Houzz Tour: A Rustic Family Home Rebuilt After a Devastating Bushfire
Tim and Tammy Holmes lost their house and possessions in the 2013 Tasmanian bushfires, but they’ve created a new family home from the ruins
Before scorching bushfires ravaged the area, seafaring skippers navigating the narrows near Potters Croft – a 24-acre property on an eastern Tasmanian headland – would look out for the “signal” tree, a centuries-old blue gum that stood majestically near the water. But on a devastating day in January 2013, when hot, dry winds and a subsequent firestorm raged across the isthmus, the tree and all but one building on the rural property were lost to flames.
The Dunalley bushfire left Potters Croft owners Tim and Tammy Holmes temporarily without a home. In a few short, intense hours, the fire incinerated six of their buildings and all of their possessions.
Three years later, that tragic day is a distant memory. Soon after the fire, the family embarked on an ambitious rebuilding project, crafting a rustic family home from their surviving guesthouse, along with five new buildings, including a studio, a barn and a potting shed.
The Dunalley bushfire left Potters Croft owners Tim and Tammy Holmes temporarily without a home. In a few short, intense hours, the fire incinerated six of their buildings and all of their possessions.
Three years later, that tragic day is a distant memory. Soon after the fire, the family embarked on an ambitious rebuilding project, crafting a rustic family home from their surviving guesthouse, along with five new buildings, including a studio, a barn and a potting shed.
The Holmes’ 24-acre property commands an entire headland, providing the family with impressive views up and down the channel. The only visible clue that this tranquil place once saw a destructive bushfire are the piles of logged timber, cut from the many dead trees that didn’t survive the blaze. There’s enough firewood to last through five years of cold Tasmanian winters.
“We don’t talk about the fire much these days,” Tim says. “Most people prefer not to think about it, but in the days and weeks after the fire, the most common question I was asked was, ‘Will you go back?’ The answer was always, ‘Yes’. Where else would I want to be? I have travelled to many countries and stayed in many beautiful places, but I have never found a place where I would prefer to live.”
The surviving guest accommodation was a five-bedroom, four-bathroom lodge built by Tim from reclaimed, convict-made brick collected over the years from the Derwent Valley and nearby Tasman Peninsula.
“We were obliged by the authorities to keep off the property for about two weeks,” Tim says. “We spent about three months living in a rented house in another small hamlet with our extended family. However, I came back to our property in Dunalley just about every day.”
“We were obliged by the authorities to keep off the property for about two weeks,” Tim says. “We spent about three months living in a rented house in another small hamlet with our extended family. However, I came back to our property in Dunalley just about every day.”
A builder and building designer by trade, Tim rebuilt his family’s property himself with help from a couple of tradespeople who had worked with him in the past.
Thinking of building a home – or renovating an existing one? Learn what an architect can do for you
Thinking of building a home – or renovating an existing one? Learn what an architect can do for you
He started by converting the guesthouse into their family home. This rustic-style structure, built with a Welsh aesthetic, is a reminder of the low-eaved buildings Tim grew up with in Wales. “Overall, the restoration took about a year, with some healthy breaks. The clean-up was the biggest job, including new fences, gates, and so on,” Tim says.
The family made some modifications to the home. They changed the direction of the staircase to the upstairs bedrooms and installed an impressive second-hand kitchen.
Tim added new shelving in a corner of the room that displays some of his pottery, seen here on the rear wall, and fashioned an island worktop from an old cedar table he bought online.
Tim added new shelving in a corner of the room that displays some of his pottery, seen here on the rear wall, and fashioned an island worktop from an old cedar table he bought online.
The home’s sunny dining room looks out over the front garden. Just outside the front door is a paved sandstone patio bordered by a low, stone wall made from local dolerite. Beyond that is a swathe of well-manicured lawn that stretches down over the crest to the bay.
The building dates to only 1988, but it gets its character from salvaged building materials. Front veranda posts made from celery-top pine were rescued from Tasmania’s Styx Valley after the trees had been earmarked as waste timber.
The trip up the property’s front drive is a lengthy one. Young olive trees and eucalypts line the long avenue. It will be a few years before these new plantings mature enough to provide a canopy, but for now they’re a promise of things to come.
Behind a thick pittosporum hedge the breathtaking view unfolds. A lush sweeping garden is filled with a mix of head-high natives and cottage garden plants. There are proteas (Leucadendron), lavender bushes covered with purple blooms, red bottlebrushes (Callistemon), grevilleas, acacias and tall kangaroo paws.
Probably the best example of Tim’s sustainable building style is the new barn. The building’s north-, south- and west-facing walls are constructed from 300mm-thick rammed earth. The ancient building method uses compacted natural raw materials – in Tim’s case, local gravel and sand – for a structurally strong framework. Rammed earth offers excellent thermal qualities, has no toxic off-gassing and acts as a heat shield in a fire.
