Branching Out Newly renovated surroundings for rejuvenating body and soul.
A home among the spotted gums has been lovingly transformed into an exquisite boutique destination.
“THE KITCHEN HAS SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO STAND AROUND AND CHAT WHILE DINNER IS COOKING.” Carole Whiting, interior designer
Wandering around the block she’d bought on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, owner Kim Ellis stopped to pick up a chunk of iron-red rock. “It was unlike anything I’d ever seen,” she says. “The stone had a richness of colour and movement. You could make out the lava layers that had formed over years.” What Kim, the founder of Wild Luxury retreats, was looking at was a piece of late Permian to middle Triassic-era rock, revealed after the soil and top layer of Sydney sandstone had eroded. Finding it intriguing and beautiful, Kim took the small piece of rock home and later presented it to Melbourne interior designer Carole Whiting, who had been engaged to transform the double-storey home on the 1825-square-metre block into a luxurious holiday-rental property. “That fragment of stone formed the basis of our palette,” says Carole. “It’s where we started with colours and materials.”
From the very beginning of the design process it was clear that the house should embrace the beauty of its location – reached by private road, it offers dazzling views of Pittwater on one side and Avalon Beach on the other. It’s also home to a stand of 25 endangered Pittwater spotted gums. Part of what Crane Lodge, as it’s now known, offers guests is a beautiful ‘forest-bathing’ experience that celebrates the magnificence of those trees and the bushland that surrounds them.
“When you step into the house, you have the feeling of still being among the trees,” says Carole. “The view is the star and the interiors work to frame and highlight it.” Thoroughly reconfigured inside, the property can now accommodate up to 15 guests (in both the main house and a studio nearby). While the central staircase up to the bedrooms remains where it was, the rest of the ground floor was mostly gutted. “The existing conservatorylike structures on the kitchen and dining sides of the living space were opened up further to the elements, with floor-to-ceiling windows bringing in more of the trees,” says Kim.
Built in the late 1990s, the house had been designed by an architect whose brother happened to be part-owner of a timber mill in Tasmania. “This proved to be very beneficial to us,” says Kim. “The boards are premium-grade solid Tasmanian oak. All we did was refurbish them and give them a clear protective coating, so all the beautiful tonal variation could shine through.”
The kitchen has two distinct zones: there’s a social side, where guests can gather for breakfast or chat over a drink, and a dedicated cooking zone with state-of-the-art appliances and plenty of storage. “We offer our guests the option of having a private chef come in and cook for them,” says Kim, “so we had to make sure we had all the right equipment.”
Flowing off the kitchen is the home’s spectacular dining space, which is set beneath a bespoke light fitting that manages to be both enormous and delicate. “I worked with Shona Wilson, an artist Kim loves, to create this piece,” says Carole. “The idea is that it gives the impression of light twinkling through leaves. Light is cast through suspended test tubes that contain specimens of seeds and materials from the endemic spotted-gum forest.”
The informal living area of Crane Lodge reveals Kim’s passion for Australian art, with a painting by Joshua Yeldham taking centrestage in this space. A wood fire – one of three on the property – makes this a cosy spot to sit and read, but guests can also spread out and make use of the yoga deck, covered outdoor sitting area, massage room or the waterhole-inspired pool. Linking the living spaces to the bedrooms is a set of stairs painted Dulux Burnt Brick, the colour that best matches the rock Kim asked Carole to base her palette upon. It’s been worked in throughout the house, on its skirtings, ceilings and even exterior lighting. “It’s a lovely terracotta colour that turns soft and pinkish in some light,” says Carole. “This colour creates an anchor point for the house and connects it to the landscape around it.”
Guests get to rest in a series of bedrooms that are all about relaxed luxury. In one, the bath has been set on what was once a verandah, giving the user a sense of soaking among the treetops. “The shower has a gentle curve to it,” says Carole. “Curves are used throughout, because I think if you want people to feel relaxed it’s a good idea to do away with the sharp edges.”
A huge amount of work may have been done to the house but the garden was an equally colossal project. Designed and delivered by Secret Gardens, the grounds now incorporate a pool, spots to take in the views from a hammock or seats, and pebbled and timber-lined paths. There are sweeping retaining walls, huge expanses of decking and targeted lighting that draws the eye up to the spectacular trees swaying above.
The home is christened with a name that evokes majestic birds, but the success of this renovation is actually down to a mechanical crane. “The site is so steep and difficult, we bought one in to lift everything in over the trees,” says Kim. “It was a big investment but having our own crane onsite meant a build that could have taken two-and-a-half years was done in nine months. The outlay was worth it when we welcomed our first guests this January.”
Crane Lodge; wildluxury.co. Carole Whiting Studio, South Melbourne, Victoria; carolewhiting.com. Secret Gardens, Botany, NSW; secretgardens.com.au.
“THERE’S A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN SPACES THAT ARE PRIVATE AND PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN CONNECT.” Carole Whiting