S

ydneysiders Merrilyn and her husband Tony had

been looking for a place to escape with their four

children on weekends for six months. After

scouring Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the couple

did an about-turn on the location. Refocusing

the search were Tony’s nostalgia for his childhood, when

he spent a lot of time on relatives’ farms in Tasmania,

and his daughter’s growing interest in horse riding. Their

second home also had to be within an hour’s commute

from Sydney and easily accessible from the freeway.

The couple found a 20ha property in the Cooranbong

Valley with an established home and gardens, close to a

town with reasonable services. Its location, on the edge

of Watagans National Park, was beautiful, and the

previous owners had operated a horse stud there.

Five years on, considerable time and effort has been

spent on making improvements in the home, renovating

the machinery shed, stables and wash bay, replacing

fences and upgrading the access road and dressage area.

The house gets its water supply from rainwater tanks

while the gardens and stock are fed from the dam; fire-

hazard reduction is another area they’ve tackled. “The

list goes on!” says Merrilyn.

Built in 2003 by the previous owner, the four-bedroom,

two-bathroom, brick-veneer home had some great features,

including a vaulted cedar ceiling, timber deck, and a >

HOUSES HG

Balance a

curved benchtop

by placing

other rounded

elements

nearby.