L6195. Fifteen years ago this home and studio was built on the banks of Lake Wallagoot, amongst towering trees, some centuries old. Together with local builder, Julian Barlow the home was constructed using the white quartz sand on which it stands to make the concrete walls. The few trees needed to fell were milled and cured on site. Ceiling, walls and cupboards are plantation Hoop pine, window framing in hardwood.
For the last decade and a half this has been a creative hub – the forest being a daily muse inspiring the owners to paint. Everyday there is a dawn chorus of the myriad of birds who live in the forest: honeyeaters, wrens, thrush, shrikes, falcons and sea eagles. The closest neighbours are the marsupial residents of the bush: gliders, wallabies and kangaroos.
The lake is a dramatic backdrop on which the drama of the weather and the sky plays out everyday. It is also the larder from which the owners source prawns and fish.
It is time for the owners to move on to their next adventure and time for someone else to enjoy the stunning natural beauty that is Many Swans.
Upstairs – open plan living (11 x 7m), vaulted ceiling, cross breezes, 360-degree view, deck in forest canopy looking towards lake, oversized checkerboard hardwood tiles, 7m kitchen plus 3.6m island benches, all electric appliances, circular metal staircase.
Downstairs – north-facing floor to ceiling windows heat a concrete floor in winter, wide eaves provide shade to cool the house in summer, main bedroom and dressing room, second bedroom, large multi-purpose gallery space is ideal to reconfigure as a study/ third bedroom and ensuite, wet area – laundry and bathroom with shower and bath set in glazed extension.
Studio – multi-purpose space designed for even, high south light, shaded summer patio, north four-fold glazed doors, handmade concrete sinks inside and out. Built to last – neo-modernist design principles – ?inside-outside’, natural materials, white concrete walls, hardwood frames and beams, 360-degree forest view, passive solar and cooling cross-breezes.
House and studio surrounded by watering system. Large inground concrete water tank, natural septic system supplies potable water to garden areas, solar hot water and six panels. Dam surrounded by native reeds, with small orchard and veggie patch.
Protected in the forest, on flat terrain, adjacent to National Parks, easy walk to lake, a few minutes drive to exquisite deserted beaches in Bournda National Park.
Close to excellent shopping, cafes, art galleries at Tathra, Merimbula Pambula and Bega, good transport to major cities including Merimbula Airport, 10 minutes to new Bega Regional Hospital.
A relaxed, creative, caring community in a region considered as the perfect climate for human habitation.