In keeping with his environmentally responsible build, Tim incorporated reclaimed macrocarpa timber from a chicken farm in Ulverstone and sourced beams from the nearby Eaglehawk Neck jetty. The result is an aesthetically pleasing, enduring structure that uses few material resources and is fire-resistant.
In keeping with his environmentally responsible build, Tim incorporated reclaimed macrocarpa timber from a chicken farm in Ulverstone and sourced beams from the nearby Eaglehawk Neck jetty. The result is an aesthetically pleasing, enduring structure that uses few material resources and is fire-resistant.
For Australians living near the bush, the daily possibility of bushfires is very real. New homes in the high-risk areas must meet strict regulations, which include choosing fire-resistant construction materials.
“Architectural discussion now focuses on ways to meet the Standard’s requirements and still look ‘natural’,” says Gregory Nolan, director of the Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood at the University of Tasmania. “People obviously don’t want to live in a building that resembles a bunker in anticipation of an event that may not happen in their lifetimes.” In Tim’s case, his rammed earth walls more than fit the bill.
“Architectural discussion now focuses on ways to meet the Standard’s requirements and still look ‘natural’,” says Gregory Nolan, director of the Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood at the University of Tasmania. “People obviously don’t want to live in a building that resembles a bunker in anticipation of an event that may not happen in their lifetimes.” In Tim’s case, his rammed earth walls more than fit the bill.
On the front lawn across from the house is this little studio, which the family fondly call “the boathouse” – although it’s nowhere near the water. In the future, they hope to relocate the studio down by the water’s edge to replace their boathouse lost in the fire.
This small studio, constructed in just a week, showcases Tim’s exceptional building skills. It was made almost entirely from scrap: the four rusty wheels on which it sits were salvaged from an in-situ piece of agricultural machinery, and the timber panelling is reclaimed. Eventually, the untreated boards will weather to a silvery grey, adding to the building’s rustic character.
Other outbuildings include a repurposed hay shed and a potting shed for Tammy. After the bushfire, the community came together to support Tammy by donating vouchers for the local garden centre. For Tim, a keen potter, a legion of past clients returned the pots they had bought from him, so his work wasn’t completely lost.
The change in landscape has been an opportunity to start afresh. “We have taken the chance to install underground irrigation, new landscaping, ornamental gardens, an orchard and a new vegetable garden,” Tim says.
While they were transporting some of the nutrient-rich soil from the old vegetable garden to the site of the new one, they found under the charred soil half-a-dozen 80-year-old asparagus crowns that a friend had given to Tammy. The asparagus is now flourishing in its new home.
Read expert advice on growing an edible garden
While they were transporting some of the nutrient-rich soil from the old vegetable garden to the site of the new one, they found under the charred soil half-a-dozen 80-year-old asparagus crowns that a friend had given to Tammy. The asparagus is now flourishing in its new home.
Read expert advice on growing an edible garden
And that’s not the only surprise in the new vegetable patch. The low picket fence surrounding the garden is made from boards from the jetty. The tired boards were in need of replacing at the same time the vegetable garden needed a low fence that wouldn’t obscure the sun.
The couple carefully removed the timbers and reassembled them here. The effect is of a jetty turned on its side, as though on display at a museum. The old boards have kept the scars of that blazing day: amid the grey-green lichen, small black pockmarks from burns can be seen.
The couple carefully removed the timbers and reassembled them here. The effect is of a jetty turned on its side, as though on display at a museum. The old boards have kept the scars of that blazing day: amid the grey-green lichen, small black pockmarks from burns can be seen.
Along the southern perimeter of the Holmes’ property is a stand of young blue gums. As well as being the floral emblem of Tasmania, blue gums are an important summer breeding ground for the endangered Swift parrot, which migrates through the area on the way to its winter feeding grounds across the Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from Australia.
Most of the mature eucalypts had to be cut down after the fire, but thankfully for the parrots, a healthy forest of young blue gums is already taking hold.
Most of the mature eucalypts had to be cut down after the fire, but thankfully for the parrots, a healthy forest of young blue gums is already taking hold.
For Tim and Tammy Holmes, the scorched fence and the soon-to-be-renovated jetty are daily reminders of the day their family was spared. Along with the salvaged relics, the couple’s work is a tribute to rejuvenation and a renewed sense of purpose. It seems that all things have the chance of a new life at the Holmes’ place.
TELL US…
What would be your reaction to your home being destroyed by natural forces? Would you rebuild or move away? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What would be your reaction to your home being destroyed by natural forces? Would you rebuild or move away? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Tim and Tammy Holmes
Location Dunalley, Tasmania, Australia
Size 24 acres
Tim and Tammy Holmes are thankful for every moment they spend together. In the years since the fire, the couple have returned to rebuild and reimagine the land with son Joe Holmes and his family (including the children – Silas, Judah and Ivy – pictured here), who live on an adjacent plot.
This freestanding studio is one of the new buildings created since the fire.