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| Cliff House |
| A resourceful couple has worked wonders to create their riverside home. |
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For thirty six years, Norma and Howard, both in their sixties, lived in Lurgano. Four years ago, they decided to sell their old house and build another one down the road. Although the cliff top property required a lot of work, they welcomed the challenge and spent two years building. Their original plans were to position the house close to the garage at street level, however council requested the house be built closer to the water. It now stands two hundred steps from the garage to the front door or a two minute inclinator ride.
The house is nestled amongst bushland on a cliff edge and has been built on two blocks of land overlooking the Georges River and the Royal National Park. It's double storey with two bedrooms and bathrooms and a hall cupboard which doubles as an office, spare room for visitors and sewing room. The exterior and roof are steel while the interior is made from recycled timber.
The first job was to clear the land, then one by one recycled timber poles and other building materials were taken down to the site. Howard and Norma have aimed to keep everything in the house as low maintenance as possible. For instance, the curved roof has been built to reduce the build up of leaves in the gutter.
The main living area has floor to ceiling windows which take full advantage of the waterfront view. The electric opening flyscreen windows above the entrance level are Howard's pride and joy. There are striking bright red doors that look like old fashioned telephone boxes and a handmade Tassie Oak dining table which came from the original manufacturer and was assembled on site. Howard recycled 100 year old knobs for the kitchen cupboards.
At the bottom of the cliff is a cottage, built around 1920's/30's, and boat shed. Howard renovated the cottage so they could live in it whilst their house on the cliff was being built and Norma's mother now lives there. At ninety years of age, she keeps herself active by hand painting bowls which are on display in the home.
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