Screaming Downs began as an open conversation about place, where and how to site a new home within a broad, sloping rural property. The land offered a layered mix of rolling pasture, remnant bush, granite boulders, and a freshwater creek – its character shifting with the seasons, weather, and light.
The brief called for a five-bedroom home designed to support a slower rhythm of living – welcoming family and friends, yet providing a quiet retreat. The clients favoured raw, low-maintenance materials and simple, enduring forms that would resonate with the site’s rural character. Their vision centred around three distinct pavilions in a modern farmhouse language, carefully oriented to the landscape and views.
A winding driveway leads visitors past remnant bushland, weathered cattle yards, and a windmill – traces of the property’s rural history – before revealing the home, positioned just below the ridgeline and framed against long views toward William Bay.
The siting balances exposure and protection, offering expansive views between the treetops whilst providing shelter from prevailing winds. It also establishes a clear separation from nearby sheds and infrastructure, reinforcing the sense of retreat.
The home is composed of three gabled pavilions. Two parallel structures contain the sleeping wings, modest in scale and aligned with the slope, while a larger central pavilion, set perpendicular, houses the main living spaces and entry. A vaulted ceiling amplifies the living pavilion, mirroring the scale of the landscape beyond, and opening onto a generous, sheltered deck.
Clad at scale in heritage galvanised zincalume, the home boldly references the agricultural vernacular – its surface catching shifts in light and weather, softening gradually with age. Rammed earth blades and silvertop ash timber introduce temporal textures that ground the built form, chosen for their durability, character, and connection to place.
Inside, a restrained palette of timber linings, hardwood floors, and rammed earth walls lends a tactile, understated richness. Finely crafted timber elements – including window reveals, joinery, and ceilings – carry warmth throughout.
The result is a calm, enduring home, thoughtfully shaped by its landscape, designed to evolve slowly with its occupants.
| Builder | Millbrook Construction WA |
| Landscape Design | DRIFT Landscape Studio |
| Photographer | Olive Lipscombe |