Japanese Meets Scandinavian Design In This Stunning Small Home

Living in tiny homes teaches us so much about who we are and how we use the space that we inhabit. And one of my favourite things is seeing when people move from tiny homes into slightly larger spaces and how that changes everything. This is a perfect example of exactly that. Hi Kel, it's so nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. G'day Jez, great to meet you mate. Nice to meet you. And what an absolute stunner of a home that you've built here. Thank you. Yeah it's great. And of course that makes perfect sense because this is what you both do. You are sustainable builders. Yeah that's right. We've spent a lot of time in the last 20 years building. Doing rammed earth, straw bales, really keen to do hempcrete but haven't managed to do any yet. But I've been working on that one. And we've lived in a tiny house for a couple of years as well. So this is our first home, first block of land that we've ever bought. Amazing. And what was it that inspired this home? Because there was quite a journey getting to this point, wasn't there? Yeah. I guess one problem is finances and money and trying to get to the point where we could afford a block of land. That's the first challenge and saving a bit of money to try and build as well. Yeah. And so that was what you were doing in the tiny house? Saving up to be able to do this? Yeah. The tiny house was more, basically we had a lot of jobs that we had in the pipeline that were in different places in Victoria. We also had a daughter who'd literally just been born and it was like, how do we keep the family together while we do all these jobs around Victoria? And so we just bought a truck and built a tiny house and just went for it. Yeah. Amazing. And then how did you find this plot here? What was happening is we were renting a bit of space in Anglesea for storage. We had a shipping container there. It was like $70 a week. And then we're like, could we buy a block of land somewhere? And it turns out that if we got a loan to buy this block of land at the time, the repayments would have been $70 a week. So it made sense. It was that easy. Wow. So this must've been quite an affordable block then. $70,000 at the time in 2018, which was just super cheap. Because this is such a gorgeous spot as well. You've got this beautiful mountain backdrop and what a place. This was such a great find. The National Park is just out there and you can take off into it and go for hikes and stuff like that. Yeah. So you were running the sustainable business company together, but Kel, you've got a background in environmental science, don't you? I do, yeah. Studied environmental science and then worked in that area for about eight years. And then Jez and I kind of combined our powers to start a sustainable building business. Now I'm back studying my master's at the moment. Amazing. And you have put all of those combined skills to great use here on this block. I absolutely love what you've done with this place. Because this was just absolutely empty when you bought it, wasn't it? It was, yeah. Nothing here, just a paddock. A lot of work. Hundreds and hundreds of trays. When you've planted all the trees, you're just looking to buy more trees. I do have a bit of an obsession. I can see that. Your gardens look absolutely stunning. Thank you. So you've got a bit of permaculture happening here? Yeah, a pretty relaxed sense of permaculture. Something we're trying to get more into. We kind of built the established gardens first and now we're kind of focusing on the veggie garden and hopefully get that going a bit more in the future. Pretty basic at this stage though. I mean, we're composting and we're growing. That's about it. Yeah. And I see you've got the shipping container next to the house as well. What's going on there? Yeah. So we lived in our shipping container for 12 months. With our two kids and our two dogs while we built this place here. Wow. Yeah. It's our guest space now. It's pretty small. We had an outdoor bathroom that we built out of ply. Had a laundry trough for doing dishes and obviously a shower and toilet in there. But yeah, the space was very small for living inside. Two kids, two dogs, two adults. Yeah. That would have been tight. Pretty tight. Yeah. This home would have felt palatial after that. Yeah. It did and still does. So what size is this one? It's 58 square metres internal floor area. And then obviously the deck space is additional to that. So I think granny flats in Victoria are 60 square metres. So it technically falls under that size. Right. So as an environmental scientist and a sustainable builder, can you tell me about some of the core principles of building this home that you incorporated into this space? Basically, keep it simple. Keep it small. Two really good things. Also just double glazing and using timber as renewable. And yeah, to be honest, we probably would have preferred to build out of hempcrete or even something more sustainable, but we really wanted to get into this house more quickly. Yeah. We sort of had some budget and time constraints. So I suppose our forever house would be... Probably hempcrete. Yeah. So in our building business, we build out of straw bale, hempcrete, rammed earth, all sorts of natural materials. Yeah. I think that's something that's actually very, very common for builders, isn't it? You pour so much of your work and expertise into your client's