Inverloch’s Silo House – A grand escape

INVERLOCH’S SILO HOUSE

- a grand escape

WORDS: CHRIS WEST | PHOTOS: DOUG PELL

When Inverloch couple Allister and Belinda Scott spent 18 months building the property now widely known as The Silo House, a journey which was featured earlier this year on Grand Designs Australia, it was with the intention that the house would become home for their four children - Lily, 21, Bethany, 19, Harry, 17, and Max, 14.

“The build project was a commitment we undertook with the kids’ futures mostly in mind,” Allister emphasises.

“Ultimately, we’d like to encourage them to stay on the farm and continue our family’s history here.”

But with their two sons presently attending boarding school in Melbourne, and both girls also sampling a taste of life in the city, the change in circumstances prompted the Scotts to revise their plans for the unique home, at least for the short term.

Rather than taking up permanent residence in the premises themselves upon the completion of construction in June 2020, the couple instead took some time to consider their options before deciding to make The Silo House available for guest bookings.

Allister and Belinda have remained in their own house located separately on the farm property, which is one of three dwellings situated on the 500acre land holding. The Silo House was built to replace the former cedar homestead which was accidentally lost to fire in 2016.

“It was very sad to see the old place go, but in building The Silo House we hope to create many new memories,” Allister says.

By adopting Belinda’s unconventional vision of constructing a brand new home that instead looks like a weathered, century-old dairy shed, the Scotts have achieved their aim of paying homage to the family’s past while creating something for current and future generations that will stand for the next hundred years and beyond.

The Silo House is an eclectic merging of rustic and industrial styling, with galvanised steel and repurposed timber to the fore. Farming-themed items, including cattle grids, crushes and head bales have also been cleverly applied in a variety of uses throughout the floorplan.

“We knew the design concept was a bit ‘out there’ and we were taking a risk with it because there was nothing else like it,” Belinda comments.

“It was di cult to visualise it properly until all the furniture and everything was in there and you could then get an idea of how well the spaces work and just how liveable the home actually is,” she adds.

ALLISTER AND BELINDA SCOTT’S DAIRY-INSPIRED HOUSE PAYS HOMAGE TO THE PAST WHILE CREATING A UNIQUE HOME FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF THEIR FAMILY TO ENJOY.

In making the house available as a short-term rental property, the enjoyment can be shared by others.

“The first booking for The Silo House was over Christmas 2020, and we have had many more visitors since,” Allister says.

“We love the house ourselves, of course, but the best part of opening it up for accommodation has been that each and every one of the guests has loved it as well.”

Amongst many popular features of the home’s design that visitors most appreciate are the glass-covered sunken lounge area dubbed the ‘Gin Pit’, which provides the perfect place to unwind. But it was Belinda’s inspired decision to also include two external grain silos as bedrooms that added another dimension to a home that already has more than its share of wow factor throughout.

The backstory to The Silo House is steeped in the history of its rural roots. Located on the Inverloch-Kongwak Road, just over a kilometre out of Inverloch, the property on which it stands has been in Allister’s family’s ownership since the 1950s. His great uncle Russell Scott started clearing the property and commenced beef farming, before building a dairy and beginning milking in the 1960s. Allister’s father Malcolm worked for Russell on the farm in the 1960s, whilst his mother Margaret’s career was as a Registered Nurse.

Allister and his elder brother Dougal and younger sister Lucy were all born and bred on the property.

“My parents moved into the old homestead in 1968 and eventually brought the farm from my great uncle Russell in the 1980s,” Allister says.

The property next changed hands within the Scott family in 2001 when Allister and Dougal purchased it from their parents, two years after the brothers had built a new dairy on the main farm.

Whilst still maintaining his partnership with Dougal, Allister is no longer actively involved in the day-to-running of the farm.

“I haven’t milked cows for about seven years now,” he estimates.

Dougal continues to manage the farm and lives in one of the homes on the property with his wife Kathryn and their three children, whilst Lucy lives in Inverloch with her husband Marty and three children, where she operates a bakery.

Originally from bayside Melbourne, Belinda moved to Inverloch in 1998, a year prior to her and Allister’s wedding.

Belinda arrived with a career background in insurance and following her relocation took over a small agency at Cowes. Under her guidance and direction, the business has grown into a national operation as the BJS Insurance Group, with offices in San Remo, Leongatha, Wonthaggi, Mornington, St. Kilda Road in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

Belinda is Managing Director and Allister has also been involved with the business since 2015.

The following year when the homestead burnt down during the winter of 2016, it was being occupied by a share farmer. Late one afternoon he lit the open fire and a spark caused firstly the floor and then a couch to catch alight. His attempt to drag the couch outside only succeeded in fanning the flames further when he opened the door and allowed the wind to rush in. After that point, the blaze was out of control and the house could not be saved.

Allister was in nearby Wonthaggi when the fire took hold and received the terrible news via a phone call from his brother.

