Colonial homestead in Balhannah
Inspired by the English countryside, this sprawling homestead sits on more than seven hectares and features a secondary, independent residence.
In the middle of the night, somewhere over the Pacific with nothing but time to kill, there isn’t much for a commercial pilot to do on a long-haul flight.
One quiet evening, with the plane on autopilot, Grant Coleman, previously a pilot for Cathay Pacific, found himself flicking through a magazine with English homes and gardens when inspiration struck.
“I just loved that style of house,” says Grant, now the owner of a property maintenance company.
“I spent a huge amount of time doing floor plans and researching the style and look that we wanted.
Grant and his family were looking for a tree change after living in the close-knit suburbs of Hong Kong.
Inspired by the English countryside, they were looking for somewhere that felt removed from the hustle and bustle of city life and, most importantly, somewhere they could create something.
“We were looking for this sort of a property that’s in the rolling countryside, not too steep and scrubby, but not too far out where it starts to get a bit drier,” Grant says.
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Originally from New South Wales’ Central Coast, Grant didn’t know much about the Adelaide Hills and after engaging a buyer’s agent to show him the region he fell in love with Jones Road, Balhannah.
“We’d recently been to the UK and I just loved the countryside over there,” he says.
“When the buyer’s agent brought me down Jones Road – and there’s not too many roads that are like this, where you’re going past vineyards on either side with just undulating pasture – I knew that’s exactly what I was after.”
“It was just really about that location, and when we came down the driveway for the open inspection and we could just see that it was going to be the perfect property,” Grant says.
The family of four lived in the original farmhouse, which Grant describes as a “dog’s breakfast”, for a year before they had it completely demolished and started from scratch.
“We saw the potential, especially with that second residence to be able to help my in-laws who needed it,” Grant says.
“We’ve got amazing views back towards Mount Lofty and over Shaw and Smith vineyards – basically 270-degree views.”
Grant designed the home himself, including the landscaping, drawing inspiration from the English homes in the magazines he’d trawled through on those long flights.
The result is a colonial style homestead with modern finishes that pay homage to its traditional inspiration with details such as the European herringbone floors, corbels adorning the exterior and multi-pane windows.
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The main house features six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a conservatory, a billiard room, a dedicated wine room, a generous kitchen with a butler’s pantry and open plan living which flows onto the outdoor living and sprawling lawns.
The property also features a tennis court, a pool with an adjoining seating area, a firepit and a secondary independent residence.
With almost 30 kilowatts of solar panels and 250 kilo-litres of rainwater storage, 44 Jones Road is also extremely energy efficient.
The ultimate entertainer, Grant says he built this property with the intention to host.
“I always dreamed of having this as a family farm stay,” he says.
“It’s just such a spectacular entertainer, while still being a relaxing haven.
“The aim was that we would eventually be able to host people, so everything I’ve done has been towards making that dream come alive.
“It was just that overall feeling of being a little bit removed from mainstream life, but being able to have people come and visit and stay and to help them to remove them from main-stream life just for a little bit as well.
“I wanted to have Christmas trees down that back and a fruit and nut orchard where we’d be able to have people come and pick seasonal fruit and veg and host them.
“I think that’s probably what I’ll miss the most, that dream.”
Grant is now looking to relocate to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula where he looking to continue working towards that dream.
The sale of 44 Jones Road, Balhannah, is being handled by James Lindsay and Bronwyn Lindsay of Toop+Toop
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