home that often yours gets a little bit forgotten in that respect, doesn't it? For sure. Yeah. I mean, also we were living in a shipping container that was very small. So that's as far as just like getting it and building something quite small and getting it done really quickly was pretty important. Yeah. And tell me about your design. I think the design is relatively simple. We want to wrap sort of the roof around to the side and have it look like it's hovering off the ground a little bit. Sort of going for Scandinavian vibes a little bit, maybe a little Japanesey. Obviously lots of wood around trying to keep it all natural materials, but it's still a relatively conventional little place. So we have an external laundry outside to minimise floor space on the inside. That's a great feature. Yeah. I suppose it's really good for the climate that's here. Like we sort of utilise the outdoor space quite a lot with the covered deck with the kids. And it just, I guess it feels like it fits into the environment that's here. Yeah, it really does. Especially this wraparound deck really connects the home beautifully to your lovely gardens, eh? Yeah. Definitely walk out to capture the view out there of the mountains and sit out around the fire and look at the mountains in the evenings. And I guess this face is that open space so that there's a bit of transition between the two areas. Yeah. Beautiful timber on this home as well. Yeah, it's stunning. It's mostly black butt, some silver top ash. I guess timber's renewable. At the same time, you don't want to cut too much of it down, but finding the balance is key. I guess building small is finding that balance. Yeah, I think black butt might be one of my absolute favourite Australian timbers as well. It's just so full of character, isn't it? Yeah, for sure. Quality of timber as well. It's good for bushfire resisting. Basically, it's a class one timber. So in BAL 29 says that you can use timber, but it has to be a bushfire resisting species. So black butt ticks that box. And obviously you're here with your two kids as well. And I can see that you have built some really fun stuff for them in the yard. We have, yeah. We've got two cubby houses over there. One fairly standard one. And the other one is we had to cut a tree down in our front yard and our eldest daughter was very upset about that. So Jez turned it into a cubby for her. So we've got a little tree cubby over there too. Yeah, like a bush hut. Yeah, nice little fire pit area there as well. Yeah, it's a great spot to come and sit in the evenings, which are very lovely out here for a lot of the year. Even in winter, you get a lot of clear evenings. So yeah, it's a good spot to sit. Yeah. Well, I absolutely love the way that you have transformed this bare block into something very special. This home looks great. And I cannot wait to see what you've done on the inside. Can we take a look? Absolutely. All right. This is absolutely stunning. You walk in here and the timber just strikes you, doesn't it? Yeah, very warm feeling, I guess. Yeah, beats plaster. Yeah, it sure does. What kind of timber is this? This is all Baltic pine flooring. That's all 20 mil thick. What's on the floor is what's on the walls, which is what is on the ceilings as well. Beautiful. Super renewable as well. It's fast growing, so it's better than cladding in hardwood inside when you probably don't need the hardwood inside. Such a gorgeous timber. It's so full of character, but it's also quite light as well. So it works really well on the walls. Yeah, it's also coated with Osmo hardwax oil. This one has a very light white tint in it as well. Pine tends to yellow and even orange over time, which this has darkened a bit, but to paint it in Osmo with a bit of tint in it is going to help keep it sort of bright and light. Yeah, and I love the way that you've tackled the doors and the cabinetry in here as well, because it all just feels so homogenous. It sort of all just disappears into the walls, doesn't it? Yeah, it's all integrated together. The cladding comes straight across the doors and a bit of a challenge to cut it out and I had to install the door and then cut it all out very carefully. Yeah. To get it all to line up. Yeah, what a great way of doing it though. Yeah. Beautiful and very spacious kitchen that you've got here as well. Yeah, it's beautiful. We love using it and it's big enough for two of us to be in there. Definitely, yeah, we like to do a lot of cooking, so it's good. And gorgeous bench tops in here as well. Yeah, again, out of the pine, so keeping in line with what's going on in the walls. So this is a bit of a timber box instead of having a plaster box where the little objects and whatnot that you put in here are the things that really stand out. Yeah. And there is something about the way that you've done everything in the timber that where you do have those objects and the elements of colour, those things really do pop against it, don't they? Yeah, for sure. Lots of greenery as well. Probably could use more plants. And tell me about the design of your kitchen. Well, it's pretty simple, just to keep it all on one wall. And I've got an integrated dishwasher in there and induction cooking rather than gas. And then there's a bit of cabinetry and stuff. You can't actually see all the pantry and whatnot because it's hidden behind the seamless Baltic, as you mentioned before. And having that all so beautifully tucked away actually