In the aftermath of the fire, the Scotts took their time to carefully contemplate when and how they should replace the homestead. “It was Belinda who imagined the concept of building a house that would look like a dairy from outside but have a beautiful home inside,” he acknowledges.

“The opportunity made us think about the history and gave us a chance to create something lasting that would be there for the future,” Belinda says.

“We did engage the services of architect Darren Brown from DB Design in Wonthaggi for some additional help, but only after Belinda went to him with a clear vision of what she wanted.”

The home was built by Steve Duffey of Rosedale Construction Services.

“Steve is a fabulous builder and a great guy. He and I get on really well and have a terrific understanding of each other in our working relationship,” Belinda notes.

Whilst Belinda was the creative force behind the project and also managed the considerable task of sourcing recycled materials and authentic farming-related items for use within the home, Allister took on the role of all-rounder and happily leant a hand in any way needed.

“Allister’s farming expertise, in particular, was a really important asset in achieving the desired look,” Belinda says.

“He was a great sounding board in helping to identify what ideas might and might not work.”

Other key contributors to the Scott’s project included interior designer and close friend Claire Cau-Cecile, who Belinda has known since childhood.

“One of the curious things I noticed with the large rural properties after first moving from the city to the country was often the house is positioned close to the road and you don’t get to see the actual farm. I thought that was strange,” she remarks.

The vision Belinda came upon was to build a house with the appearance of an ageing dairy milking shed with accompanying machinery shed. This was achieved through the construction of two adjoining pavilion structures; however, the extra slice of inspiration was her idea to add two connecting grain silos for use as bedrooms and storage. It is this particular piece of thinking outside the square on Belinda’s behalf that has ensured the home has become known to all as The Silo House.

Allister attributes all credit for the big picture design of the project to his wife.

BELINDA SCOTT

Energised and motivated by the experience of working on The Silo House, Belinda is now finding time to assist Claire with bespoke designer builds and interior projects for Bower Bird Designs. (Instagram: @bower.bird.designs)

Another significant figure working behind the scenes on the project was blacksmith Les Guilfoyle, whose bespoke elements utilised in different parts of the home made an important contribution to its success.

As occurs with any build, the project did not go exactly one hundred percent to plan and threw up its share of challenges along the way. The biggest obstacles to overcome in Allister and Belinda’s case were a combination of wet weather, finding sufficient quantities of the specific types of recycled materials they were looking for, and juggling the everyday needs of managing both a family and a business.

“It’s probably typical of everyone that starts to build a house that the minute you mention the word ‘concrete’ it begins to rain,” Belinda muses. “Although we were a bit concerned about the flooding we experienced in the downstairs area and what the possible repercussions of that could be, fortunately our builder Steve had done a lot of preparatory work with the engineer to plan for how we would be able to get the water out. Our main concern ended up being whether we could dry it out quickly enough and whether the rain would actually stop, because it just kept coming and coming.”

Sourcing recycled items for the project was another ongoing challenge.

“The recycled materials are out there, the problem was just finding them in the quantities we needed and having the time to search,” Belinda observes.

“One person’s trash can be another person’s treasure. I love the stories behind imperfect pieces, but in trying to retrofit things I had to make sure that they would still be functional in the home.”

Some of the more unusual items utilised in the home without a tangible dairy connection include old doors from the cells of Pentridge Prison. Belinda searched throughout Gippsland and further afield for the recycled materials on her wish list. Concrete bricks for the external walls were sourced from an old dairy in Bairnsdale, while many items came from a nearby farm in Outtrim, on which is located a scrapyard full of obsolete agricultural equipment and objects. The discovery of this assortment of bits and pieces lying in paddocks became a veritable goldmine for the Scotts.

Another wonderful find for the Scotts was a consignment of recycled timber from Marysville used for ceiling rafters which have become another of the most eye-catching features within the home.

Much to Belinda’s initial disappointment, however, her wish to utilise the grain silos she located for sale at a nearby depot proved problematic. Not only did they lack the structural integrity needed to be successfully converted into bedroom and storage spaces for the home, transporting them was also unfortunately deemed to be impractical. The solution agreed upon was to retain the use of actual silo roofs but fabricate the steel walls from scratch for both silos on the Scott’s property.

Although not everything went perfectly to script, the end result of The Silo House is stunning.

Allister and Belinda describe the home as everything they hoped it would be and more. They remain confident that one or more of their children will eventually occupy the home as originally intended once the timing is right in their lives.

“I imagine the kids will end up fighting over it,” Allister laughs.

“But building it for them was really what it was all about.”

In the meantime, The Silo House is available for everyone to enjoy. The four-bedroom home has the capability to accommodate up to 12 people.

Booking enquiries are best made via the property’s Instagram page (@thesilohouse_inverloch).

It’s hard to imagine a more unique escape, so experience it while you can.