Year: 2026

The landscape opens up cinematically on the approach to Kookaburra Ridge. A dirt track winds through the trees to the ridgeline and the property beyond, before the sweeping valley comes into view. For Homeroom Studio, this sequential approach became central to the project: how to hold and honour the view without turning it into a performance. To do so, the design attempts to continue the landscape through the house — from fallen leaves and uneven, rocky ground into stone, warm tones and an unbroken long view.

By renovating an existing floorplan, Homeroom Studio sought to improve the house’s integration with the landscape; to make it both more settled in the landscape as well as provide better amenity and appreciation of the view for its residents. Windows are positioned and enlarged to bring sunlight further into the floorplate while also drawing greater attention to the valley beyond. In the bathroom, full-height glazing frames the landscape from both the bath and shower. The room is open to the view, but remains private.

Kookaburra Ridge is a minimalist home located in Daylesford, Australia, designed by Homeroom Studio. Artist Suzie Stanford made the front door handle from bark collected on the site, and the object sets the terms for everything past the threshold. It also nods to the client’s affection for the kookaburras that gave the property its name. A handle is the first thing a hand meets, and this one asks the house to be read as something grown out of the ridge rather than delivered to it.

Retaining the original framework of the home, the interior was reimagined around the lifestyle and extensive collection of its owners, whose travels have brought together an eclectic array of artefacts, artworks and objects. These pieces became an important reference point for the interior, informing a warm and tactile material palette that gives the home a sense of depth, history and personal character.

The design centres on a reconfigured layout that brings the main living areas together, creating a more connected arrangement for daily life. The kitchen is organised around a sculptural Terrassa Raya marble island and rangehood, set against softly toned timber cabinetry, while a pair of Ross Gardam Rook stools echo the sculptural qualities of the artefacts displayed nearby. A discreet butler’s pantry and workspace sit alongside the kitchen, allowing the practical elements of daily life to remain close at hand while maintaining a sense of visual calm.

Across the residence, deep timber veneer forms a continuous architectural language through joinery and wall cladding. Its grain direction shifts across surfaces, introducing variation and a subtle sense of craftsmanship inspired by traditional furniture making. Warm brown tones are balanced with soft grey furnishings, off-white walls and pale timber floors, establishing a restrained backdrop for the owners’ collection. In the living room, a leathered stone hearth marked by rich, rusty veining brings a substantial material presence to the home, complemented by handcrafted furniture and vintage-inspired pieces that lend the interiors a collected, enduring quality.

Set on a ridgeline in the countryside near Daylesford, Kookaburra Ridge is the work of Melbourne-based Homeroom Studio, who shaped both the spatial planning and a pared-back material palette around a single idea: keep the landscape front and centre.

Generously proportioned windows track the countryside and pine trees beyond, and with no immediate neighbours, even the main ensuite and bathroom face directly out to views. In the living room, a stone console conceals a pop-up television, so nothing competes with the outlook. “Materials have been deliberately limited, allowing light, texture, and landscape to take precedence,” founder Romy Dankner says.

In the countryside near Daylesford in Victoria, Australia, a home finds a sense of rhythm within the landscape.

Set upon a scenic ridgeline in Victoria, Australia, the newly designed Kookaburra Ridge sits in conversation with its tranquil surroundings. With soft tones and textural materials, Melbourne-based Homeroom Studio created a thoughtful, pared-back design that allows the home to flow effortlessly with the landscape. “While tranquillity was central to the brief, the client was equally seeking a sense of quiet sophistication—an environment that felt refined without excess,” Homeroom Studio founder and director Romy Dankner explains.

Given the breathtaking surrounding landscape, the design continually references a connection between the interior and exteriors. The entrance, which is “deliberately understated,” Dankner notes, with soft grey stone paving that extends seamlessly from the exterior to the interior foyer. “This moment acts as a pause before stepping down into the main spine of the home, where the spaces unfold more fully,” she adds. From here, the landscape is immediately visible, ensuring the first focal point is on the countryside and pine trees beyond.

Homeroom Studio melded the hues and rhythms of rural living with its distinctive restrained approach to create Kookaburra Ridge.

To envision a rural retreat outside Daylesford in Victoria, Homeroom Studio founder Romy Dankner and her team felt it crucial to immerse themselves in the colours and forms of the locale. “Spending time there and understanding the landscape was an integral part of our process,” Dankner says.⁠ “Walking the site allowed us to understand its scale and stillness – informing a design that feels connected, considered and grounded in place.”

Concealed behind a façade of intricately crafted tiles, a natural warmth tints the interior of Montana Jewel as the light filters through bronzed framed windows and honey toned sheer curtains. A grand timber pivot door with a dark, rich grain and a handcrafted bronze handle, serves as an impressive entry to the home – a stunning design collaboration between Homeroom Studio and ADDARC.

This beautifully refined kitchen setting showcases our ROOK STOOL, crafted in American Walnut hardwood and finished with a sleek Black Powder Coat base and footrest.