Rural architectural retreat in Highland Valley
Designed by Max Pritchard, this Highland Valley home champions natural light and the rural landscape with an extensive glass exterior and north facing position.
After a stay at Kangaroo Island’s Southern Ocean Lodge, Darryl and Evelyn wanted that luxurious, holiday feel all year round.
“We loved the design of the Kangaroo Island Lodge, so we sought out Max Pritchard, who designed it,” says Darryl, owner of Platten Print Group.
“He loves using all glass, and our house is just all glass with views from every room.
“You feel like you’re staying at, and experiencing, Southern Ocean Lodge every day.”
Architect Max Prichard designed the luxury Kangaroo Island accommodation when it was first built in 2008, and again after it was destroyed by bushfires in 2020.
When Darryl and Evelyn purchased the 19.1 hectares of land in 2007, it only had a small 141 square metre cottage, which they used for weekend getaways.
But after the inspiration of their Kangaroo Island luxury stay struck, they decided to make their tree change permanent.
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“The family had left and we just wanted some peace and tranquillity,” Darryl says.
“It’s only 45 minutes from the city, and now it’s only five to 10 minutes from Mount Barker, which has grown; it’s got all of your amenities, shopping centres and restaurants.”
The original cottage is still on the property, which Darryl says has the potential to be used as a studio space.
In addition to extensive solar panels, raked ceilings and spacious open plan living, the home features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large garage – the latest addition to the house after Darryl and Evelyn converted the old garage into a studio.
While Darryl and Evelyn let Max Pritchard have free reign, it was important that the property had a north facing position as well as comfortable outdoor living.
“Even though it’s all glass, it’s double glazed and so during the winter you really don’t need any heating – the glass warms up and the ceilings are 18 feet high, and it just keeps the warmth in.”
“During the summer, you just open the doors and you get a lot of breeze from Milang, and it cools down the house.”
The home is more glass than anything, and with nothing but nature as far as the eye can see, Darryl says, “every room has a different picture”.
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“It’s so peaceful.”
In recent years, Darryl and Evelyn have focused their efforts on upgrading the garden, and now they see everything from echidnas and foxes to kangaroos, but the birdlife is their favourite.
“When we first built, we didn’t have a lot of birdlife.”
“We’ve tried to maintain the garden and also plant lots of trees around the house that attract the birds.
“Now we see wrens, lorikeets, black cockatoos, kookaburras and even eagles, and then at night we hear the owls.
The have also introduced smaller plants that will survive through all of the seasons – a mix of native plants with cacti and succulents, as well as osteospermum which flowers all year round and make the garden a desert oasis.
Now downsizing, Darryl and Evelyn have decided they’re ready to move back to the city, but the isolation of their large Highland Valley property is something they will miss the most.
“We don’t hear any neighbours, that’s the beauty of it,” Darryl says.
“It’s just the perfect place to work from home too, because you can’t hear anything except for the birds.
“It’s spacious but cosy.”
The sale of 92 Klenke Road, Highland Valley, is being handled by Dale Gray of OC Real Estate.
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