Budget Breakdown: Near Melbourne, Former Bandmates Make a Modest House Sing for $290K
The countryside residence favors simple, sustainable moves over square footage, and strategically captures views without walls of glass.
The countryside residence favors simple, sustainable moves over square footage, and strategically captures views without walls of glass.
Melbourne designer David Noordhoff had already established a rhythm with clients James and Zara McGuffie long before he designed their home. Noordhoff and James had been the drummer and guitarist in a successful indie rock band, Kilns, before Noordhoff went off to architecture school.
So, when the couple purchased a small piece of land in Chewton, Australia, a town of 1,300 about 90 minutes outside Melbourne, they knew they wanted Noordhoff—despite being early in his career—to design a house that fit their lifestyle. "We just had a connection," recalls James, who first met Noordhoff over 12 years ago.
The L-shaped Pyrenees residence features a substantial outdoor deck made with native spotted gum, which is resistant to bushfires.
Jade Cantwell
Zara and James had been living in Melbourne for over a decade, and they were looking to move outside the city when they discovered the parcel in the former mining town. Its location along the Pyrenees Highway seemed like a sign, because James had years earlier made a pilgrimage to walk Spain’s Camino de Santiago, through the Pyrenees mountain range.
The house sits near a highway, but robust insulation and windows help minimize noise, as does a foyer and hallway fronting the building.
Jade Cantwell
The site borders national park land, and it had recently been rezoned, so it was essentially a fresh slate. Zara and James initially considered hiring a homebuilding company, like others in the area, given the relatively remote location. "A lot of people told us we should do that because it was our first home; it’s easy and they make decisions for you," Zara says. "We kind of just kind of stuck to our guns."
| $68,000 Preliminary Work | $150,000 Structure & Framing | $14,000 Exterior Stairs & Decking |
| $22,000 Floor Finishes | $60,000 Doors & Windows | $15,000 Appliances |
| $40,000 Bathroom/Kitchen Fixtures & Joinery | $16,000 Lighting Fixtures & Fans | $22,000 Plumbing |
| $23,000 Electrical | $18,000 Paint | |
| Grand Total: $448,000 AUD ($289,681 USD) | ||
A simple kitchen gives way to a vintage dining table—one of many pieces Zara and James found online. Sliding glass doors help bring the outside in.
Jade Cantwell
See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: Near Melbourne, Former Bandmates Make a Modest House Sing for $290K
Related stories:
