The four-bedroom house at 35 Georges Rd, Barrabool is selling via expressions of interest for $3.2m to $3.52m.
Long family lunches under grapevines promise a slice of Mediterranean life at a timeless rammed earth home in the Barrabool Hills.
The owners’ passion for European food and architecture helped shape the two-storey residence, designed by architect Sally Draper more than 30 years ago.
Set on 8.88ha of farmland, the four-bedroom house delivers not only excellent thermal performance, but breathtaking, north-facing views over the Barwon Valley towards the You Yangs and Brisbane Ranges.
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Reclaimed timber from Station Pier has been turned into a breakfast bar.
Vendor Syd said watching the seasons unfurl as the yellow canola fields changed to straw colour in summer and green in winter was one of the great pleasures of living at 35 Georges Rd, Barrabool.
Another is the ability to entertain extended family who regularly gather around the 10-seater dining table, outside on the terrace or in the kitchen, which the keen cooks had redesigned by notable Geelong chef turned architect Ian Wilson 10 years ago.
“The kitchen is just a glorious part of the house. We all spend so much time around the kitchen, whether we are good cooks or not, we meet and talk and have coffee and cake and meals when people arrive,” Syd said.
“It’s got some wonderful character – there’s some old jarrah benches that came out of the Station Pier and all the shelving around into the pantry is all that jarrah.”
The property has uninterrupted rural views.
Rammed earth walls keep the internal temperature cool in summer and cosy in winter.
The owners, who have been involved in importing European food, love cooking on the Wolf stove.
As well as a robust concrete island bench, there are practical stainless-steel countertops either side of a “wonderful” 1.5m Wolf stove.
The property has even hosted several family weddings on an excavated area outside.
“That was cut with a view to putting in a tennis court and then our children went off to university and the whole thing lost its momentum. Then they started to get married and we thought, ‘That’s fantastic we can accommodate a marquee’,” Syd said.
The tennis court option is still open to new owners, who can also take advantage of plans and service provision for a detached studio.
As it turns out, the original four-bedroom design, constructed under the supervision of Earth Structure’s Rick Lindsay, proved more than enough for the vendors.
The property has an established orchards featuring a 125-year-old almond tree, figs and apricots.
Polished concrete floors and paired with rammed earth in the main bedroom.
The vendors love the way the winter sun streams into the study.
The empty nesters primarily live on the ground floor that includes an open-plan living area featuring a Cheminees Philippe wood burner, the main bedroom suite and a sun-drenched study overlooking the Barwon Valley.
A second living room upstairs is zoned with three minor bedrooms and a family bathroom.
For Syd, who has loved the valley since he starting delivering bread there for his family’s bakery business, the location is still special.
“Over more than 30 years we have never become blasé about the view to the You Yangs, Mt Anakie and Mt Buninyong. Those views are glorious,” he said.
Elders, Geelong agent Peter Lindeman is calling for expressions of interest in 35 Georges Rd, Barrabool by June 9 at 5pm.
Price hopes are $3.2m to $3.52m.
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