Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Rock Climbers Create the Ultimate Mountain Getaway
Two friends build a vacation home in Australia’s Blue Mountains, where they can relax with others after a day of climbing
After a long day scrambling up and down Australia’s Blue Mountains, about 1½ hours from Sydney, who wouldn’t want to come back to a vacation home immersed in nature and soak their weary bones? This was what Francois Ladouceur and Dominik Mersch had in mind when they asked Ruth Kealy of UP Architects to build their retreat in Little Hartley. The two friends are avid rock climbers and grew tired of the drive to and from the city when they went on their outdoor adventures. They wanted a home in the bush where they could also host their friends, fellow climbers and artists.
The nature of the site meant that Kealy had many considerations to make concerning the build. “It was steeply sloping, heavily treed and located in a high-risk bushfire zone,” she says. To account for the fire risk, the tree canopy was trimmed. It was also important to both clients that the house could accommodate a lot of people but still feel spacious.
Kealy says Ladouceur and Mersch asked for a one-level house that would be shielded from the main road and western sun. They wanted it to be low-maintenance, and cool in summer and warm in winter without having to rely on air conditioning. Finally, with Mersch’s extensive art collection, they requested plenty of space to hang his prized pieces.
Kealy says Ladouceur and Mersch asked for a one-level house that would be shielded from the main road and western sun. They wanted it to be low-maintenance, and cool in summer and warm in winter without having to rely on air conditioning. Finally, with Mersch’s extensive art collection, they requested plenty of space to hang his prized pieces.
The exterior, which had to be tough and satisfy fire-safety regulations, is made of Cor-Ten steel and recycled backbutt. Kealy notes that the number of windows was limited, and that in places pivoting, 10-foot-high tempered double-glazed doors were used instead. “The steel-clad butterfly roof has a central gutter, linked to the rainwater tank, which spans the two parts,” she adds.
The space extends straight through the living room and opens out to the back deck through tripartite sliding doors, which are recessed behind the chimney. What might surprise some is that there’s no ceiling. Instead, the metal underside of the insulated panel is exposed.
“This allowed for considerable cost savings and also generated novel lighting solutions. It is for the most part free of light fittings. Instead, fluorescent tubes are recessed behind the blackbutt-clad central beam and gutter downpipes,” Kealy says.
To create the simple yet comfortable decor, Ladouceur and Mersch decided against new furniture and got most of their pieces as hand-me-downs from friends.
“This allowed for considerable cost savings and also generated novel lighting solutions. It is for the most part free of light fittings. Instead, fluorescent tubes are recessed behind the blackbutt-clad central beam and gutter downpipes,” Kealy says.
To create the simple yet comfortable decor, Ladouceur and Mersch decided against new furniture and got most of their pieces as hand-me-downs from friends.
“Interior finishes were chosen for their longevity and low-maintenance properties,” Kealy says. The kitchen, where the homeowners and their guests regularly congregate, is made of plywood and blackbutt veneer. Another feature of the space, with durability and ease of care in mind, is the honed concrete-slab floor with underfloor heating. This material allows the floor to stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
The bathrooms are Kealy’s favorite rooms. “I wanted to separate the sink and toilet from a calm bathing zone,” she says.
The simple bathtub is truly the place to be. Soaking those aching bones while looking out onto bush views after vigorous rock climbs would be the ultimate way to relax.
On the opposite side, the shower by Caroma sits a step down in the concrete slab, with a large glass partition shielding the spray. This connects to the sauna with an outside shower.
The three bedrooms are decorated similarly to the rest of the house. Their simplicity enhances the beautiful lookouts to the surrounding environment on the home’s doorstep. The third bedroom doubles as a studio for visiting family members or artistic friends.
Kealy says that her proudest achievement from this project is that she became close friends with the clients. “They also happily describe their house in the mountains to friends and colleagues,” she says.
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Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: François Ladouceur, a professor of photonic engineering, and Dominik Mersch, owner of Dominik Mersch Gallery
Location: Little Hartley, New South Wales, Australia
Size: 1,506 square feet (140 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Ruth Kealy of UP Architects
The duo regularly commuted from Sydney to the Blue Mountains to practice the sport they love, so when an opportunity came up to buy a piece of land, they jumped at the chance to develop it. They sought a comfortable low-maintenance dwelling that could be used by fellow climbers, friends and visiting artists.
Kealy had studied sustainable design, and she employed her skills and knowledge in this area with this project. The design elements include a 5,280-gallon rainwater tank, a prefabricated lightweight roof, an insulated floor slab, high-level double-glazed windows to encourage natural ventilation, solar hot water and recycled hardwood siding.
The house was constructed in two stages between 2012 and 2015. “The time lag can clearly be seen in the evolving color wheel of the cladding,” the architect says, “as the studio’s cladding was allowed to bake in the sun before being erected.”