Homes

A Healthy House

Our favourite amphibian Kermit the Frog famously stated ‘it’s not easy being green’ – but ‘The Greenhouse’ in the Samford Valley, Queensland shows it is possible to combine refined architectural design with eco-friendly values!

Lee-Anne and Lee Stevens share their healthy home with daughter Poppy (4), Lillee the pug, six friendly chickens and honey bees. This serene retreat encourages its inhabitants to connect to the environment around them, without compromising on a crisp, contemporary aesthetic.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins
Supported by Dulux

The Greenhouse, the eco-friendly home of Lee-Anne, Lee Stevens and their daughter Poppy in Queensland. The four large sliding doors surrounding the dining and lounge areas create a feeling of indoor/outdoor living. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Lee-Anne and Lee first met in their early teens! Pictured here their daughter Poppy and Lillee the pug. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The kitchen, featuring solid timber cabinetry finished in a natural oil, leads onto the laundry/mudroom, with a barn door leading onto the family’s veggie patch.Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The lounge looking onto a double-sided fireplace. The TV is cleverly tucked behind solid timber doors! Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The neutral palate and focus on quality linens, wool and organic cottons in the Greenhouse creates a warm and homely comfort. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Eco values meet sleek design. Just visible in the foreground is a handcrafted stone bath. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The lounge looking onto a double-sided fireplace. The TV is cleverly tucked behind solid timber doors. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The robust materials palette is softened with textural elements including natural linens, wool and organic cottons. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Guest room. Linen robe from Elkie and Ark. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Poppy’s bedroom. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

‘We love the connection to nature and being surrounded by birdlife, wallabies, even spotting the occasional turtle and echidna,’ says Lee-Anne! Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Beach towels from Loom and hemp cushions from Mandala Dream Company. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Outdoor lounge and dining area with custom made table made from left over timber from build project. Cushions by Eco Outdoor and Mandala Dream Company. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

The family pictured in front of a wall made of recycled bricks! Photo – Mindi Cooke. Styling – Healthy Abode.

Lee and Lee-Anne Stevens met while in their late teens (naww!), and purchased their first property a few years later, on the Mornington Peninsula. Since then, the pair have renovated, built and project managed over 150 properties through their consultancy business Healthy Abode, which encourages holistically informed and ethically driven building developments.

When it came to building their own home, Lee and Lee-Anne followed these ‘healthy home’ values, and engaged Shaun Lockyer Architects to design ‘The Greenhouse.’ ‘Our priority was to build an architecturally designed home whilst achieving optimal liveability for our family’s lifestyle’ Lee-Anne explains. The neutral palette, and focus on natural materials and handcrafted pieces has ensured this contemporary home retains a sense of warmth. The use of ironbark timbers connects the house to the landscape of towering eucalyptus, and nestles the property into the site.

The ‘Greenhouse’ isn’t just a beautiful space. This is a home which also conveys the ethics of the owners, and their focus on ‘health, wellbeing, clean and simple living.’ These priorities have informed both the architecture and the interiors here, with local furniture designers and makers commissioned to create bespoke pieces. ‘We love honouring techniques and traditions that have been passed down through generations’ Lee-Anne says. ‘The home has a special energy which we feel is created from all the passionate trades who worked on the project and shared our vision, and all the artisans who handmade the furniture, beautiful rugs, artwork.’

In the end, the success of any home design comes down to the way the space makes you feel. Here, the Stevens family describe an (almost unbelievably!) idyllic rhythm to their days: ‘As a family we can see the benefits of the daily rituals of checking for chicken eggs, harvesting from our organic vegetable patch and feeding the birds and ducks.’

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