Architectural lake house in beautiful Clare Valley
Previously featured in the pages of SALIFE magazine, this architecturally designed Clare Valley masterpiece sits atop a lake and commands stunning views of surrounding vineyards. This week, it hits the market with a price tag of more than $2 million.
In the 1980s, when John Bastian and his family lived in Darwin, they often admired homes that were designed by Troppo Architects.
So, when the family embarked on a project to build their own home in the Clare Valley, Phil Harris and Hugh Wilkinson of Troppo Architects were the obvious choice to design it.
“Phil came back to Adelaide, and we’d also moved back. We had this land and asked him (Phil) if he would consider designing something for us,” says John, a company director.
The Bastians had bought a parcel of land, which had previously been owned by Taylors Wines’ chief winemaker Adam Eggins, next to two vineyards they owned in the Clare Valley.
“He (Adam) was living in a cottage on the land where the house is now, and he sent me photos and a letter saying that he had to sell the house, and here’s your vineyard – maybe you should buy it. And we bought it the next week,” John says.
“We’d been looking everywhere for a house site and hadn’t thought of one which was overlooking our vineyards.”
Construction was carried out from 2002 to 2004, with a priority to create an environmentally-friendly, east-facing house with views of the surrounding vineyards and nature.
This positioning means the northern aspect of the house is sun-drenched during the chilly winter months and cool during the hot summers.
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Another key element of the design was the outdoor entertaining area, which is cleverly sheltered from the wind.
Set on 9.68 hectares, the three-bedroom home includes two bathrooms and space for up to four cars.
There is a spacious open-plan living and dining area, while a master suite features a private study, en suite and walk-in wardrobe.
“Building can be stressful at times, but it is a great pleasure to build something that’s exactly to your liking,” John says.
The architects were given free rein in the design of the dwelling, which included using Mintaro slate found on the property to construct internal and external walls, as well as the family’s beloved fireplace.
“He sat down with us and asked about how we would use the house,” says John.
“So, it’s not the structure but, ‘Who’s going to be living there?’, ‘What are the activities?’, ‘What are the things that you want to do?’, and so, out of that came what we call a breezeway, which is a second sitting room or parents’ retreat.”
Constructing a lake on which the house sits – a feat of engineering – was also one of Phil and Hugh’s ideas.
“The lake was important in terms of reflecting the house and keeping it cool, and they used the University of Adelaide’s engineering people to get that structure right,” says John.
Indoors, the interior design was led by Kevin Westlake Interiors with extensive use of timber and specially commissioned furniture. John is open to including the furniture with the sale of the home.
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Since the home last appeared in SALIFE Magazine in 2008, outdoors, the natural environment has been totally transformed from a barren paddock to the oasis it is today.
Designed originally by garden guru Merilyn Kuchel, the garden features eucalypts, she-oaks, grevilleas, hakeas, westringia, correas, acacia and eremophila.
John says there are now more than 20 turtles, two species of fish and 30 breeds of ducks and water birds that use the lake as habitat.
The Bastians have also kept one small vineyard behind the house, where they grow riesling and fiano, which is used by Pikes Wines to create their award-winning wines.
The 5.3-hectare vineyard is currently being leased to Pikes Wines, with the option to extend that lease if the new owner so desires.
John says one of his favourite features of the property is a bench where he likes to sit and take in the surrounding views.
“When we go walking, that’s a place to stop and rest and enjoy the view,” he says.
He also enjoys the parents’ retreat, which they have dubbed the Bali room.
“Both sides of that can be opened up to let the breezes through,” he says.
After more than 20 years of calling the Clare Valley home, John says he and his family are now looking to downsize.
He will miss sitting by the woodfire and watching the footy during winter.
“Certainly, members of my family are disappointed, and I certainly have some regrets, but I think the time has come in life where you maybe need to simplify things and downsize,” he says.
The sale of 96 Greenwood Park Road, Auburn, is being handled by Mark O’Meagher of Ray White Clare Valley.
