This is the lifeJames and Kylie Forbes are based in Brisbane yet try to get to their holiday home at Maleny twice a month. Here, they are fairly self-sufficient, using rainwater collected from the roof, solar hot water and a greywater recycling system. There is also a vegie garden and a mini orchard of citrus, avocado and olive trees. "I'm no green thumb but the high rainfall here means everything grows as if it's on steroids," says Kylie. "We cook with the garden produce and plan dinner all day! Here, we live at a slower pace."
Australian styleA throwback to the old pyramid-roofed meat safe, the 'outhouse' is James' pride and joy. It is a quirky piece of architecture that, according to Kylie, had more drawings done on it than the rest of the house. Also a changing room and shower area for the pool, accessed via the breezeway, it is regularly used by guests who soak up the chance to shower under the stars.
Simple in form and simply a beautiful place to be, this contemporary country home in the rolling hills of southern Queensland ticks all the boxes.
Not your typical country cottage, this contemporary Queensland weekender is the result of a successful collaboration between architects James and Kylie Forbes. Built as a family escape, it’s just over an hour’s drive from their Brisbane home, and, from the outset, the project was an exercise in restraint. “It was a real novelty working on this house. After plenty of renovations it was the first new house we had designed and built for ourselves,” says Kylie. “We wanted it to be simple and compact with no more space than what we needed.” Just enough, that is, to accommodate themselves and their young children, Sienna Rose, three, and nine-month-old James Murray Orlando.
Working to an internal footprint of just 200 square metres, with a further 150 square metres of deck area, the floor plan is a one-room-deep building with almost all rooms facing north to the spectacular outlook. Entry is via a shallow, stepped-timber boardwalk that floats above the lawn. The home consists of one large, glass living cube with a soaring skillion roof, flanked by two smaller bedroom pavilions tucked in at each side. “That was our first sketch and we really didn’t depart from it,” says Kylie.
The central common area contains the kitchen, dining and living areas, with a central, three-sided fireplace that can be enjoyed from all zones. “We love casual entertaining and only wanted one eating area,” says Kylie. When friends come over, their children sit up at the vast kitchen island bench, leaving the dining table free for the adults. All the living areas open out onto the front and rear decks. “We have no outdoor table because with the doors open we are basically outside anyway,” says Kylie.
The main, north-facing, deck perches high over the escarpment and steps down to a wet-edge pool and sunken outdoor lounge area. The eastern pavilion houses the bedrooms while the western pavilion, separated from the living area by a breezeway, has two guestrooms with ensuites, and James’ pride and joy; an outhouse-style bathing hut.
“We were hands-on in the construction of the house. By saving money on efficient planning, material wastage and a builder’s margin we were able to afford the finishes we really wanted, like the American oak joinery, Apaiser bath and Moooi pendant light,” says Kylie. “The few things we wanted, we did well.”
With the children still young, the family are at Maleny every second weekend. “We know as they get older it is going to get more difficult with school and sport commitments, so we are making the most of it now while we can,” says Kylie. “We dream about one day enclosing the lean-to off the barn [near the house] to make a studio and retiring up here. But for now there is that terrible thing called work!”
Story & styling Kate Nixon Photography Maree Homer