Cart 
When Studio Steen’s clients bought this property in Eggs and Bacon Bay (a peculiarly named coastal community in Tasmania’s Huon Valley), the block featured nothing but bushland.
‘On our very first site visit, the growth was so thick that it was almost impossible to walk through the block,’ says studio director Clare Steen.
‘To make the experience even more memorable, I was on crutches at the time, which forced us to engage with the raw, untamed reality of the terrain from day one.’
Owners Simon and Helen, former winemakers from Victoria, approached the architect with a determination to create a self-sufficient holiday home they could visit until their retirement.
‘They explicitly stated they did not want to rely on trucking in water, which is a common necessity for many properties in the area. They also wanted a home centred around their love for cooking, entertaining, and their creative pursuits, but without creating a sprawling, oversized house for their daily lives,’ Clare adds.
The resulting retreat accommodates all of this and more. Drawing inspiration from traditional Australian rural pavilions, the new build is clad in ironbark a highly bushfire-rated timber coated in a black oil that allows the structure to recede into its natural setting.
However, it’s the utilitarian corrugated iron roof that is the home’s unsung hero.
At 300 square metres, the expansive roofline structure was a necessity to create a substantial rainwater harvesting system, which feeds into huge tanks on site that service the property.
‘To reconcile the massive roof requirement with the desire for a modest home, we split the footprint into two distinct wings separated by a central outdoor kitchen,’ Clare explains.
‘The primary wing houses everything the couple needs for daily life — the kitchen, living space, master bedroom, and bathroom — keeping their everyday experience incredibly cosy.’
Having originally envisioned a carport as part of the build, the clients fell so in love with the beautiful vantage point they decided it was better used as a dedicated ‘creative pavilion’ comprising a music studio for Simon and an art studio for Helen.
Equipped with an en suite, the studio also hides a Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall, effortlessly transforming the space into a guest bedroom as required.
Inside, the materiality shifts to create a soft cocoon. Every wall, ceiling, and joinery front is lined in local Tasmanian hardwood plywood, alongside bespoke blackbutt windows, while polished concrete floors provide thermal mass in line with passive solar principles.
The entire journey from the initial brief to handover took just under three years to complete.
Despite their initial intention to use the house for holidays, Simon and Helen’s excitement grew as the project evolved. It inspired them to retire early and make the move to Tasmania, where they’ve happily embraced their next chapter of life immersed in nature.
Want more stories like this? Get the best of The Design Files sent straight to your inbox!
