This diminutive Castlemaine home was a passion project by retirees with a bold dream to live comfortably, without debt and to use as many natural and recycled materials as they could.
At the ages of 66 and 62 respectively, Fay and Terry White decided the best thing they could do after four decades of marriage was self-build a home together. Planning began in 2011, the first sod was turned in June 2016 and the house was completed by February 2019.
Moving from the nearby central Victorian town of Maryborough, they bought their 784 m2 south-sloping block in Castlemaine with a narrow north-facing street view. Having lived in draughty, leaky houses for most of their lives, the goals for their forever home were it needed to be airtight, comfortable, inexpensive and simple to operate, while reflecting their core values of being natural, handmade and collaborative.
ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Terry and Fay have always been hands-on, but it was a big step to take on not only the design, drawing and project management, but a large chunk of the building of
