Paal home captures the charm of old Australia
When Andrew was a young boy, he spent a lot of time on the family property at Yass in New South Wales. He remembers fun times in a house that he loved – a small, but quintessentially Australian, turn-of-the century homestead.
So when the property passed into his hands some years later, and the original home had become dilapidated and run down, he turned to Paal.
“Paal designs have a real sense of ‘Australiana’ about them,” explains Andrew. “I wanted to recreate the old home, to honour its beauty, simplicity and uniqueness.”
In particular he wanted high ceilings, just like the nine foot ceilings in the original cottage, and a 30 degree pitched metal roof. Neither of these were a problem for Paal, despite the fact that the building norm nowadays is lower ceilings and roof pitches.
Andrew and his wife have a busy life in Sydney. Their Yass property serves as a quiet weekend get-away and he says this is precisely the reason they decided not to renovate.
“We could have spent a small fortune and still have an ageing building and all the problems that come with that. A new build with modern construction materials and techniques means we don’t have to worry about it when we’re not there, and don’t need to spend hours doing maintenance.”
Paal’s Robertson design offered the couple everything they wished for, including a steel frame and a flexible floor plan. They opened up the interior to create flowing open spaces and wrapped the verandah the entire way around the home.
“Paal’s adaptable attitude is impressive,” says Andrew. “Because of the way they structure the building process, we were able to purchase only the materials we needed to get the home to lock up. We were free to choose our own fittings from any supplier if we wanted.”
Personalised touches include a rough rendered finish to external brickwork, western red cedar windows and doors, rosewood timber floors, Spanish tiles, and Caesarstone benchtops in the kitchen (sourced by the owner) and the bathroom vanities. Luxury features including European appliances and tapware finished the home.
A large open fireplace is the centerpiece of the open plan area and provides the bulk of the heating for winter. Air-conditioning and ceiling fans help keep the home cool in summer.
“We’ve created a home that has all the old charm of typically Australian architecture, with modern conveniences which improve our lifestyle. We’re really happy with the result.”
