Dunluce – 900 years in the planning

Last Updated on January 29, 2018 by teamobn

Near Brisbane QLD Australia – Owner designed and built

Land area: 32 Hectares (80 acres)
Built area: 340 m2 (3,672 sq. ft.) plus veranda area of 237 m2 (2,560 sq. ft.)
Year Completed: 1997

In Celtic Dunluce means Castle On A Hill’. The home’s design is loosely based on a 12th century ancestral castle in Ireland.

Sitting on a hill overlooking the Scenic Rim, the home is constructed from recycled materials that the owners had spent the previous 15 years collecting. For example, the façade features convict cut sandstone sourced from The Rocks precinct of inner Sydney, as well as Porphyry stone from demolished 19th century buildings in Brisbane. All of the stone was individually sized, dressed and split on site by hand.

Dunluce - 15 years of collecting — Dunluce – 15 years of collecting

The owners also collected many large Queensland red cedar logs that had been felled in prior years on the block. In total the home features over nine cubic meters of red cedar, all of which was milled by hand on site. (Queensland red cedar is one of the world’s most highly prized furniture timbers.)

The veranda posts were made in Scotland in the mid-19th century while the external lights around the verandas are old Melbourne tram lights. Even the chimney pots for the six fireplaces are recycled – in this instance, all the way from England.

The kitchen features an antique bench found in a nearby emporium while the four oven AGA stove was saved from yet another demolition and lovingly restored.

The home is a testament to the owners dedication in capturing the ambience of a bygone era. What do you think?