Gorgeous rammed earth cottage

Recently built, this wonderfully warm rammed earth cottage has an old-world charm rarely seen these days.

Using local materials and sturdy hardwood timbers, this cottage has a strong, enduring feel. Walls 300 mm (1 foot) thick give the cottage a feeling and reality of strength. Big beamed exposed rafters add to the strength and ambience. It will out-live all of us.

Hardwood French doors and large windows bring the fantastic view to everywhere inside.

My father, who is from Greece, says that it has the "rich" feel and charm of the mountain homes he saw as a child.

No expense was spared with fitting out this lovely home - all of the doors and windows are framed in the highest quality Yellow Stringybark timber, sourced locally in Pambula.

The floors are of the highest quality Italian tiles, which look fantastic and make the cottage very easy to keep clean. They have the added benefit of using passive solar design to gently warm the cottage on sunny Winter days.

The kitchen is fully fitted out with gas stove and oven. There is the option of having either an LPG fridge or an electric fridge. Facilities exist for either a dishwasher or a front-loading washing machine.

We set-up the cottage as open-plan to get the New York style loft feeling of light, space and openess.

The French doors open fully flat to the walls opening-up the cottage in a way which makes entertaining a delight.

The bathroom has to have some of the best views in Australia - lie back in the fully restored enamelled cast iron claw-footed bath and gaze out across the lush Bega Valley to the mountains beyond.

All fittings are high quality brass giving the bathroom a beautiful combination of the old and the new.

Imported from Mexico, the hand-basin is made of copper which has been hand-painted. The benches and sills are made from solid hardwood. High windows give the bathroom a bright open feel.

Having the choice of connecting to the mains power or becoming self-sufficient, we decided that self-powering was the way to go. Solar panels and a wind generator provide good energy to keep things running. Facilities for generator back-up are available for the occasions when the sun is hiding away.

As my husband works from home part of the week, we have high-speed satellite broadband facilities - no slow rural connections here!

Finally, for added security, all doors and windows have dead-bolts and use toughened glass. The cottage is built to Australian Standards relating to bushfire resistance.