INTO THE WOODS

HOMES

Builder Michael Robertson has crafted a beautiful wooden home for his family on Victoria’s Surf Coast.

THERE ARE MANY GOOD REASONS why Fran Derham and Michael Robertson feel so deeply connected to their farm in the lush hinterland of Victoria’s Surf Coast. Without doubt, however, the most heartfelt of those harks back to 2013. “Michael proposed to me here, so the farm is very close to our hearts,” Fran says. “It was pretty funny — he was taking me to an amazing spot at one of our dams that is set with really nice trees, but we only got halfway when the clouds opened up with torrential rain. We didn’t quite make it, so he proposed on the cow track on a hillside in the pouring rain!” Michael, 36, a builder, and Fran, 35, a television producer and co-owner of Melbourne-based production company Cos We Can, now have two children — Woody, two, and six-monthold daughter, Quinn. Their property is set on 32 hectares of rolling pasture that backs onto a forest on the western Victorian coast. “It’s half an hour through state forest from Aireys Inlet on the coast, and 20 minutes from Birregurra, in a little pocket called Wensleydale,” Fran says. It was Michael who found the property in 2012, and then drove the dream to build the rustic timber-clad home. “Michael is the type of person who comes home and says, ‘I’ve bought this!’” Fran says. “He grew up in Ballarat and always wanted to have a country property as a farm escape, and give his kids a similar experience. Michael was driving through one day and fell in love with the area. He was inspired by the classic Australian shed and always envisioned a really simple all-wooden shack here.” Fran also loved the region. She grew up in Melbourne, but had spent her childhood holidays roaming the long, pristine beaches of the Surf Coast. And so, in 2015 they started to build their timber home — initially inspired by Glenn Murcutt’s Marie Short farmhouse in Kempsey, NSW, and the Hill Plains Cottage by Wolveridge Architects. The house was always destined to become a labour of love, and was not as simple as they first imagined. “Both of us tend to get really carried away, and Michael always pushes the standards — it’s always the full deal,” Fran says. The couple worked with Melbourne-based Nick Byrne of Byrne Architects on the home’s design. “Nick is known >

ABOVE Michael Robertson and Fran Derham with Woody and Quinn on the verandah. BELOW Handmade ceramics by Andrei Davidoff. FACING PAGE A trio of custom leather pendant lights from Lighting Collective sits above polished concrete benchtops in the kitchen. Leather handles from Mademeasure, Cotto tiles from Eco Outdoor and a Falcon oven, available from Harvey Norman, create a relaxed yet elegant look. For stockist details, see page 136.