An inspiring home in bushland north of Geelong delivers eco-friendly, off-grid and sustainable living. SEE INSIDE this incredible Anakie hideaway.

At the end of a working day, Roger Maloney makes the hour-long journey from Melbourne to his striking, bushland home in Anakie and welcomes the silence.

“That’s the beauty of this place,” he says.

“I’ll take the dog for a walk at night and all you hear is whatever traffic there is inside the bush.

“You’ll hear some animals, or something making a call. It is really special. We feel really lucky to live here.”

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But after seven years, Mr Maloney and his wife, artist Shelley McKenzie, are returning to the city and reluctantly selling their 32.63ha bushland retreat.

The home at 510 Clarkes Rd, Anakie, is listed for sale with price hopes from $1.53m to $1.63m Offers close September 143.

The original owner-architect Jonathan Black, completed the home in 2006 and described it as, “a rare and bold, sometimes confronting design and a highly contemporary solution for living in the bush.”

It is indeed bold. From all sides of its curved steel walls it embraces tough, resilient products like concrete, terrazzo and iron.

But views of the bush, through soaring floor-to-ceiling windows, relinquish any severity.

The living-dining area is masterful. Opening on two sides, one to an ironbark timber deck and the other to a garden terrace, its versatility is enhanced by a 5.4m high glass sliding door divider.

The stylish black kitchen has plenty of storage space, an Ilve oven and a Stanley wood oven that has a connected wet jacket to support the hot water unit.

The main bedroom on the first floor, one of three in the house, has sliding glass doors opening onto a balcony in the trees. It would be the most beautiful place to wake up.

There is a third bedroom in the basement, along with a study and a room that could become a wine cellar.

The property also includes: a viewing platform accessed off the main house; a huge double garage with kitchenette, wood fire and workspace; and a studio with decking and a mezzanine floor.

“Every day we are here, we learn something,” reflects Mr Maloney.

“Before we came out here, we didn’t realise what was on Geelong’s doorstep – all the different types of animals, the flowers we see come out at different times of the year.

“Shelley’s been making all these little habitats around the house and lots of birds come and make their home in there, or hunt for insects,”

Ahead of its time when it was built, the building is fully sustainable and the couple essentially live off-grid.

The property draws on resources such as a 76,000l water tank, a 1.2ml dam, 3.5kw of solar power and two Rota-Loo dry composting toilets which pass greywater into an outdoor reed bed with the outfall benefiting the soil and plant ecology.

“I love that it’s so eco-friendly. You drive off the road and you’re not connected to anything,” says Mr Maloney.

“So you pay your rates, your insurance and you don’t have another bill.”

Selling agent Matt Poustie, of Newtown’s HF Richardson, sums up the unique character of this property: “This is an exceptional example of an unwavering commitment to eco-friendly, off-grid and sustainable living. It’s certainly a property that evokes emotion.”

Originally published as Live off-grid in an inspiring modern masterpiece at Anakie