does so much for the space as well. It makes it feel so clean and so intentional. Yeah, good for a tiny space. Yeah, it really is. Beautiful possessioning of the windows as well in both the kitchen and this main space. It just really connects you to your gardens. It does, yeah. It's really nice. It sort of feels like you're sitting outside when you're on the couch. So it's really nice having this really big open space there. This whole glass door opens completely. So rather than having a sliding door where you'd only be able to open half of it and you would also have a timber mullion down the middle, this whole door slides external to the building and this blind here opens up. Yeah, it really feels like it's a small lounge room, but if you open everything up, it feels like it flows outside really well. Yeah. Victoria's quite a challenging climate as well because it gets really cold here in the winter, but then it also gets so hot here during the summer. So having the ability to completely open the home up like that is such a nice feature. Yeah, definitely. And additionally to that, in the eves outside, there's all along this Western side, there's shade blinds that we can lower in summer. Great. So if we get a week of 30, 35 degree temperatures, we'll lower the blinds and creates a sort of breezeway on the outside where we can have all the blinds open and we don't have to worry about all that radiant heat coming inside and yeah, that's really good. Great. And this lounge area is just so nicely done. You are a family of four living here, so having a big comfortable lounge was quite important, eh? Definitely, yeah. I think especially after not having any couch or anywhere to sit in our shipping container, we really were so excited when we got our couch, like it was the best thing. I was also living in our tiny house prior to that couch space was at a premium in there. Yeah, but it's good. The kids sit around the coffee table and they can eat there and draw there and it just gives us a little extra space. So yeah, it's good. Yeah. And you've quite cleverly hidden the toilet and shower behind the kitchen as well, haven't you? Yeah, that's right. With the Baltic running over the doors, the doors are recycled doors that I've had from an old job and quite heavy duty and we just clad straight over and yeah, you can't even tell they're there most of the time. Yeah, and especially being a family home, I think what you've done with separating the toilet and the shower is such a clever idea as well because it means that when someone's in the shower, toilet's still available for the rest of you. Definitely, yeah. 100%, yeah. And also including a basin in the toilet as well. You don't have to go into a different room to wash your hands. Very nicely done. And in the shower especially, the tile work in there is absolutely exquisite. Thanks, yeah. Yeah, so the tiles are travertine, so it's a nice natural material. And Jaya did all the tiling, so yeah, it's a nice space to be in. Aside from the travertine tiles, we have some Japanese tiles, the green tiles on the wall in both the toilet and the bathroom. They're leftover from jobs that we've done in the past, so we decided to use those. Awesome. And the door behind you, I'm guessing, leads to the bedrooms. Can we have a look through there? Absolutely, come on. This is such a great space. The kids must absolutely love it in here. They do, they spend a lot of time in here. They both have a desk each here. Both got drawers of their own. There's lots more storage space for clothes and whatnot underneath the bed there. Any fights as to who got the top bunk? The big kid had to get the top bunk. Fair enough too. But the little kid gets the bigger bed, so there is a trade-off. The little one still gets hugs from mum at bedtime. Yeah, needs to be space for two people in there. Oh, cute. And having the space set up like this is just so good as well. The beds are so spatially efficient that you've created so much space for the desks and the toys and the books and everything else that kids really need. All while just being the length of a bed and no more. That's as big as the room is. That's how it was designed, just to fit the beds. They both needed a space of their own to do art and that sort of thing. Yeah. And one of the things that I notice in every room of the house is the way that you've done everything in these timbers just blends everything together so beautifully and everything looks like it just really belongs together. For sure. Also, we don't have any architraves or anything, so everything sort of just, in terms of the doors being seamless as well, there's no architraves. We try to keep everything as minimal as possible. I guess we really like practical, minimal kind of living. That's probably what we go for. It looks so good, but it's so much more challenging to build without architrave, isn't it? You have to be so precise. Yes, correct. Yeah, so I mean, as a builder, when architects say shadow lines, you usually go, ooh, that's... Yeah. It's achievable, but it takes a lot more time and effort to get everything perfect. And the kids' room, this sort of functions as a hallway into your bedroom as well, doesn't it? That's right, yeah. Exactly. If you can eliminate a hallway, then you've saved on space again. Yeah, absolutely. Can we have a look in your bedroom? For sure. Come in. What a beautiful room this is. Again, I love the timber in here. I love all of the