It’s the perfect place to escape from city life.
Set on 224 acres, this rural oasis adjoins a national park.
Making a move from Sydney to Laguna, Alistair planned a prefab Cedarspan™ project for his rural property.
For ten years, he and his wife called it home.
“It was a beautifully designed cabin. Everything fitted like a glove.”
Alistair chose a 40H50 and customised the design with an enclosed verandah.
“When I was talking to Doug, we designed it with the bathroom and laundry on the back verandah rather than putting them internally.”
Step inside, and the Cedarspan™ steel trusses are a standout feature of the open plan living area.
“We didn’t bother painting the trusses. Those are part of the bones of the property.”
That modern rustic theme continues throughout the kitchen.
“I had a ladder hanging up over the island bench with the chain so that it melded in with the unpainted trusses.”
An off the grid lifestyle was ideal for Alistair, using the second bedroom as his work from home office.
“I worked remotely for 20 years, so it was one of the reasons we went bush.”
“It’s lovely, no traffic, no travelling. It was nice working from there with the bush setting from the cabin’s perspective.”
Comfortable and cosy, like a country cabin should be.
“It was a warm house. We had a combustion fireplace plus a wood-burning AGA.”
The prefab Cedarspan™ provided ease of construction, making it a DIY project.
“My son, he’s a plumber. He’s pretty handy. If you have a bit of practicality in you, I think anyone can do it.”
“The manual was great. We put it up ourselves. We got a lot of friends up for one weekend. We put the walls up and the roof on, and we had it to lock up stage in one weekend, which was amazing.”
For many of us, Covid has brought about unexpected change. As Alistair’s life changed, he too embraced a new challenge.
“I had been made redundant, and I decided to retire. So we enacted our retirement plan, which was to sell the property and find our next stage of a house somewhere else.”
“It was a great experience to live off the grid. It was the right time to sell. We loved it, and it was time for the next stage.”
A decade on and Alistair listed his property on the market.
“It was such a good time to sell.”
“With Covid, because there was such a surge of people wanting to buy a property outside of Sydney.”
“We managed to sell it in four weeks.”
“Normally, it takes a year to sell a property. It went like hotcakes.”
Despite parting with the property, Alistair keeps in touch with the new owners.
“They are enjoying the isolation there.”
“We intend to go back and stay the weekend with the new owners and hand over some more knowledge of the property.”
Would he do it all again?
“I would probably go for a bigger one.”
“I think value for money it’s the best thing you can get.”
“The affordability and the design are just brilliant.”
Dreaming of your own rural getaway?
We’d love to show you just how fast & easy it is to add a Cedarspan™ building to your property.
As a 3rd-generation family business, we’ve been building cabins, barns & cottages across Australia for over 40 years.
Click here to download prices, or give us a call on 1300 635 966 to get your project underway.
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