DAIRY MADE
A milking shed in Victoria is transformed into weekender for a young family of six.
SOME PIECES OF LAND are simply magnetic, emanating a pull that’s impossible to resist. That seems to be the case with this 14-hectare block of land at Main Ridge on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. When its owners happened to spot a ‘for sale’ sign on a weekend trip to the area they certainly weren’t in the market for a farm — but, for a bit of fun, they stopped in anyway. “The minute I walked onto the property, I thought ‘this place is special’,” says the owner. “I fell instantly in love with its towering trees and the sweet little dairy building. I knew we had to have it; it was a completely impulsive buy.” The 1920s milking shed captured the imaginations of the Melbourne family of six and prompted them to embark on a renovation that would see the simple structure transformed into a comfortable two-bedroom weekender that honours the utilitarian nature of the original outbuilding. “When we bought it in 2012, the dairy had been subject to a DIY makeover in the 1990s, so it was liveable,” she says, “but the layout made no sense and the space wasn’t used efficiently. We really needed it to since the six of us would be sharing this little house.” Melbourne architecture and design firm Rachcoff Vella had worked with the family before, so the team was a natural choice for this project. The owners gave them a free hand to come up with a design that was “off the grid and family friendly without requiring major structural change”. “It would be so easy to rip out the old and replace with new, but that was a temptation we resisted in order to retain character,” says architect Tony Vella. “Externally, very little was done other than repairing the building to make it airtight. Inside, the plaster-lined walls were removed and layout adjusted to create the two bedrooms and new bathroom, then new timber lining boards were added.” Sustainability was important and Tony says that by sensitively repurposing an existing building this aspect of the brief was met with ease. “Heavily insulating the shell was also key to creating a warm and efficient envelope, plus the house relies on its own water and will soon have solar power connected,” he says. Reclaimed materials feature prominently, too. An old sink found on the property was cleaned up and is now used in the bathroom, and cabinetry removed from the owners’ home has been given new life in the old dairy. Timber from a farm shed was repurposed to create a shaving cabinet and the existing fireplace was retained. Right throughout the house, calming, neutral interiors were deftly delivered by Rachcoff Vella’s interiors expert Alysha Downes. She focused on introducing beautiful joinery and gentle fabrics, set against a muted grey palette. The kitchen has its star feature a striking timber bench on castors. It provides a warming counterpoint to the room’s stainless steel benches, which were selected for their nod to the building’s history as a working dairy. “Our kitchen is perfect,” says the owner. “It’s tiny compared to our kitchen at home but the less space you have, the less you find you need. Nothing is missing.” >
“The minute I walked onto the property, I thought ‘this place is special’.”
With its stacked logs and fireplace, the open living area is an unfussy, cosy space. The family would love for the house to be a Tv-free zone but, to keep the kids happy, they had to compromise and instead opted for a screen that’s concealed behind cabinetry. The bedrooms are a similarly simple affair: there’s one room for parents and one for the four children. Alysha came up with the idea of fitting the kids’ room out with futons instead of beds so that they can be stacked when not in use. By day it’s a multifunctional space for them to play in and relax, by night it’s their bedroom. When the family is in residence — which, because the property is only an hour from home, is as often as three times a week — they spend much of their time outdoors. “We have a lot of horses,” says the owner. “I love to ride and so do my daughters. The boys have their fun playing with our pet goats and dogs, or tearing about on their motorbikes.” A love of all things equestrian has motivated the owners to build stables and an arena on the property. “We love being able to let friends keep their horses here and our vision for the arena is to open it up to the pony club and local community once it’s complete,” says the owner. For now, though, there’s satisfaction enough in spending time at the property and just being together. “We sit outside and gaze out at the trees and the creek beyond, and we just soak up the magic of it all.”