Houzz Tour: Australian Shearing Shed Inspires a Family Home
Architects build their house in the country using passive-solar principles and traditional farm-building materials
Irene Coveney and Niall Browne met while studying architecture in Dublin and later moved to Australia with a shared dream — to design and build their own home in the country where they could raise a family and keep horses. That dream came true when they moved into their home near Perth, which they designed with the shearing sheds and old farm buildings of Australia’s rural past in mind.
“We love the functional honesty of the Australian rural vernacular,” Coveney says. “Our intent was to create an energy-efficient, solar-passive house that would be beautiful, functional, affordable and, above all else, a family home.”
“We love the functional honesty of the Australian rural vernacular,” Coveney says. “Our intent was to create an energy-efficient, solar-passive house that would be beautiful, functional, affordable and, above all else, a family home.”
“Finding the right land was probably the biggest challenge we faced,” Coveney says. “Once we had found the right property, everything else came together quickly, as we both knew what we wanted and how to achieve it.”
The 5-acre site was part of a new subdivision of farmland in the Perth Hills. “We had been looking for the perfect block of land for some time,” says Coveney, adding that they wanted a north-facing lot within easy commuting distance of the city and with enough cleared land to provide protection from wildfires and grazing for horses. They also wanted to be near local shops and trails for horse riding and cycling. “We put an offer on the land the same day it came on the market,” she says.
The land met all their requirements. It’s even located opposite the Heritage Trail, a 25-mile bridle path for walking, riding and cycling.
The 5-acre site was part of a new subdivision of farmland in the Perth Hills. “We had been looking for the perfect block of land for some time,” says Coveney, adding that they wanted a north-facing lot within easy commuting distance of the city and with enough cleared land to provide protection from wildfires and grazing for horses. They also wanted to be near local shops and trails for horse riding and cycling. “We put an offer on the land the same day it came on the market,” she says.
The land met all their requirements. It’s even located opposite the Heritage Trail, a 25-mile bridle path for walking, riding and cycling.
The house draws inspiration from the character and simplicity of traditional Australian farm buildings. Traditional lightweight siding materials are offset against the richness of wood framing and rustic brickwork.
“The house combines functional honesty with contemporary design,” Coveney says.
“The house combines functional honesty with contemporary design,” Coveney says.
Before building this house, the family lived in a 1920s clapboard cottage in Mundaring, about 20 miles east of Perth and just 10 minutes from the site. “We put our house up for sale two months into construction, and it sold the same day,” Coveney says.
“We had a great builder who worked with us through the process to ensure everything ran on time and on budget. Building with frame and lightweight materials allowed for a short construction period of just four months, so we managed to avoid renting.”
The exterior walls and roof are predominantly Zincalume sheets from BlueScope Steel, with marine plywood siding on the gables. Low-emissivity windows from Viridian have Stegbar cedar frames.
“We had a great builder who worked with us through the process to ensure everything ran on time and on budget. Building with frame and lightweight materials allowed for a short construction period of just four months, so we managed to avoid renting.”
The exterior walls and roof are predominantly Zincalume sheets from BlueScope Steel, with marine plywood siding on the gables. Low-emissivity windows from Viridian have Stegbar cedar frames.
The house is oriented along an east-west axis and was designed with passive-solar principles in mind. Wide canopy eaves shade the exterior walls in summer but allow the winter sun to penetrate the main rooms through large north-facing windows. The concrete slab and brick feature walls provide thermal mass to stabilize interior temperatures throughout the year.
“A solar hot water system has been installed, and we intend to install solar photovoltaic panels in the future,” Coveney says. “We also installed a master switch to shut off all standby power at night — appliances left on standby can use up to 30 percent full power.”
“A solar hot water system has been installed, and we intend to install solar photovoltaic panels in the future,” Coveney says. “We also installed a master switch to shut off all standby power at night — appliances left on standby can use up to 30 percent full power.”
The long roof extends out over the carport on the western side of the house to provide additional shading from the hot afternoon sun in summer. Thoughtful door and window placement — opposite each other on both sides of the house — enhances cross ventilation by day and passive cooling at night.
“We typically experience cool summer nights in the Perth Hills, allowing the house to be purged of warm air at night,” Coveney says. “The modest, considered use of brick and heavily insulated frame also contribute to ensuring we do not experience the typical Perth buildup of heat as the summer progresses.”
“We typically experience cool summer nights in the Perth Hills, allowing the house to be purged of warm air at night,” Coveney says. “The modest, considered use of brick and heavily insulated frame also contribute to ensuring we do not experience the typical Perth buildup of heat as the summer progresses.”
In this part of Australia, traditional houses built before the 1950s — and homes built during the postwar project housing boom — typically had high ceilings, which were vented into the roof space. Low-level wall or floor vents also allowed cool air from the floor space below to move up through the house. As the cooler air warmed, Coveney says, it would rise and escape through the roof space, effectively acting as a natural air-conditioning system.
“The high ceilings ensured that the warm air could move quickly to the upper part of the room, keeping the living spaces cool,” she says. Where space allowed, wide verandas were added to further protect the home from the harsh sun.
“We employed similar techniques in our own home, with high ceilings throughout fitted with adjustable ceiling vents that can be closed in winter and opened in summer,” Coveney says. “A central raised ridge vent runs for half the length of the house and uses prevailing breezes to create a strong chimney effect, drawing hot air out in summer.”
This — combined with high levels of insulation, low-E windows, LED lighting and ceiling fans — means that artificial heating and cooling are rarely required.
