If you ever find yourself in Kambah, you’re likely to come across the home of Kirsty Goodwin, her two young daughters Winter and Edie, and their beloved greyhound Reggie – it’s the talk of the town.
“We are coming up to four years here now, and we still cross paths with strangers who quickly become friends when they realise we own ‘that’ home in Kambah,” Kirsty said.
“It opens people’s minds to new possibilities for their own homes and, more importantly, shows new and lighter ways of living.”
Sitting on a former Mr Fluffy block, Kirsty’s Eco Modular Home was built by Strine Environments in June 2018, and from the second the family stepped foot on the property, they never looked back.
“We moved in before the power was even hooked up, we just threw an extension cord over to the neighbours and used their electricity until the connections came on,” she laughed.
“The land itself we snapped up quickly because it suited the orientation of a passive solar home, perfect for the north-facing glass wall to allow lots of natural light to seep through. Within a month of settlement, the slab was laid and the walls were put in. It was an impressive day for all my neighbours, who watched huge walls come off trucks and be put together like Lego pieces.”
Every weekend for the four months it took to build the home, Kirsty and her girls would pop round and help with the clean up for the construction workers; a time she describes as “head down, bum up” until it was complete.
Her main drive was to build a house that kept materialistic tendencies to a minimum, and to maximise outside time with her girls as much as possible.
“The garden itself is not particularly neat and tidy as it’s a permaculture garden, and with bees, chickens and a greyhound, it’s very prolific in terms of activity,” Kirsty explained.
“My four- and eight-year-old both really, really love it. It’s the best home we could have ever built. They have their own veggie patch which draws them outside and I can watch them from main space inside because of how well everything flows.”
The southern and eastern deck are both covered, because when the house was first built there were no trees on the block and Kirsty knew there wasn’t going to be shade for the first few years.
Deep eaves provide shelter so the girls had somewhere to play until the trees grew, and when it rains in the summer it’s a cool place to relax without getting wet.
Along the full length of the pergola there’s a gorgeous grapevine that is just starting to grow leaves again for the summer.
In terms of household bills, Kirsty said it’s the best thing she’s ever done for herself.
“I spend less on energy than on my water bill. The upfront costs were really low for a modular home, and I pay so little for electricity I haven’t even bothered to install any solar! I do have a hot water pump, and that helps to keep costs down too,” she said.
“If you’re wanting to build a sustainable home for yourself, my advice would be to go and look at lots of them. Get a sense of the size you want, how you’d like to style it, what you would like the garden to look like, and then just go for it!”
Reflecting on the process of building this dream home, Kirsty said the most important part was how her authenticity has flowed into the community she calls home, creating wonderful relationships with those around her.
“The most beautiful and poignant aspect has been how wonderfully this home reflects my values … there’s a sense of authenticity and integrity in building a sustainable home.”
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