Picture perfect

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the owners of this home have paid high compliment to the house that first inspired their dream.

Set on the rolling hills of Tasmania, this homestead is an exact copy, to the last measure, of a Victorian residence that the owners, Ann and Kurt Deby, saw outside Melbourne.

"We fell in love with the house, vowing that if we ever built our own home, it would look like this," says Ann Deby. "Following on from this, we secured a large site on sloping terrain overlooking the river."

Upon excavating the site and creating a retaining wall from local quarry stones, a large concrete slab was poured to sit the new-built house on.

"Then we began the painstaking task of measuring every aspect of the facade of the original building, right down to the dimensions of the wraparound veranda, the window sills and cornices."

With measurements made of everything that was in reach, the owners then employed an engineer to turn the metres and centimetres into a real home.

The project was made easier by the simple, rectangular shape of the original house.

"The only exterior change we made was to move the main entrance to the side of the residence," says Kurt Deby. "Having the front door here allowed us to create a 12m-long entrance hallway into the central living spaces.

"The living and dining space is virtually a replica, but the bedrooms, an ensuite and a bathroom are newly configured. Most of these rooms are accessed off this hallway."

The exterior remained faithful to the residence that inspired it in other ways besides the facade. While the new house is built in breeze block and not brick, its walls are still finished in a patterned render similar to that found on the Melbourne residence.

The corrugated roof from the Melbourne house is also replicated. The veranda tiles on the new home, however, were chosen to the match the wall tones, whereas these are terracotta in the older house.

While the exterior is a near-exact re-creation of the original in scale and style, the interiors include several departures.

"We designed the interior ourselves to some extent to evoke the spirit of the original home," says Ann Deby. "The interior wasn't measured out to match, but elements such as the skirting boards and door panels are all faithful to the Victorian aesthetic.

"Essentially, we wanted the interior to have fewer rooms, and on a larger scale. We also wanted to ensure the finishes would be in keeping, but not fussy. For example, cornices are deep but simple in detail."

Parquet floors in the house in Melbourne are replaced here with recycled blackbutt timber. Choosing recycled wood was not only ecologically sound practice, but also provided the large-plank dimensions that suited the scale of the rooms.

With similar advantages in sustainability and economy, the home's fireplace surrounds are made of panelled wood instead of marble.

The owners let the home out to paying guests, so the furniture and furnishings had to be both comfortable and welcoming.

"We haven't introduced any Victorian furniture into the home," says Kurt Deby. "We simply wanted a classic, relaxed feel appropriate to any rambling country house."

The result is an interior that boasts antique chandeliers, a Spanish dining table and French bedroom furniture, to name only a few elements.

The house includes all the comforts of modern technology, with sleek kitchen appliances and air conditioning.

"In terms of decor, we kept the palette neutral," says Ann Deby. "While the home is rich in furniture and finishing detail, we had to ensure the views take centre stage."

Story by: Charles Moxham