Words Grace McCloud
Photography Tom Ross

The countdown is on: there’s one month to go until the launch of Issue No.5 of The Modern House Magazine. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate its impending release than by sharing some of our favourite stories from Issue No.4, such as this read on Herman and Virginia Stelzer’s bungalow in Jan Juc, on Australia’s south-eastern coast. The couple were only looking to renovate when their son, Tim, and architect daughter-in-law, Phoebe Clarke of Not All Architecture, had an idea. Why not go for a root-and-branch overhaul and lift the building up on stilts? Now, the timber structure sits amid the treetops – and has ocean views to boot.

Jan Juc sits on a tranche of Victoria’s coastal fringe known for its frothy rhythmic breakers. The south-eastern stretch is something of a mecca for surfers, and it was also where Herman and Virginia Stelzer had, in 2011, decided to invest in a little buy-to-let, something to tide them over in their retirement. The house they found was, in Herman’s words, “dark and dingy” – a real doer-upper with modest prospects, the couple thought – not least given it had no view of the shortbread sands just a six-minute walk away.

They sought counsel from Tim and Phoebe, now his wife, who turned Herman and Virginia’s initial proposal on its head – almost literally. Instead of renovating the somewhat bland bungalow, “they told us we needed to start again,” Virginia says. “Tim climbed onto the roof of the old house and realised we could, if we inverted the house by putting it on stilts, get a view of the water.” Convinced and captivated by the possibilities, Herman and Virginia quickly decided that, instead of letting, they should reap the rewards of their efforts by moving in themselves.

The couple had great experience of self-builds, having first constructed a mud-brick home for their young family in 1988 in Olinda, a sylvan section of Victoria, while living in a caravan. Having caught the bug, their self-built holiday home on Phillip Island, near Melbourne, followed in 1997. As a consequence, Herman, a former carpenter and builder, and Virginia, whose career was in hospitality, were undaunted by the prospect of demolition and the resulting pile of earth – not least as it meant green-fingered Virginia could create a garden to snake around the house’s stilts at ground level, exactly as she wished. The landscape and its indigenous plants would be instrumental in its design, she thought – just as it was in Phoebe’s plans for the house, where timber from indigenous trees and handsome sliding doors call the boundaries between inside and outside into question. Here, two years into living in Eucalypt House, the couple explain how they’ve put down roots while living among the leaves.

Herman: “Unlike our previous building projects, for which I did the lion’s share, I actually didn’t have much input on this one. It was Virginia’s turn to have her say, so she took the lead and I just helped out. The plan we had for it was shared, however. The house needed to suit us as we grew older and it needed to suit the land it was in too. The coastal light here is lovely, so it was crucial we made the most of it. By raising it up, not only did we get a view of the ocean, we also got masses more light filtering in.”

Virginia: “When we started building, the only trees we kept were three eucalypts. Now that the garden has had a chance to mature, it’s just bliss. I love how, when I’m doing the washing up, I feel like I’m in the trees, surrounded by the cockatoos that come to eat the eucalypt flowers. It’s a good feeling.”

Herman: “We wanted something that spoke to the old beach houses that this area is populated with, but in a contemporary language. Many of the buildings here were constructed using fibrous cement in the 1960s or ’70s, with big windows – quite mid-century in feeling. We wanted to move away from the cement, but to stay aligned with other features: the floor-to-ceiling windows, for instance, and the use of plywood. The beach shacks in this area are very simple and not at all decorative – that’s what we wanted here.”

Virginia: “It was important that we fitted in. Being on stilts really helped that, as our neighbours on both sides are double-storey. We’ve just got the top level, but it means our rooflines match.

“The indigenous species we’ve planted really help too: the eucalypts, of course, but also lots of grasses. I’ve planted some snow gums too, which are native – as you might imagine – to mountainous areas, but they work well here. The changing climate was at the forefront of my mind when I was designing the garden. It was important to me that the plants I chose have longevity, that they’ll survive even if the weather changes. It’s why I picked species that don’t require too much water; we needed things that could take care of themselves and still look good.

“We’ve finally bought the chickens our children always wanted. They’re fantastic at pest control and keep the veg garden going nicely. I used to dream of keeping chooks and, now our lovely dog is 15 and blind, I know we can have them safely. Plus, we’ve built the Taj Mahal of chicken coops, so I know that the fox won’t get them.

“The house is made up of two pods – one for sleeping and one for living – connected by a central open veranda. It’s such a clever detail, because it means that, whenever you move from one part to another, you connect to the outside world. The only trouble is when the temperature drops in winter. You have to make a dash for it.”

Herman: “And the light! I know I’ve mentioned it,but it’s superb.The orientation of the house really makes the most of it. Because there are so many windows – and they’re so big – we basically get natural light all day. In our bedroom, we face east and consequently get the best of the early morning glow, while the sitting room looks both north and north-west. North-facing is what you want in Australia.

“That the house be low maintenance was also a central part of our brief to Phoebe, because we’re getting old. We don’t want to have to do more work on the place as time goes on. It’s why the construction is actually fairly simple: just steel, eucalypt timber and ply insulation. We didn’t want any plaster – we’ve never had plaster walls in any of our houses. I don’t think either of us finds the idea of white walls relaxing. Instead, we’ve got quite an industrial palette, but, because of the presence of wood, it has a lovely relationship to the landscape around it.”

Virginia: “I love that relationship. It’s beautiful. It’s quite elemental – and I think the interiors reflect that, in a way. We’ve decorated quite sparely to let the building speak for itself. We’ve been together for 50 years now and, having had children that have grown up and bought houses that needed furnishing, we’d rather streamlined our belongings by the time we moved in here. As a result, we built quite a bit for the space: the sofa bed, the dining table, the cupboards, the bed. We don’t need much more than that. It suits me, because it means less to clean around – plus, when our time inevitably comes, it means there’s less for the children to have to sort out. I find that both liberating and reassuring.

“It’s a really flexible house. When everyone is here – kids, grandkids – we’re 13. The children bunk up together. We’ve got a big extending table. It works really well. And then when it’s just me and Herman, it’s just the right size too. It’s spacious without being large, which is very clever.”

Herman: “It’s funny. When we built our first home, we thought: “Never again.” It was such a big job, full of sweat and blood, that we really thought we’d never move – let alone do it all again. But after about 20 years, it suddenly made sense. We’ve created a house that works for us now – and will work for us in the future.”

Virginia: “We’ve been told that the ramp up to the pods is for our wheelchairs! I hope we’ve got some time before that. But truly, this house has everything we want. Firstly, we’re close enough to annoy our children – and to be able to play cricket with our grandchildren. But it’s also just right, designed for us and by us. We know this is our last home. We’re just really happy to enjoy it.”