Houzz Tour: A Tranquil Country Home Inspired by Japanese Design
A retired couple built this Asian-inspired haven so they can live out their golden years in peace and comfort in the Perth countryside
When you’re planning to build a house you hope never to leave, having a long-term vision is crucial. Fortunately, planning ahead happens to be one of Tena and Terry Wheeler’s strengths. Over the past 10 years, the self-confessed ‘£10 poms’ acquired 10 poorly farmed lots with the idea of combining them into a rural escape to which they could retire when the time came. The time did come, of course, as it does for all of us, and the couple asked architect Suzanne Hunt to help them build a tranquil home that would suit their needs now and into the future.
‘We wanted to create a home that would be suitable for this time in our lives, but also one we could live in forever,’ says Tena. ‘It needed to be tranquil, feel spacious and beautiful, but most importantly we wanted a comfortable home.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Tena and Terry Wheeler, and their dog, Bonnie
Location Perth Hills, Western Australia
Size 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms; 50 acres
‘We wanted to create a home that would be suitable for this time in our lives, but also one we could live in forever,’ says Tena. ‘It needed to be tranquil, feel spacious and beautiful, but most importantly we wanted a comfortable home.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Tena and Terry Wheeler, and their dog, Bonnie
Location Perth Hills, Western Australia
Size 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms; 50 acres
Two of the couple’s four adult daughters work part-time from the guest pavilion, helping their parents run the family business interests. With 50 acres at their disposal, the couple’s many grandchildren also have plenty of room to roam.
The home features two single-storey, basalt stone and black slate roofed pavilions clustered around a larger living pavilion, along with an indoor pool and basement gym.
The pavilions interconnect via curved rammed earth walls, ponds, courtyards and decks to create a seamless fusion of indoor and outdoor living spaces. The home exudes a sense of casual sophistication inside and out.
The home features two single-storey, basalt stone and black slate roofed pavilions clustered around a larger living pavilion, along with an indoor pool and basement gym.
The pavilions interconnect via curved rammed earth walls, ponds, courtyards and decks to create a seamless fusion of indoor and outdoor living spaces. The home exudes a sense of casual sophistication inside and out.
The indoor pool and basement gym provide ample opportunity for the homeowners to keep fit in their twilight years.
Suzanne says the owners’ emotional and financial investment in ‘their piece of heaven’ has had a positive impact on their health and state of mind. Built with sustainable principles in mind, the home is inexpensive to run and gives the owners a sense of control over their futures. ‘The practical adaptability of the home to accommodate on-site nursing/care is reassuring and reduces future pressure on family and the aged-care system,’ explains Suzanne.
Pool tiles, L’Elba glass mosaics from Bisazza.
Suzanne says the owners’ emotional and financial investment in ‘their piece of heaven’ has had a positive impact on their health and state of mind. Built with sustainable principles in mind, the home is inexpensive to run and gives the owners a sense of control over their futures. ‘The practical adaptability of the home to accommodate on-site nursing/care is reassuring and reduces future pressure on family and the aged-care system,’ explains Suzanne.
Pool tiles, L’Elba glass mosaics from Bisazza.
Suzanne chose robust and durable materials with plenty of texture, but in a limited colour palette for a serene feel in line with the home’s Asian-inspired style. Much of the home is open plan, which further adds to the serenity.
The homeowners are thrilled that the home has a pleasing aspect no matter where you are.
‘It has everything a modern home should have and yet it feels warm and homely because of the selection of materials,’ says Tena.
Dining table, bespoke solid teak from Beclau. Dining chairs, Knoll Saarinen from De De Ce.
Explore decorating ideas for open-plan living
The homeowners are thrilled that the home has a pleasing aspect no matter where you are.
‘It has everything a modern home should have and yet it feels warm and homely because of the selection of materials,’ says Tena.
Dining table, bespoke solid teak from Beclau. Dining chairs, Knoll Saarinen from De De Ce.
Explore decorating ideas for open-plan living
Natural light abounds in the open-plan kitchen/living and dining area, and concertina doors open the space up to the deck. The impressive ceiling has been lined with Victorian ash, its various sunken areas demarcating the lounging and dining zones from the rest of the space.
