Gippsland’s Silo House has shedloads of style
A couple of collectors of rustic relics have created a one-of-a-kind abode that celebrates its dairy roots.
When Allister Scott greets guests at The Silo House in Gippsland, it’s a wonder he’s not carrying a bottle of milk rather than the Moet & Chandon he brings as a welcome gift. The property is on Scott’s family dairy and beef farm, and when he and wife Belinda wanted to replace the 1950s farmhouse that burned down on the site in 2016, it was always going to reflect the region’s heritage and character. So they created Victoria’s most luxurious milking shed.
Such edifices, with their attendant grain-feed silos, are common around Inverloch, 145km southeast of Melbourne, and the silo is the cornerstone of this project. “Belinda’s always had the idea for silos,” Scott says. “Once we started, a bigger shed just grew.” And grew, into a stunning four-bedroom house providing a dress-circle seat to life on the land. The main “shed” is a cleverly designed pavilion housing myriad living and dining areas on three levels, with panoramic views to a vineyard, dam, pastures and a horizon swamped by the sunset. It links to a smaller pavilion with two ensuite queen bedrooms, facilities matched in the house’s focal point, a pair of silos. This faux milking shed must confuse the poor cows no end, because much about it is the real deal.
The couple loves old objects and building materials – Belinda describes herself as a bowerbird – and for the main shed Scott sourced concrete blocks from an old dairy. “We didn’t have to touch them. The brickie wanted to clean them up, but we wouldn’t let him.” The huge sliding wooden doors that shield the modern glass doorways and windows came off a warehouse in the Yarra Valley. And depending on which bedroom you choose, your portal might be a tram depot fire door or, in the silos, cell doors from Pentridge Prison, still with security bolts and the hatch through which guards would pass inmates’ gruel.
Repurposed materials are used everywhere, particularly cedar reclaimed from old piers. It forms ceilings, door frames, stairs and kitchen cabinets and hasn’t been titivated; it’s as they found it. The deck was once railway sleepers. Rusty truck parts are the basis of vanity basins and a coffee table; another table is a sea chest, while a lamp sits inside a blackened milk churn.
Wooden workshop benches have become dressers, and old milking stools, marine lights and kitchen scales are scattered around. With no cavity walls, cables run inside rusty pipes. In some areas, the couple has had to fake it; concrete shower bases were cast to resemble cattle troughs, and Scott commissioned new milking head stalls for guard rails on the mezzanine’s walkway.
Belinda created the overall design of The Silo House, on which Darren Brown (architect), Steve Duffey (builder) and Allister (general factotum) toiled, while Claire Cau-Cecile (close friend) helped with the interior design and now manages the property. But they couldn’t have done it without Les Guilfoyle (blacksmith), whose bespoke elements include vanity units and staircases.
Pentridge doors aside, the twin silos are new but use traditional galvanised steel inside and out. This defines the design palette for the whole house where, with so much polished concrete, steel and weathered timber, furnishings are soft silver, pearl grey and brown. The main living zone has a pair of inviting chocolate leather sofas, which Scott sourced on Marketplace.
Upstairs are two other lolling areas, one with a pair of enormous swivel chairs looking out through a full-height window to the vines, the dam and a working milking shed. At the other end of this level is an open games lounge with some extra beds which, augmented by an extra bathroom downstairs, extends the capacity to 12.
However, the cosiest nook is the Gin Pit. Inspired by a herringbone, the sunken pit that allows the farmer to stand at udder level, this subterranean room houses the Scotts’ collection of (empty) gin bottles, and more vintage seats invite you to settle in.
The couple can’t downplay the notion that they’re in some sort of cow cuckoo-land, not when bovine artworks adorn most walls. You’ll do a double-take on arrival before realising the mother and calf lurking near the front door are fibreglass, as is a pair of sheep near the firepit. But The Silo House has certainly not descended into kitsch, and it is lovely to wake up to some soft mooing.
The place is spacious, with a well-appointed kitchen. There’s a hectare of grounds to stroll around and Inverloch, with its protected beach along Anderson Inlet, is just five minutes’ drive away.
You’re also on the fringe of Victoria’s food bowl, with providores galore within a half-hour radius, and while most cellar doors aren’t open full-time, there’s a range of excellent Gippsland wines in the Inverloch supermarket.
Being inveterate hunters for rusty rustic relics, it’s no surprise the owners didn’t use them all for The Silo House. So, what will they do with the surplus? “No more houses,” Scott vows. But they might start another shed one day, and who knows what that will become.
To-do list
EAT
Two good cafe/providores are Vaughan’s and Green Heart (both in Inverloch). Also consider Pandesal Bakery and Meeniyan Pantry and Cellar (both in Meeniyan) and Udder & Hoe (Kilcunda).
DRINK
Dirty Three Wines, in Inverloch, and Harman Wines, 8km north, open Fridays to Sundays for tastings and food. Also try Gurney’s Cider at Foster.
WALK
Venus Bay Beach is 24km long, with access via Venus Bay township.
EXPLORE
The drive between Inverloch and Cape Paterson is a mini Great Ocean Road, with several interesting coves and rock formations. Take any minor road in the area and you’re in a wonderland of rolling hills.
Essentials
The Silo House is at Inverloch, 145km southeast of Melbourne. A minimum three-night booking is preferred, at $1200-$1400 a night, plus a $250 cleaning fee. Its comfortable capacity is eight. To inquire, email manager Claire Cau-Cecile, claire@thesilohouse.com.au. The property will feature in the 2022 series of Grand Designs Australia.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of The Silo House.
