Two architects and a shared dream in Mudgee.
We're Alyssa and Derek — two Sydney-based architects. Both of us grew up with a love of the rural life and this house is where that interest took shape.
Ember is a passion project, a dream toward a bucolic retirement, hoping one day when we are here frequently enough to have some animals of our own. The house was originally conceived as a single-bedroom house, but quickly pivoted to a 2 bedroom home after enjoying so many occasions camping here with our Friends and Family.
The house is built to let visitors experience what the countryside feels like at its best.
The design fuses ideas from special places we've travelled to, held together by the two cultures we come from. Alyssa is Japanese-American; Derek is Australian. You could say the home shares this DNA — the combination of warm native Australian timber contrasted against a dark material palette.
We chose Mudgee for its people as much as its scenery. There's a kindness and authenticity here we haven't found anywhere else, along with a quiet character and charm that suits the way we want to live. And yes, the local wineries helped too.
Between intense jobs in the city, what we love most about Ember is how quickly the stress of it all fades. You arrive tired, you leave slow. The house is made for good dinners and lazy lunches, for gathering people around a table, and for doing very little at all.
