Newcastle prestige home buyers agent Chad Dunn gambled on creating his own unique home in the Newcastle suburb of Waratah, and he's pretty happy with the result.
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The architect-designed pole home that sits on a 1450-square-metre block in the middle of Waratah was finished just six months ago.
It is known as "Platts Hill", as the land was once farm land on John Laurie Platt's original land grant , one of the suburb of Waratah's founders and original inhabitants.
It was a finalist (runner-up ) in the recent HIA building awards.
"It's quite a long, narrow home in place of a traditional square or rectangle shape," Dunn says. "It could almost be perceived as a pavilion home in the way it feels."
The new home has five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, three living areas, two decks and three-car garage.
It includes a purpose-built 70-square-metre loft home office with a second kitchenette, e-glass glazing, underfloor insulation and spotted gum aged decking.
It's an interesting one, in that it is a 400-square-metre pole home with a Hamptons feel and on a 1450-square-metre block in the middle of Waratah
- Chad Dunn
The fit-out includes ducted air, French oak flooring and New Zealand wool carpet, slow combustion fireplace, high raked ceilings, wine cellar, recycled "waratah brickworks" bricks and a fire retardant cladded exterior with Colorbond roofing.
Energy efficiency was a consideration: it has 10Kw of solar power (Solahart), cross ventilation, 600mm eaves and e-glass windows as well as high value insulation.
The home sits on earthquake-resistant screw piles and poles.
"It's an interesting one," Dunn says, "in that it is a 400-square-metre pole home with a Hamptons feel on a 1450-square-metre block in the middle of Waratah (average block in Waratah is 450 square metres)."
Dunn says the home was built on a piece of surplus empty, sloping land at the very end of Platt Street, in Waratah, with no neighbours ("by itself on the hill") that Awabakal Housing owned. It adjoins Brae Park and Maroba aged care home as well as the Calvary Mater Hospital.
The property was designed by pole home designer Stephen Hayes of The Pole Home Centre. The development application took two years, Dunn says, with the complexities of having no sewer, no electricity and no water onsite, as well as the City of Newcastle having plans for the adjacent road.
Dunn and his wife, Cecelia, an oncology pharmacist at the Mater Hospital, decided the risk on designing and building something on the site far outweighed the hassle of the delays. The Dunns hired HIA award-winning builder Chris Walkom of Walkom Constructions (Cecelia says he "was good at reigning in Chad's eccentric ideas").
Dunn says he liked the Hamptons style, but also wanted it to feel like a farmhouse with multiple living areas, natural light, elevated and with cross ventilation.
"I have a purpose-built home office above our triple garage and that is handy so I can spend more time with the children and Cecelia only has to walk next door to get to work," he says. "My two boys also like nights around the firepit and collecting fresh eggs from the chickens. Cecelia said that her favourite thing was the north-easterly breeze and unobstructed view of the twinkling lights in the distance in the evening."
Cecelia says, "We certainly did not go for low maintenance with the larger yard, but that was really useful over the tail-end of COVID, when the boys spent plenty of time playing soccer in the yard and I got to watch Chad try and get fit mowing the lawns."
Dunn says he "loves the village feel of Waratah", and the fact that it has such character in the homes (many renovated). "There are quality schooling options and quick access to the city, airport and freeway," Dunn says. "It certain is on my radar at work for the next hotspot, so I figured why not settle here."
