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| Matcham artist house |
| A visit to this house is like taking a quick trip around the world. |
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Walking through artist, Ken Johnson's house is like a quick trip around the world. The seasoned traveller has built a home rich with multicultural influences. His beautiful property in Matcham on the Central Coast is a tribute to many landscapes, including the Australian bush where it stands.
Ken Johnson recently turned 50. He has decided it's time for a lifestyle change and plans to move to Byron Bay. Ken admits it will be hard to leave his amazing home, but then he's used to letting go — he does so every time he sells an artwork.
Ken bought this property about 15 years ago. Then, it was an orange orchard, surrounded by 150 hectares of protected forest. He named the property "Los Controle" which is creative Spanish for "Lost Control". And while Spain was the first country to impact upon his new home, it certainly wasn't the last.
Ken and his family lived in a tent for almost a year while the house was being built. They had a port-a-loo, but no water or electricity. As a result, Ken took all nature's elements (wind, sun, rain) into consideration while designing the house. His brother is an architectural designer and his father an engineer. Ken took on the role of creative director and all three boys set to work.
It wasn't just the house that Ken needed to construct. He started from scratch, putting in telegraph poles, a bridge, a road and water. It took Ken 15 years to build this house, but the work never stops. He has been collecting things since he was 17 and has tried to incorporate many of them into the design.
The house is built from New England Ash which was trucked from a family friend's property in Tenterfield. The walls are a special render and took Ken three months just to complete half the house. This rendering technique is popular in Kenya, where it is taught to anybody who asks.
Ken also built himself a bath out of bricks and mortar. He handmade the doors using inspiration from trips to India, South America and Nepal and used a Mexican influence to create the main bedroom.
One of Ken's most recent additions to the house is an Indian room. This has a large deck area and a pond in the centre. Ken is fascinated by India and wanted to capture the essence of the country in an architectural form. Ken likes to treat architecture, building and furniture as a form of sculpture. He has hand made most of the furniture with this concept in mind.
Ken is an avid traveller and each room represents another stamp in his passport. The entrance is Italian. The next part of the house is French provincial. The lounge room is Indian, the bedroom Mexican and the barn is influenced by his travels through Greece.
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More Info
House sale inquiries should be directed to Sarah Young:
Di Jones Real Estate
Ph: 02 8356 7804
Mbl: 0411 871 892
www.dijones.com.au/2508
Ken Johnson is also the author of an auto-biographical book called "Life and Landscape." This book documents with images his life since the age of 14. Details are available on his web site www.kenjohnsonart.com
For more information Ken's art contact the following galleries:
Christopher Day Gallery
Ph: 02 9326 1952
Axia Modern Art Gallery
Ph: 03 9822 1228
Philip Bacon Gallery
Ph: 07 3358 3555
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