“The high ceilings ensured that the warm air could move quickly to the upper part of the room, keeping the living spaces cool,” she says. Where space allowed, wide verandas were added to further protect the home from the harsh sun.
“We employed similar techniques in our own home, with high ceilings throughout fitted with adjustable ceiling vents that can be closed in winter and opened in summer,” Coveney says. “A central raised ridge vent runs for half the length of the house and uses prevailing breezes to create a strong chimney effect, drawing hot air out in summer.”
This — combined with high levels of insulation, low-E windows, LED lighting and ceiling fans — means that artificial heating and cooling are rarely required.
Stormwater runs into a tank that holds more than 13,200 gallons. It’s connected to all plumbing fixtures (except the kitchen sink), garden faucets and horse troughs. “By using rainwater in this way, we estimate that we save over [26,000 gallons] a year,” Coveney says. “If water levels get low towards the end of summer, we can switch to mains water and keep a reserve for firefighting.”
The house was also plumbed to allow for connection to a greywater recycling system. The gardens are low-maintenance and waterwise, and the pond has created a wildlife habitat for native frogs, bandicoots and an abundance of birdlife. “The pond has been located to help cool prevailing breezes before they reach the house,” Coveney says.
Grow a Beautiful Garden With Ecofriendly Greywater
The house was also plumbed to allow for connection to a greywater recycling system. The gardens are low-maintenance and waterwise, and the pond has created a wildlife habitat for native frogs, bandicoots and an abundance of birdlife. “The pond has been located to help cool prevailing breezes before they reach the house,” Coveney says.
Grow a Beautiful Garden With Ecofriendly Greywater
“We love the overall aesthetic of the house and are proud of what we have managed to achieve with a relatively modest budget,” says Coveney when asked what she and her husband are most proud of about the house. “We are also very pleased with how well the building performs in a challenging climate such as ours.
“With [Western Australia’s] climate becoming increasingly harsh, there needs to be a change in mindset about how to design and build our homes. We need smarter, location-sensitive housing designed to be ecologically, economically and socially sustainable.”
“With [Western Australia’s] climate becoming increasingly harsh, there needs to be a change in mindset about how to design and build our homes. We need smarter, location-sensitive housing designed to be ecologically, economically and socially sustainable.”
In addition to having the house reflect its rural setting, the owners wanted a strong visual and physical connection between indoors and out. The covered outdoor deck is the heart of the house.
“We live an outdoor lifestyle, and the house reflects and facilitates this,” Coveney says. “The living space opens out onto the elevated deck, which looks across the property and the reserve to the north.”
“We live an outdoor lifestyle, and the house reflects and facilitates this,” Coveney says. “The living space opens out onto the elevated deck, which looks across the property and the reserve to the north.”
Brick walls bookend the open-plan living, dining and kitchen space to provide thermal mass and to introduce an additional visual element. The kitchen, laundry and office cabinetry was custom-built by local cabinetmaker Continental Joinery. The countertops are Essastone in French Nougat.
The homeowners and their two children spend much of their time in the open-plan family area, cooking, dining, working or curled up on the sofas watching movies together.
Elsewhere, the walls are finished in painted plasterboard. The paint colors bring the colors from the bush into the house. A combo home office and design studio adjoins the kitchen-dining area.
“We love the quality of natural light the glazed walls provide and how the interior living spaces extend visually to the exterior living spaces, the garden and views over the valley beyond,” Coveney says.
The whole family feels at home here.
The main living area has energy-efficient LED downlights with dimmer switches. High ceilings enhance the feeling of space. The family’s furniture is an eclectic mix acquired over the years from sources including Freedom Furniture, Lifestyle Furniture, Country Road and “good old Ikea,” Coveney says.
Ceiling fans: Beacon Lighting
Ceiling fans: Beacon Lighting
A built-in wood stack is both rustic and functional. It sits alongside the Nectre slow-combustion wood fireplace. “The flue is uninsulated through the thermal brick wall, so the whole wall acts as a large storage heater in winter,” Coveney says.
The bathrooms have large-format, full-height wall tiles in glossy white to help reflect the light.
Wall-mounted vanities and streamlined plumbing fixtures make the most of the space.
Tile: Tile Boutique; Aura bathtub: Caroma; Byron vanity: Architectural Designer Products; browse wall-mounted vanities
Tile: Tile Boutique; Aura bathtub: Caroma; Byron vanity: Architectural Designer Products; browse wall-mounted vanities
A large window offers leafy views from the main bedroom. “After much deliberation, we decided the best floor finish would be loose-lay vinyl planks through the main house, with tiling to wet areas,” Coveney says.
“The vinyl planks add warmth and comfort, but are low-maintenance, very affordable and highly durable, which suits our rural lifestyle.”
“The vinyl planks add warmth and comfort, but are low-maintenance, very affordable and highly durable, which suits our rural lifestyle.”
All four bedrooms have ceiling fans with integrated lights.
The homeowners run Coveney Browne Design, which specializes in the design of passive-solar houses.
As for Aoife and her pony, Brego, they couldn’t be happier.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: Building designers Irene Coveney and Niall Browne, son Oisίn, 14, and daughter Aoife, 12, with family dog Dinah, pony Brego, pet sheep Sean and Barbara, and chickens Lizzy, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lidia
Location: Stoneville, Western Australia, Australia
Size: 2,153 square feet (200 square meters); four bedrooms, two bathrooms