windows and you've even got your own private balcony here. This is gorgeous. That's right. You've got to have somewhere to retreat from the children. Of course you do. Make a bit of noise. It's quite a generous bedroom for such a small house. King-sized bed, which is probably my thing, wasn't it? I think so. Hey, if you've got the space for a bigger bed, use it. Yeah, for sure. 100%. And so like the kids' bedroom, there's drawers under the bed that open from both sides. So we don't have built-in robes here or anything like that because again, they take up more space. Just decided to lift the bed a little bit higher and have drawers underneath. And you've sort of mirrored what you did in the kids' room as well with the desk space here too. Yeah, so running a business, we need space for a computer and drawers and whatnot. So there's a spot on one side for one of us and a spot on the other side. Not that we often find ourselves both working at the same time, or if we are, we're sitting next to each other. But it's quite a good way of doing it as well because obviously your bedroom being right at the end of the house, you're away from the kitchen and the family room. So this kind of corner nook set up as an office, it is a nice, quiet, private space of the house to work from. I spend a lot of time at the computer at the moment, so it's really nice being able to look out into the space and it's a really nice area to work from. Absolutely. The overall feeling of this home as well, it sort of has this beautiful blend of both Scandinavian and Japanese design aesthetic, doesn't it? Yeah, so I guess the Scandinavian gives it sort of that minimalist sense. So like not too much timber and lots of bare surfaces. Now, I guess Japanese timber work would be more intricate, but you get a bit of that with all of the timber battens on the outside. Yeah, I feel like we're just missing the onsen or the sauna in here. That is heavily in our plans. Much talked about, but not yet here. Sauna, outdoor hot tub. Nice. Maybe cold plunge as well. Cool, now you're talking. Yeah, we'll see all that on our next visit. That's the dream. Yeah, brilliant. This is a home that is just so beautifully done, so beautifully finished. You've incorporated so much gorgeous timber and so much really good, clever, very spatially efficient design in here. Can we talk about the cost that was involved in building this? Yeah, I think it was probably... Do you have a good grasp on the cost? It was about $240,000, I think. Great. That's paying a wage to me as a builder as well. So rather than just, it's not cost of just materials, it's cost of my time as well. Yeah, absolutely. Together with the land, you have been able to create something really exceptional for quite an amazing budget, haven't you? Yeah. For sure. Probably important to mention that that budget was now a few years ago. So prices have continued to go up since then. Materials are certainly no cheaper. What it's taught us about ourselves is that we are very fortunate, just as Kel and I in particular, because we've observed in a lot of couples that people need bigger spaces between them, but we get along really, really well. You know, we camped and lived in a two-person tent around Europe for months on end and didn't really get on each other's nerves too much. So we operate well together in a small space and so it seems very easy for us to live in small spaces. Now the kids are getting a bit bigger and they're getting a bit noisier and that can be a challenge. Almost need some earplugs or something. I think we just rattle around in bigger spaces too. I just don't feel right living in a big space. More space means more stuff means more mess. It's good to keep it all under wraps. And can you tell me about your future plans now? Well, actually considering moving to Tasmania. Really? Selling up and doing it all again. Yep, pretty much. I think we've still got our dream house. I mean, this house is amazing and we absolutely love it. But yeah. I'm a builder. I like to build things. But also, of course, always talked about moving to Tasmania at some point. And it's sort of with the kids still in primary school. It's like suddenly dawned on us that it's now or never. We don't want to do it when the kids are older in high school. It seems too disruptive. So we may move to Tassie. Cool. But if not, we were considering building a hemp greenhouse here. Both great options. Yeah, yeah. So maybe when we visit you again in a few years time, you'll either be here with an onsen, a hot tub and a cold plunge and a hempcrete home, or we'll be seeing a brand new project in Tasmania. For sure. Can't lose either way. Absolutely. Well, this is just such a special place that you've built here. I love all of the attention to detail. I love the gorgeous use of materials and then the very, very skilled craftsmanship that brought this beautiful home together. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. Thank you. Thanks, Bryce. Kel and Jez have created a little bit of magic for themselves here. I always really love seeing what builders create for themselves. And this is a place that did not disappoint. They have so much skill and so much interest in environmentalism and sustainability. And I feel like it's just come together so beautifully here, not only in their home, but also in the gardens and just everything that they're doing. This is a couple that I really cannot wait to see what they create next.