GIMME SHELTER
Deborah Hutton’s new series FindYourDreamHome may offer some much-needed property inspiration, writes Siobhan Duck
LIT’S ABOUT BROADENING OUR VIEW ON HOW PEOPLE LIVE AND HOW WE COULD POTENTIALLY LIVE
IKE so many city-dwellers around Australia, Deborah Hutton had to face some cold, hard facts about her lifestyle during Covid lockdowns. But unlike most, the TV presenter and design entrepreneur says she “really embraced iso” as a way to look to new horizons. “It was something where we all had very limited movement and I saw, in a crowded city, the peacefulness that came from that; less anxiety, less stress,” Hutton says. “And I thought, you know what? This is something for me.”
And so Hutton bought a piece of land an hour south of Sydney with “a knockdown red-bricker on it” to establish that quieter existence. “I’m building my dream home for the future there,” Hutton adds. “Because I don’t want to put on a traffic app every time I leave the house.”
For others dreaming of a pandemic-induced sea or tree change, Hutton offers a wealth of ideas on her new LifeStyle series, Find Your Dream Home. “I’m not the only one [leaving the city],” she explains. “I know many people who have moved, are moving or are preparing to move out. This show is so brilliant because it goes, ‘OK, if you want to do that, well, there’s different ways that you can do that.’”
While the market for real estate series seems saturated these days, the kerb appeal of Find Your Dream Home lies in its focus on the people behind the houses, rather than on outlandish fittings or auction-day drama.
As Hutton points out: “It’s really about broadening our view on how people live and how we could potentially live.”
Choosing a home may entail more than simply looking at window treatments or openplan kitchens. “People are really considering the way they live now and wondering, ‘Are there alternatives?’” Hutton offers. “‘Could we choose another life? Could we do something that’s less complicated? Do we want to move away from traffic? Do we want to explore a different way of living?’
“This show is a beautiful entree for people, then, to not only discover the different ways of living, but also see people who have done it, so it gives them some kind of comfort.”
Unlike the high-end concentration of series such as Luxe Listings Sydney, Grand Designs Australia and even The Block, Find Your Dream Home showcases properties in all segments of the market.
“Maybe in the back of your mind, it’s always been a dream to go to the bush and live off the land,” Hutton says.
“Or to travel and be mobile – do you want to live in a tiny home? That’s why we’ve done low, medium and high price ranges, so you can see that you can do this. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune.”
From environmentally friendly houses that allow their owners to live completely off the grid to tiny homes that are less than 100sqm, all abodes – and the reasoning behind their existence – intrigue Hutton.
“I’ve met such interesting people who have made different choices in their lives to live a certain way,” she says.
While some owners featured in the show have shared with Hutton that living at a fixed address isn’t for them, others simply become smitten by the aesthetics – “Like a church conversion,” she says, “where they fell in love with the architecture of this building and the history of it and made it their home. I love discovering what piques people’s interest, then watching how they follow through with that and settle into these lovely places.”
FIND YOUR DREAM HOME STARTS WEDNESDAY AT 9.05PM ON FOXTEL’S LIFESTYLE CHANNEL