Sweeping views from Hill House

It towers above its hillside block, giving its owners enough leverage to enjoy sweeping views of the Glitter Strip’s coastline and skyline

AFTER years of renovating houses, Dominee Gessner and Ben Rochford decided to take the plunge and build their own.

It was a challenge but one they took in their stride, and the result is nothing short of breathtaking.

They bought what was a vacant half-acre hillside block in 2015 with a vision to build their dream home.

It was advertised as having limited views but today, the three-storey house that towers above it has some of the best on the Gold Coast.

Following months of work to obtain council approval, Ms Gessner said they built the house into the side of the sloping land to leverage off the extra height.

“I think we’ve pretty much got the best views in the street,” she said.

“We see from Mermaid Beach to the far edge of Burleigh.”

Dubbed The Hill House, it certainly attracts attention in its elevated position.

Ms Gessner said years of renovating experience helped them design and build the house, which recently won a 2018 regional Master Builders House and Construction award, with the help of an architect.

“We’ve done about six renovations so this was our first full-build for ourselves,” she said.

“I always knew I wanted the house to (have) a bit of a Palm Springs-inspired thing about it (but) we designed it based around our family and what we wanted to live in. “The build itself took nine months.” The couple has been living in the house with their two children for the past year.

The lower level has two separate garages, two storage rooms, a laundry and recreation room.

At the centre is a garden, which has a palm tree that rises through the middle of the house as high as the third floor.

Ms Gessner said it had to be lifted into place with a crane.

On the middle level, there is an open plan kitchen and living room, which flows out to a covered outdoor entertainment area overlooking a pool.

There are three bedrooms on the middle floor as well as a study, family room and games lounge.

The top level has three extra bedrooms, including the main, as well as an upstairs retreat.

It was hard for Ms Gessner to pinpoint her favourite part of the home but said she loved the seamless flow of indoor and outdoor living spaces. “It’s so good for entertaining,” she said. While reluctant, they have decided to sell the house so they can build a new one on a block they have bought across the road.

“We were just super keen to get our teeth stuck into something else and keep challenging ourselves,” she said.