An eco interior

To wake up to the treetops, birds and beautiful sunrise is breathtaking! – Fiona

The house has one main bedroom on the top level with a guest room, currently being rented out on Airbnb, located below.

“The guest room is incredible! The doors slide open in front and to the side and you feel as though you’re sleeping outdoors,” says Fiona. “Our guests love it and we’ve received great reviews.”

The floors on the top level are plywood, an ecofriendly alternative to solid wood. They were stained by Hollywood Décor.

In the main bedroom, OSB was used for the bed and cupboards and a refreshing outdoor shower was incorporated in the design. “We love to be outdoors; there’s a ceiling over the shower and the option to enclose it with glass, if required later,” says Fiona. “We use it in both winter and summer. The sliding doors that open from our bedroom onto the shower deck also make our space seem a little bigger.”

Looking back on the project, John and Fiona are pleased with what was achieved within their budget. “Yes, we would have loved more elaborate finishes, an extra room and longer decks but we don’t feel that we’ve cut back on anything. If funds allow, we may want to add a study or spare room in the future,” says Fiona. Luckily, the steel is designed in a modular format which means that it can be extended by clipping on additional modules when required.

The Whitfields look forward to tackling their indigenous garden and installing a rain water harvesting system. “For now, we enjoy the resident goshawk, the birds and butterflies are in abundance, and we even have a leguaan that visits from time to time. What more could we wish for?” asks Fiona.

There’s a seamless flow between the outdoor shower and main bedroom; the shower is used all year around, no matter the weather.

The exposed brick wall in the guest room downstairs is also a retaining wall. The floor is balau as the area was originally designed as an outdoor space.