Your home makes a very distinctive first impression and you’ve clearly veered away from the classic heritage home build found in the area. What was the inspiration behind combining traditional with industrial elements? 

We envisioned an industrial style home. Prior to designing our home, we had stayed in some stunning places, which contained the architecture and colour that we liked, in Melbourne and Sydney and it was then that we gathered some ideas. We had fun putting together different materials to enhance the look we were after. The love of recycled timber gave us inspiration to include bridge beams from the 1800’s. Our son Zachary used his industrial skills to cut the heavy industrial brackets for these timber bridge beams.

This style flows through into the house and you’ve managed to blend contemporary and country with the large homestead kitchen table, a variety of warm-toned timbers, leather lounges chairs and ottomans in complementary colours into the heart of the home. This open-planned living area looks like a welcoming space to relax. It must make for great family gatherings! In what ways has your vision become a reality?

We chose Taubmans Roman Rule for our exterior, and carried this from the outside in. We used this colour to complement our timber furniture. Our antique table was discovered in Orange and restored by David and his father. This table allows our family to gather in this perfect cosy space.

You’ve made your alfresco area all the more enjoyable by installing an Escea outdoor fireplace. Can you describe the ways in which you use the outdoor entertaining space and how you make the most of the view?

The alfresco area is boarded by our bar and woodfire barbeque/fireplace. The barbeque/fireplace was David’s 50th birthday gift as he has an interest in cooking over wood. The old timber railway sleeper mantelpiece and fireplace surround add to our country themed style. We absolutely love entertaining in this space with family and friends. We adore our property’s view – the sunsets, the farmyards and wildlife are stunning! This view can be seen from many of our home’s spaces including our front door.

The bedrooms evoke country comfort with the iron bed frames, rustic pieces such as the rocking chair and repurposed sewing machine. Are these heirlooms or are you enthusiastic seekers of antiques and second-hand treasures?

Many of our key pieces of furniture are family heirlooms. All pieces have been restored with love by David’s father, Richard. We feel that our industrial style and colours chosen compliment our most loved treasures and bring that country warmth to life.

The Bathrooms and laundry have contemporary clean lines – how did you select your tiles and cabinetry?

We wanted to cleverly design our home’s spaces to allow consistent colour and texture to flow as well as keeping to our industrial clean design. The recommended tile supplier, Amber Tiles and kitchen supplier, Valley Kitchens had the perfect products for our home and vision.

Tell us about your experience working with Maitland builder, Valley Homes in custom designing and building your own home.

Building a custom design home with Valley Homes allowed us to tailor design our dreams. Valley Homes’ willingness to incorporate five different exterior materials was perfect for making our home stand out-giving it ‘wow’ factor. The design team took on our plans and ideas and made them achievable. Our supervisor Brad’s attention to detail was noteworthy. We love our beautiful home and hope to make many memories with our family and friends. Thanks to the Valley Homes team!

There are plenty of construction companies and house builders that can offer new home construction but if you’re looking for something more, whether it’s  a heritage home build, an industrial style home or a custom home design, it’s best to find a home builder in Maitland that can offer years of experience and a diverse portfolio.

Whatever your vision, Maitland home builder, Valley Homes, has a team of designers and builders with the expertise and vision to transform your plans and ideas into reality. We work with local retailers to provide the perfect products for your custom home design and to ensure your dream home build is everything you envisaged and more. Contact us today.

Describe your overall vision for the project. Was this the result of your vision for the work, the Valley Homes designers, or a team effort?

In building our new home, we had a clear vision of creating a place where our family and friends could gather, and feel relaxed and ‘at home’. We wanted to achieve an open plan with large spaces, especially for the living and dining areas, but also incorporate a sense of cosiness. Although we had a basic floor-plan to work with, the very talented Stef at Valley Homes helped us achieve a design that ticked all our boxes.

There’s so much to love about the interior design: clean lines and a contemporary feel is combined with the warmth of leather and timbers as well as an an eclectic mix of furniture and French doors with textured glass. There’s a consistent theme throughout and  you’ve made it distinctly your own. The colour palette includes a choice of feature colours for example on the chimney breast and in the entertainment room that make a statement in keeping with the overall theme.

The timber floors and cabinetry have beautiful finishes. How important was craftsmanship in the build and direction of the interior design?

We wanted to achieve a ‘modern country’ farmhouse feel with our interior design. A lot of our furniture comprises antique Australian pieces which we have collected and restored over many years. We love the warmth of Australian timbers and the texture and colour of stone, so the colour palette evolved around these elements. The craftsmanship of the stonework around our fireplace and in our beautiful Australian Blackbutt flooring was central to achieving the look and feel we were after.

