Fabulous indeed

Kate and Jonathan brought their retirement vision to life with a modular home that they optimised for sustainability.

Many people dream of moving to the country in retirement, but not all make it happen. Kate Pickles and Jonathan Happold are both vets, and as scientists they share a strong desire to reduce their impact on the planet. During Covid, they started thinking seriously about moving to the country once they retired, inspired by Kate’s childhood on a farm.

“Like many others during Covid we reassessed what’s important, and the idea of being closer to nature appealed to us,” Jonathan recalls. “We looked at a few places, and ended up buying a block in Tathra that’s about an acre and a half. It’s big enough for an orchard and a garden at some stage, but not a farm!”

At the time, it was “near impossible” to source local builders; most were busy rebuilding homes after the devastating bushfires a few years earlier. So Kate and Jonathan explored prefabricated options, settling on Prefabulous, a manufacturer based in Wagga Wagga.

They also sought design input from their brother-in-law, architect Adam Russell of Saltbush Projects. “We like his architecture, and we really didn’t want a prefabricated house that just looked like a shed,” Jonathan said. “We wanted an ‘Adam house’.”

As beautiful as their elevated site is, it posed some design challenges. It slopes down away from the road and boasts views in two directions – north over the Bega River, and east towards the Pacific Ocean. This made it virtually impossible to site an off-the-shelf prefabricated design across the contours, while optimising the orientation for both passive solar performance and views. On top of that, it’s rated BAL-29 for bushfire risk and is exposed to strong southerly winds and rain in winter.

Jonathan and Kate were determined to get the fundamentals right for their future home, and to invest in sustainable design measures. To this end, Adam provided input about the location, overall size, thermal zoning, and spatial planning. He designed two pavilions arranged at an oblique angle, connected by a bridging element that forms the entry. One section contains an open plan kitchen, dining and living area with a north-facing deck, a bedroom and a bathroom; the other comprises two bedrooms, a bathroom and a laundry/mudroom.

Adam also took the list of Prefabulous’ standard materials and put forward two possible sustainable upgrades for each: the top tier, ‘best practice’ option and an intermediate, usually less expensive option.

“In terms of orientation and organisation of the plan on the site – and also in terms of the materials – there was a tug-of-war between standard off-the-shelf designs and choices, and a fully customised home,” Adam said. “Aiming for housing that is both more sustainable and more affordable is quite an interesting space that not a lot of architects are playing in yet.”

Kate and Jonathan gave Adam’s list of possible alternatives to the Prefabulous design and build teams, and together they determined the sweet spot between budget and performance. “The thing that differentiated Prefabulous was their willingness to explore different materials and be part of that collaboration, in terms of what was possible, and the cost implications,” Jonathan says.

“Prefabulous really came to the party and did so much work to help us find the best products,” Kate agrees. “For example, we wanted Magnum Board for the subfloor and cladding because of its better sustainability credentials compared to the standard Hardie Board. The Prefabulous team were great at working with Adam’s list to see which products they could source and substitute, and they came up with some of their own suggestions as well.”

Once the couple made their final selections and signed the building contract, work progressed quickly. It took just four months to construct the modules in Wagga Wagga, and one day to install them on site, with local tradespeople connecting electricity and mains water over the next few weeks. Finishing touches included ceiling fans, Mud Australia lights in the bedrooms, and an outdoor bath sourced from Gumtree.

In future – when budget allows – the couple will add rooftop solar, a battery and electric vehicle charging facilities, underfloor insulation, an eastern deck, and a carport or garage.

Since the house was finished in September 2024, the entire family has enjoyed planting natives across the site, and building 90 metres of gabion walls around the house using rocks recovered during the site works.

Jonathan and Kate are delighted with the outcome, and look forward to spending more time there in future. “It feels like the fanciest house we’ve ever lived in, and we’re enjoying embedding the house into the landscape,” Kate says. “I did a Kathleen Murphy garden design course to create the native garden, and our lounge room is full of plants that I’m propagating.”

The couple’s teenage children love it too, taking advantage of the proximity to the beach and river for surfing and swimming, and getting involved with landscaping and planting.

“I like the light and air, and the fact that kangaroos come all the way up to the house,” Kate says. “And we’re proud of the fact that we’ve tried to make a difference in this space, by using carefully chosen materials. I don’t know if they will prove to be the best materials, but at least we can say we’ve given it our best shot.”