Free range & FABULOUS
Returning to the scene of a happy childhood in the Gold Coast hinterland, this couple built their own house in the rainforest.
Growing up in Queensland on her parents’ 4000m property, Vrinda Hansen and her siblings experienced the simple joys of a free-range Australian childhood. “We would spend days playing in the seasonal creek, riding our bikes on the quiet dead-end streets or exploring the surrounding reserve,” she reminisces. “I wanted that for my own children.”
Vrinda’s husband Gavin was in agreement, so, in 2010, having renovated and sold a home just across the border in Tweed Heads, the couple cleared the front half of her parents’ block in preparation for building. There, in the subtropical rainforest setting of the Currumbin Valley, they built a warm, personal home much enjoyed by daughter Gopi, now 13, son Karna, 10, and a menagerie of animals.
“We designed every inch ourselves,” says Vrinda. Her layout was the result of many hours spent drawing plans, dreaming and imagining the experience of living in the completed house – including the cook’s view from the kitchen and exactly where the family would curl up in front of the fireplace. Vrinda’s knowledge of the site was invaluable. “I designed the deck to follow the dry creek bed, so that when it rained we could lean over the balcony and watch the water flow past,” she explains. As owner-builders, the couple also constructed the house themselves, with help from local carpenter David Robbie.
Thewesternredcedarcladdingandcorrugatedsteelelements of the exterior sit well with the lush, tree-filled block. “Even when it was just completed, the house looked like it had always been there,” says Vrinda. Entry to the split-level home reveals a vaulted ceiling that immediately captures attention. At 5.5m, it arcs over the open kitchen, dining and living area. A spiral staircase winds gracefully up to the parents’ loft-like bedroom and down to the children’s rooms with shared bathroom. Covered decking, with a mature pecan tree growing through it, wraps around the main living level. At the bottom of the house is a separate office, a more recent addition that overlooks Vrinda’s horse paddock.
Inside, natural timber finishes and VJ boards create a timeless, classically Australian backdrop, while the furnishings pay testament to the owners’ talents. Gavin excels at woodwork; he whipped up the breakfast bar from old wharf timbers and created various items of furniture from burnt-out eucalyptus trees. Vrinda has a knack for finding quirky collectables and combining them with new items and family pieces.
“My decorating style would be rustic and industrial, with a hint of antique,” she says. “I didn’t stick to any particular style – I followed my heart and picked pieces that I loved, which had some character to them.”
Vrinda also has a gift for creating beautiful, earthy ceramic wares, which she makes in her spare time. Examples of her work can be seen around the house, in her small studio on the property and online at her Etsy shop, Stoka Clay Collection. The brand takes its name from her beloved Haflinger gelding, Stoka, who has his own stable made from locally milled timber. Other family pets include a miniature pony named Sati, as well as a guinea pig and tabby cat, Bala and Mallika respectively. A family of koalas peacefully inhabit nearby gum trees, and the silence of the rainforest is usually only broken by the calls of kookaburras and cockatoos, or Stoka whinnying for food.
It’s an idyllic lifestyle and one that’s all set to continue, now that the family has purchased the entire site from Vrinda’s parents. “We’ve put so much love and time into this property,” says Vrinda. “It really is our pride and joy.”