The floor tiles in the bathrooms and laundry are variations of the same pattern. Did you source the tiles yourself or through one of the Valley Homes suppliers? How difficult was it to choose your finishes and fixtures throughout?

A lot of thought went into our tile selection! Trying to find tiles that were going to be as timeless as possible and fit with the theme and colour scheme was probably one of the hardest decisions we had to make! Encaustic tiles have definitely withstood the test of time, and also fitted into the country home theme. Wherever we could, we tried to use Australian made products and these gorgeous encaustic ‘look’ tiles were made by a tile manufacturer in Victoria. Belinda at Hunter Valley Tile Mart was able to get samples for us and helped with our final selections.

You must love the view from the back deck out over the water. Was this one of the reasons you chose to build in this location of East Maitland? Were there any other factors that attracted you here?

We absolutely love where we live! We lived on the other side of Rathluba Lagoon for 26 years, so we haven’t moved far, and really appreciate our water and farmland views. Besides our furniture, the country style of our house was largely influenced by the fact that we have built on what was, until not long ago, a family farm.

The alfresco entertainment area is generous and well planned with the ceiling fan, overhead heating and the pull-down screens – such a fabulous idea! Explain more about your vision for this.

One of the ‘must-haves’ for our new home was an outdoor area that flowed easily from the indoor space, and could be part of a large enclosed area once our sliding doors were fully opened. The outdoor blinds, fan and heaters are there so that we can either enclose the area or open it all up depending the weather, and be able to use it all year around.

The herb garden adds to the country cottage theme and the rear garden also includes recycled timbers and sandstone that create a heritage feel. Can you tell us a little more about this space and what you’re growing?

We’ve always loved having a garden so that we can have flowers in the house and fresh herbs for cooking. The rusty metal edging, recycled timber posts and sleepers, as well as the sandstone were chosen to give a rustic feel to the outdoor space, and to continue the theme from inside. The stonework around our fireplace and the recycled railway sleeper that is our mantle were part of the inspiration for the landscaping choices.

Is that a granny flat, summer house or shed in the backyard? Tell us more about this feature and how it will be used.

Our little shed in the backyard is actually a workshop! We wanted it to look like it belonged there, so had it constructed to match the house. The roofer had the challenge of positioning our old weather vane perfectly on its roof!

What is your favourite feature of the house?

We really love our fireplace and sitting area. It’s a part of our house that always feels inviting, and is a great spot to sit and relax.

Describe your experience working with the Valley Homes team.

To achieve the vision we had for our new home, it was obvious to us after looking at lots of plans and project homes, that we would need a custom builder. Valley Homes offered the design service that we needed to tweak our plans, and to help us incorporate the features we wanted within our budget. Attention to detail and flexibility were really important to us, and Valley Homes were able to provide these for us.

Would you recommend Valley Homes and what would you say to anyone thinking about building their dream home with them?

We are really happy with design and build quality of our home. Valley Homes were able to make our dream home a reality. Building a new home is never without some challenges, however with collaboration and a builder who is flexible, it is possible to create something truly unique and special.

Build your home with us

If you’re looking for custom home design Valley Homes is the Maitland home builder to offer the expertise and craftsmanship required to make your new build the country home you’ve been dreaming of. Call us today.

Weathering the storm

With rain from this month’s East Coast low hammering Queensland and NSW, a weather analogy might be quite appropriate: If you were to sail out of port knowing there may be storms ahead, you’d listen to the shipping news, take necessary precautions such as life jackets and most importantly you’d ensure you had an experienced skipper on board. 

A way forward

We’ve been through tough times before and the reality is: the construction of houses never stops. So, how does the home builder navigate these seemingly dark times and forge ahead? Our advice is first, arm yourself with knowledge – get informed. Reading this article is a great start! Understand the variety of current issues affecting construction costs related to building a new home to ensure you’re informed and you’re aware of the risks. 

Secondly, seek out a trustworthy and experienced builder who will communicate clearly with you and be sure you agree to a building contract that will protect all parties. It’s the life jacket for everyone.

Enjoy the benefits of experience

Valley Homes is the Hunter Valley and Newcastle builder who has weathered industry storms and not only survived but continued to thrive because we seek the perfect balance between best design practices and cost efficiency ensured by working with our local suppliers. 

In this current environment Valley Homes is the builder you can trust to communicate clearly with you through every stage of the development.

If you have any further questions about the current building climate – Call us today and let Valley Homes help you navigate your way through the process of building a new home.