiling in a practical sand colour and a vast Blackbutt-floored open-plan upstairs living and dining room with decks at both ends and a smart kitchen with a sparkling grey glass
splashback, nougat CaesarStone worktops and stainless steel trims. Ronelle credits architect Stephen Coon from Seymour Lawler Architects and Lambert Building of Tea Gardens with the project’s success. ‘‘We thought about not using an architect,’’ she says. ‘‘I must say we’re very glad that we did because it’s made all the difference to the job and they were particularly good to work with. They never rushed us.’’ Stephen Coon says that to take advantage of the views to the river and beyond to Port Stephens the house has some west-facing windows, undesirable for the hot summer sun
but its design, the extent of glazing, roof overhangs and pergolas were carefully considered to gain views while blocking out unwanted heat. ‘‘Comfortplus performance glass was used to help reduce heat gain, and this also allowed some extra high level windows to be added during construction when it was discovered how fantastic the views towards the water and tree canopies were,’’ he says. Large and high north-facing windows allow winter sun to flood the interior. The design works. The day I saw the house last week the room was bathed in sunlight and was warm without heating. Ronelle says that while Maitland was sweltering in 42-degree heat last year, her daughter, who was staying at the house at the time, found it maintained a comfortable temperature without airconditioning. ‘‘In summer the sun goes over the top and we don’t get any of that heat,’’ Ronelle says. ‘‘Every afternoon we get these lovely northeast breezes. It’s glorious.’’ Architect Coon says because the owners are keen birdwatchers they wanted to get as high as possible. So he provided them with a birdviewing deck three levels above ground but still incorporated within a two-storey form sympathetic to the neighbourhood. Angled roofs, decks and pergolas helped to create the interesting facade but by keeping the building itself generally rectangular it made construction economical for the budgetconscious owners. That allowed them to spend more money where they felt value was best appreciated, such as on kitchen and bathroom finishes and light fittings, the architect says. From outside the house is eye-catching thanks to its form and the varied claddings which include light-coloured rendered brick walls in Taubmans Woolooware, with Colorbond Custom Orb sheeting in woodland grey above the brickwork.
dining chairs
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LARA occasional chair
Give your home a fresh new look with bright colours, timber accents, cool stories, easy-living textures and lots of individual touches. And for a limited time, for every $1000 you spend we will give you $100 off.
$784 in Lotus Ruby fabric Campana 224 dining table
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Newcastle 950 Hunter St 4962 1070
www.ozdesignfurniture.com.au
*Offer available on new purchases of full price furniture and/or homewares of $1000 or more at OZ Design in a single transaction between 10th August and 14th September 2009. Offer awarded in the form of a $100 discount at time of purchase. Purchases undertaking a finance option or made with a gift voucher are excluded. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some items require self assembly. Props and delivery not included in the listed price. Price includes GST. Conditions apply. See instore for full details.