Bar stools, Erik Buch from Great Dane.
Bar stools, Erik Buch from Great Dane.
The living area can open up to the outdoors, or become a snug and cosy haven at night or during inclement weather.
Sofas, Jardan. Arflex K2 modular lounge, Poliform.
Sofas, Jardan. Arflex K2 modular lounge, Poliform.
Custom-designed cabinetry, screen walls/doors and detailed ceilings ensure a sense of scale and ambience, separation and connection for the homeowners.
The home makes the most of its semi-rural location by connecting with the landscape and integrating passive and active design solutions for environmental sustainability. Concrete water tanks with oversized gutters capture rain for use throughout the house; there’s an on-site waste treatment unit; and solar panelling and a solar hot water system reduce energy consumption from non-renewable sources. Low ‘e’ glass and the use of LED and fluorescent lighting further improves the home’s eco credentials.
What you need to know about building an eco-friendly home
The home makes the most of its semi-rural location by connecting with the landscape and integrating passive and active design solutions for environmental sustainability. Concrete water tanks with oversized gutters capture rain for use throughout the house; there’s an on-site waste treatment unit; and solar panelling and a solar hot water system reduce energy consumption from non-renewable sources. Low ‘e’ glass and the use of LED and fluorescent lighting further improves the home’s eco credentials.
What you need to know about building an eco-friendly home
‘Our new home is truly wonderful to live in,’ says Tena. ‘It’s efficient, light, airy and comfortable.’
Asked what she loves most about the house, Tena says it’s hard to say. ‘One day I might come in the front entrance and think, “This is just the most beautiful entrance.” Another day, I walk into our bedroom through to our en suite and decide it’s my dream. There’s no part of this home that’s not beautiful.’
Outdoor dining and lounging furniture, KE-ZU.
Asked what she loves most about the house, Tena says it’s hard to say. ‘One day I might come in the front entrance and think, “This is just the most beautiful entrance.” Another day, I walk into our bedroom through to our en suite and decide it’s my dream. There’s no part of this home that’s not beautiful.’
Outdoor dining and lounging furniture, KE-ZU.
In the kitchen, a mix of timber veneer and solid timber cabinetry in Queensland Walnut from Laminex combines with black timber veneer cabinetry in Evenraven and Evenpresso from Eveneer. The Caesarstone worktops tie in nicely with the large-format (900x450mm) travertine tiles.
Tena and Terry have built a few homes over the last 40 years and have twice thrown away plans because they became so frustrated with the architects. ‘They just refused to listen to us,’ Tena says. ‘They kept giving us what they insisted was what we wanted. We found this was the opposite with Suzie. She always listened, but would always give us her ideas if she felt where we were heading wasn’t quite right. As the process went along, we found ourselves trusting her judgement more and more.’
This is the main entrance to the house, leading in to the main pavilion housing the living room, dining area, library, conservatory and a bedroom suite.
This is the main entrance to the house, leading in to the main pavilion housing the living room, dining area, library, conservatory and a bedroom suite.
Rammed earth feature walls connect the three pavilions and add some artistic, Japanese-inspired flair.
The home office is separated from the main living area with the help of open shelving, providing the couple with a workspace that’s set apart without feeling too isolated.
The house was cut into the hill on the east-west axis to optimise passive design opportunities and capture prevailing winds and solar penetration and protection.
The positioning also protects natural bush to the south and reduces the impact of noise and visibility to the highway while enhancing the connection with the landscaping, views and creek.
The positioning also protects natural bush to the south and reduces the impact of noise and visibility to the highway while enhancing the connection with the landscaping, views and creek.
This is one of the rammed earth ‘links’ that connect one pavilion to another.
The main bedroom pavilion looks and feels as if it belongs in a luxury resort, and includes a dressing room and spacious en suite.
The building’s bones were designed to be the decoration, Suzanne says. ‘As with traditional Japanese architecture and design, the construction itself is to be admired internally rather than the applied decoration,’ she explains. The goal was to allow the elegance and scale of the pavilions, with their uncluttered interiors and minimal furnishings, to convey a sense of calm, a retreat from the world’s demands.
