Home Tour: A Sustainable Holiday Home in Hawks Nest

This holiday home in Hawks Nest takes family holiday escape to a new level. Designed and Constructed by PreBuilt in their Melbourne factory, the home was then transported and installed on the property, based on the land of the Gamaipingal people of the Worimi Nation.

PreBuilt creates modular, prefabricated homes which have an emphasis on sustainable living and human-centric design that inspires people, enriches landscapes and endures for generations. They deliver innovative design in the modular home manufacturers market and have certainly achieved that in this Hawks Nest home.

Passed down through generations of friends and families, the property landed in the hands of Andrea Belunek who regularly travelled there on holidays as a young person. The existing A frame dwelling on the property offered little fabric for reuse or retaining and was structurally falling apart. 

With big ambitions to build a sustainable home, and a nature escape for her family to retreat, the decision was made to replaces the house with one single dwelling that is modest in footprint and floor area. The brief for the project was that the house existed in harmony with the environment around it. 

This family holiday home was designed and furnished on the foundations of open communication and compromise. The whole family engaged in open discussions and had equal input on the final finishes, with sustainability and First Nations design front of mind.

Dotted throughout the home you will find a mix of Koskela furniture, homewares, First Nations woven lighting and textiles. Our favourite room is the communal living room space where you can retreat on our modular Quadrant soft sofa with a book or snuggle up on our cosy bean bags.

We met and spoke with Andrea, the owner of the home who generously shared her insights on the design process and considerations when furnishing the home.

Why did you chose Koskela furniture to furnish your home? 

Sustainability informed the material and furniture selections for the home. When selecting the furnishings we considered the full footprint of the products. Koskela's products suited our brief as they are sustainable, Australian made, support Australian manufacturers and collaborate with First Nations Artists.

We chose the Quadrant Soft modular sofa for our shared family space. We liked how the modules can be moved around and can each be a different colour. They easily adapt to the space, are super versatile and create a very easy and comfortable space to be in.

 

Did you have any sustainability considerations for the build? And did this feed into the materials you chose?

Andrea describes that the driving focus of the build was on maximising the amenity - light, outlook and generous floor plan. 

The result was a single story dwelling with an open aspect to look out to nature from the living space. The positioning of doors and windows was carefully considered to capture the natural flow of air, sea breezes and movement of the light. The home is well sheltered and insulated with tinted glass and well sealed doors and windows which assist thermal performance.

Any specificity about the site, the environment and surroundings?

The home and location is a place of ease and comfort for me says Andrea. We have been travelling to Hawks Nest as a family for many years.

It's an amazing location on the Winda Woppa peninsula. One side is the Myall River system and the other side of the peninsula is Port Stephens Bay. Behind the property where the bay and river system meet is a wetland with a lagoon and mangroves.

The home is in a special position amongst the natural landscape and the presence of nature and wildlife is very strong. Andrea describes a time where she was sitting on the deck of the original A frame home, and she counted 19 Black Cockatoos amongst the Banksia trees.

Nearby, Dark Point in southern Myall Lakes National Park, is a culturally significant site for the Worimi people. This area has a rich cultural history and has been a gathering place for the Worimi people for over 4000 years.

Could you touch on the elements of First Nations design you have incorporated in the furnishing selections?

The First Nations woven pendants were the first items purchased and set the aesthetic of the home, we have one in almost every room. Andrea describes the pendants as "Amazing artworks in a way that they are in harmony with the space and the natural environment".

Andrea is passionate about incorporating First Nations Design in the home and and explains her gratitude and privilege to have access to such products.

"We are lucky to have these unique pieces, we will honour and treasure them. They have such a strong and powerful story to tell us and create connections to the land that can be embraced in the home. They’re also beautiful!" says Andrea.

Koskela's Stirrup dining table was selected for the dining room space which sits beneath two Yuta Badayala pendants. The accompanying Jake dining chairs were customised to have one of each design from our First Nations fabric range 'Dali Dyalgala'.

“These designs represent an amazing opportunity to connect with the creativity of First Nations people and their story telling. We have so much to learn from this ancient culture. I want to embrace and engage with that in this space.”

Do you have any questions? Get in touch today, and we will connect you with the right person in our team. Interested in customising a product to include a Dali Dyalgala fabric? Book a consultation. 

Koskela is proud to be the first furniture and homewares company in Australia to be a Certified B Corporation®.

Explore more of our modern furniture collection or Australian Artworks collection.