Layers of living in Woodforde
This custom-built home features three kitchens, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms across four expansive storeys overlooking Adelaide.
Hugh and Jane Marquis moved from Melbourne to Adelaide with a very specific vision for their home.
When they couldn’t find exactly what they wanted, they decided to build it themselves and an empty block on Highlands Court was the perfect canvas.
“We put a wish list together and built a house that you would never want to leave,” says Hugh, a pastor and founder of ministry Live to Love with his wife Jane.
“We wanted to have views of the city but to still be close to the city, we wanted views out to the water, to be close to the airport, to live on a quiet court, to have parklands nearby and gum trees in the yard and kangaroos and koalas.”
Hugh says when they found their sloping Woodforde block in late 2022, they spent a lot of time there so they could get a sense for it at all hours of the day.
When they engaged architect Matthew Parker from South Coast Constructions, he did the same.
“He sat in the block for a couple of weeks and our designs came back very, very similar,” Hugh says.
This was not Hugh and Jane’s first time building a home for themselves – they built their previous home in Melbourne in the style of something you might find in the French countryside; extremely ornate and character-driven.
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“This home is an architectural masterpiece, which is very bold in its statement,” Hugh says.
“We wanted to try something different.
“We wanted to prove that we could do it.”
With the help of Construkt Homes, Hugh and Jane brought their wish list to life and the result is a home that encompasses almost 1200 square metres of living space across four storeys.
The ground floor features a three-car garage, wine cellar, office and open kitchen, living and dining with a butler’s pantry – the striking six metre Verde Oceania marble island bench is the centrepiece of this space.
This floor also has an art studio where Jane spends a lot of her time creating pieces that decorate the walls throughout the home.
The first floor, or the ‘undercroft’, has a secondary kitchen and entertaining space that connects to the outdoor living where the infinity pool is the showstopper.
A sauna and change room service the freshwater pool and eight-person spa on this level and there is also a large studio space and a super king bedroom with an en suite and walk-in robe.
The second floor is home to four bedrooms – one of which is another super king – and a home theatre complete with a wet bar.
Finally, the top level is the master suite featuring expansive, bespoke his and hers dressing rooms.
The en suite is clad in London pink marble and has a double shower and a wave bath overlooking the lush greenery of the adjacent Morialta Conservation Park through floor-to-ceiling windows.
A winding, bespoke steel staircase connects all of the levels, but there is also a commercial lift.
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“Every room was very carefully thought of – how are we going to use the room? What is going to go in there? What do we need it for?” Hugh says.
“We wanted to do minimalist to the extreme.”
There are no architraves throughout the home, and none of the doors have handles through the hallways – they are all push-to-open.
Everything about this home is bespoke and Hugh says even the majority of the furniture was custom built to suit the spaces.
Hugh and Jane were extremely specific about everything they wanted, from the Wolf kitchen appliances and invisible induction cooktops in the kitchen to the smart glass front door and the Brightgreen lighting throughout. Everything was considered.
“We wanted it to be architecturally striking, but very functional as well,” Hugh says.
From Highlands Court the home looks like it is only one storey, you’d never guess that a four-storey architectural wonder has been cut into the cliffside.
Hugh and Jane are now moving back to Melbourne to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
“This was a beautiful block of land, it’s very, very rare to get what we’ve got … to have these views, to have a park that feels like it’s private,” Hugh says.
“It’s just opulent, but it’s not ostentatious, it’s very approachable.
“It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, it’s relaxing.
“I don’t think you could want much more in a house.”
The sale of 15 Highlands Court, Woodforde, is being handled by Alexi Broikos and Victor Velgush of Refined Real Estate.
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