The building’s bones were designed to be the decoration, Suzanne says. ‘As with traditional Japanese architecture and design, the construction itself is to be admired internally rather than the applied decoration,’ she explains. The goal was to allow the elegance and scale of the pavilions, with their uncluttered interiors and minimal furnishings, to convey a sense of calm, a retreat from the world’s demands.
The lines between the inside and outside spaces are blurred to offer views of the changing seasons and a tangible connection to experience the landscape.
Nature is encouraged to gently enter and retreat as the pavilions open to the outside or are closed to cocoon their inhabitants as needed. The exterior spaces are designed to be ‘roofless rooms’ that capture the entire landscape within the domestic sphere.
‘Each of these courtyards offers a place to reflect or engage, but, most importantly, enjoy our beautiful weather and the magic vistas,’ says Suzanne. ‘Throughout the home there is a constant give and take between solid and void, nature and building, inside and outside.’
Bed, Minotti Tatlin from De De Ce.
Nature is encouraged to gently enter and retreat as the pavilions open to the outside or are closed to cocoon their inhabitants as needed. The exterior spaces are designed to be ‘roofless rooms’ that capture the entire landscape within the domestic sphere.
‘Each of these courtyards offers a place to reflect or engage, but, most importantly, enjoy our beautiful weather and the magic vistas,’ says Suzanne. ‘Throughout the home there is a constant give and take between solid and void, nature and building, inside and outside.’
Bed, Minotti Tatlin from De De Ce.
The travertine tiles used in the rest of the house continue into the spacious en suite, appearing not just on the floors but on the walls as well.
The fixed mirror has concealed LED lighting on three sides. Louvres encourage a cooling cross-flow of air on hot days and add to the tropical, resort-style feel of the home.
Sustainability was a key driver in this project for both environmental and financial reasons.
Suzanne says the home shows that the quiet integration of extensive passive and active environmental solutions in thoughtfully designed, sensitively built, low-energy, sustainable structures can display elegance and an openness to nature that appeals to the mind and purse as much as to the eye.
‘It’s a wonderful legacy for their family,’ says Suzanne. ‘This sustainable home truly touches the earth lightly.’
Suzanne says the home shows that the quiet integration of extensive passive and active environmental solutions in thoughtfully designed, sensitively built, low-energy, sustainable structures can display elegance and an openness to nature that appeals to the mind and purse as much as to the eye.
‘It’s a wonderful legacy for their family,’ says Suzanne. ‘This sustainable home truly touches the earth lightly.’
Frameless corner windows dissolve the barrier between the interior and exterior, framing views of the valley. Reflected light from ponds bounces off timber ceilings onto travertine floors.
In one of the two smaller pavilions, a home office, bedroom and kitchen provide a self-contained work space for the couple’s daughters, and somewhere for visiting guests to have their own space.
During excavation, large clay boulders (as big as a small hatchback) were uncovered under the white clay top soil. ‘While this initially delayed the build, we realised the fantastic opportunity of truly embedding this house into its landscape contextually,’ says Suzanne.
The boulders were crushed into varying forms of mix and used to form major elements of the project, including the main ‘ingredient’ of the rammed earth walls. The smaller rocks were used for the massive retaining walls, and the gravel fill was used for landscaping.
The boulders were crushed into varying forms of mix and used to form major elements of the project, including the main ‘ingredient’ of the rammed earth walls. The smaller rocks were used for the massive retaining walls, and the gravel fill was used for landscaping.
Exterior materials were locally sourced where possible, and Australian timber features heavily in the design: stained Victorian Ash boards and battens to the eaves, ceilings and walls; walnut veneer wall panelling and cabinetry; environmentally certified teak detailing to doors, windows and transoms. These reflect traditional Japanese architecture in that they hide essential features such as flyscreens and shading systems.
TELL US…
What do you think of this Australian home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this Australian home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
‘This is to be their last house and they wish to stay here as long as they can,’ says Suzanne. ‘The single-level home was designed to ensure they could navigate the house in wheelchairs, enjoy their beautiful landscaped grounds with protection, have some privacy at times while also being able to share spaces comfortably alone, together, or with their very close, large extended family.’