An old barn gets a makeoverPosted by jimmygreen on September 29th, 2014 
Photo: wedding dresses brisbane It may look like it was built over a century ago but this brick barn on the outskirts of Castlemaine is only three years old.
Looks can be deceiving. Take the case of a red brick barn down the back of an old miner’s cottage on the outskirts of Castlemaine in Victoria’s goldfields. It faces out over grassy mullock heaps on the creek flats of Chewton and, like most of the neighbouring buildings, it looks as if it has stood there for a century or more. While some of its components may well be of that vintage — the bricks, for instance, are all reclaimed from previous structures, as are other building materials — this very traditional barn is still just three years old. Built and decorated by Daniel Burgermeister and Glenny Eastwood, the work has been an obsession for the couple and the way it fits so well in this landscape is testament to their skill in imbuing it with aged finishes and their attention to the finest details. “We just like the style of the building, it’s much like the dilapidated old barns you see in this area.” The barn is the second project the couple has devoted themselves to on the site. For most of the week they live in inner Melbourne, where Glenny works in retail fashion. Ten years ago they had started looking for a weekender in a region they often visited. “At first we were going to buy a bigger house in town, but because we used to go away on weekends we thought it might be best to buy up here,” Glenny explains. “We always felt comfortable in the area; we love the arts scene and the landscape, and it’s an easy 90-minute commute from Melbourne.” Daniel and Glenny found an 1860s miner’s cottage for sale on an overgrown, blackberry- and gorse-infested one-hectare block. For the next few years they renovated, clearing the yard and building stone walls around the developing garden. “The house had been owned by a darling 90-year-old lady who had lived here since the ’50s,” Glenny says. “We used to sleep in an asbestos [fibro] room; we didn’t have a bathroom and showered outside for years, and it took us months to clear enough of the yard just to get to the clothesline.” When the renovating was done the idea of building a barn for guests came into focus. Daniel, who has an industrial design background and now designs and makes copper water features, initially drew up the building, adjusting proportions by eye as it materialised. He also did most of the physical building himself. He’d never built anything before, but the project soon became — and still is — an all-consuming passion to hunt down and use the most appropriate second-hand materials and fittings. Used bricks were found locally, walls and ceilings were panelled with recycled lining boards and old floorboards were reversed to lend a rustic look. “Every single thing in the building is second-hand,” Daniel says. “I’ve done everything myself except the brickwork; we’ve spent every weekend working on it.” “We don’t accept invitations in town on weekends, we come up here without fail,” Glenny adds. Daniel and Glenny have invested their hearts and souls in every stage of the barn’s development, not least of all the fitting out and furnishing. “We have the same tastes, yet we fought like cat and dog about some details,” Daniel says. “Glenny thinks more about function, while I’m into the aesthetics.” “I like a bit more softness,” Glenny corrects him, “and Daniel likes it more industrial.” The barn is tucked away at the rear of the garden, shielded from the house by a silver pear orchard. There’s an outdoor bath and shower on the deck — vintage, of course — and other thoughtful touches for guests. When asked why they don’t move in and enjoy the barn themselves, Glenny says, “I like being a hostess.” For Daniel, the end of the project at least brings some comfort in knowing the barn looks and feels the way he intended — as though it was always there. “It went so smoothly from start to finish: it was all meant to be.” Like it? Share it! More by this author |