50 Strongs Road

Jaspers Brush NSW 2535

"Richard is sensitive to building homes appropriate to their location," say the owners. "Everything was built by hand by Steve and his sons, including eight foot high Tasmanian oak doors and hand-built windows. When the house was completed, Steve's son Luke presented two little hand-raised ducklings to our daughters as a housewarming present and his wife came by with bunches of flowers. We felt so welcome!"

The passive solar house is designed as an elongated letter 'H', with two bedrooms and two bathrooms at each end, and formal living area, family room and kitchen at the heart of the home. Each bedroom has its own exit door to the garden. Three bedrooms have walk in robes, while the master bedroom has built-in robes plus a walk-through storage area. The house also features a back to base security system, two separate hot water systems and two reverse-cycle conditioners. There are also two Jetmaster fireplaces in the living areas which back onto the hallways, warming the bedroom wings.

The laundry is located in one bedroom wing, with covered access to a double garage. Attached to the garage is the original two bedroom cottage, much used over the years as a party house for the children and their friends and flow over guest accommodation.

"The house is a chameleon," say the owners, "and is just right for any occasion. If it wants to put on its party frock it will, if it wants to be quiet it will. Over the years we've had fairy parties, 21st birthdays, wild teenage parties, a sit-down wedding for 80 people and a sit-down engagement party for 120."

Outside, the beautiful formal gardens include an 11-metre solar pool, an arena-like area used for Australia Day cricket matches, croquet, bocce and touch footie, plus a veggie garden with chookyard and an orchard producing abundant grapefruit, lemon, lime, guava, kaffir lime and orange fruits. The property is connected to town water.

"We don't water the garden," say the owners. "It looks after itself. Every tree in the garden was a gift of love from friends and family and they all have a special story. There's always something new and dynamic happening in the garden as something finishes blooming and something else comes on. It's even a delight to go to the clothesline as you can pick fresh herbs along the way."

The owners, who moved to the Berry from Sydney in 1994, have loved their time at Jaspers Brush. "We're opera fans and we love it that we can go to Sydney to see an opera and drive back in less than two hours after the performance. It's rural here but there's everything you need close by. We love to sit on the back verandah and watch the sunset hit the Drawing Room Rocks escarpment so it glows pink, and our house sits under the brightest part of the Milky Way so the star gazing is quite extraordinary on clear nights."

Property Code: 66