HGHOUSES
100 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
W
hen Megan Bates was appointed to a teaching
position at a prestigious school in south-
east Melbourne, it set off a chain of events
that ultimately changed her family’s
address and lifestyle.
Megan and her husband Craig seized the day and enrolled
theirtwosons–Campbell,noweight,andEthan,seven–at
theschool.Theonlyproblemwasthatthefamilywasliving
milesaway.Theyimmediatelybegantolookforahomenear
the school, only to discover that houses in the area were either
prohibitivelyexpensiveorhadsuchpoorlayoutsthatthe
couple would have exhausted their budget trying to remedy
theexistingproblems.
Thentheycameacrossapropertyinsuchbadrepairitwas
advertised as land with a ‘free’ house. “It was disgusting,” says
Craig.“Ithadabluestonefence,anoldfibropooloutfrontand
a wall covered in mould.” To top it off, there was a 9m drop from
thefrontofthesitetotheback.
This losing combination had scared off many potential
buyers,butthecouplerealisedtheywerewellplacedtotake
advantageofit.“Buildingonaslopewasanattractiveidea,”
saysCraig.“Ourcurrenthousewasonasimilar,north-facing,
sloping site and had a split-level layout that worked for us.”Theydecidedtheycouldparlaythelayoutoftheiroldhome
intoanewbuild,withlivingareasontheentryleveland
bedroomsbelow.Furthermore,theyhadsomecleverideas
about how to counter the biggest problem on such a block:
drawing light into the south-facing rear.
“Wedecidedtoputtwopavilions,intheformofapooland
an alfresco kitchen, in the middle of the entry level, for the
purposeofputtingbigwindowsaroundthoseareas to draw
lightintothebackofthehouse,”saysCraig.
Craigfoundtheperfectprojectpartnerswhenhegoogled
‘sloping-block builders’ and came up with Rycon Building
Group.Today,aftera16-monthbuild,thefamily’snew
home is a wonderful example of how to turn a negative into
apositive.
The home presents a contemporary face to the street.
Inside,acentralhallleadstoaguestroomandensuiteon
theeasternside,thenthepool.Onthewesternside,afew
steps up, is a garage, mudroom, powder room and storage
space, followed by the outdoor kitchen, accessed via sliding
doorsfromthehallway.Asanticipated,glazingonthe
northern face draws welcome light into the next section,
an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area with views over
the bushland valley below. >