Cooee Architecture

Cooee Architecture Connecting regional people with low-carbon homes and fulfilling lives within them.

31/05/2026

Site update at (The Architect’s Farmhouse)

The is in. There are four reasons I love these for rural projects:
1. The worms churn through material much faster than a traditional septic
2. It’s aerobic which means way less off-gassing (almost impossible to find good research on this but my attempts suggest traditional septics off gas significant C02 and greenhouses gases! ⚠️)
3. You can add in other organic waste from the home or garden
4. What comes out is secondary wastewater treatment certified! 👏

Head to wormfarm.com.au for more info. Thank you A&A 👏 🫶

28/05/2026

Can we call ourselves sustainable while still using AI?

Our previous post earned a few comments on this topic and we welcome the debate.

What’s your position?

23/05/2026

What an honour to visit this special home and lovely to see that’s it’s been cared for across generations and is still standing with many more decades of life to give.

From Heritage Victoria: “Hunters Plains’ Station was established c. 1869 by Hugh Harris who pioneered settlement in this area of Victoria. The homestead is a simple rectangular structure with an encircling verandah and a wide, low, half gabled roof. It incorporates the original stone dwelling erected by Harris c. 1870. Brick additions were undertaken in 1922 which brought the homestead to its present appearnace. The architect-contractor was Albert Hogan of Tumut.
Hunters Plains’ was one of the first stations in this area. It is notable for its association with Hugh Harris who pioneered the area and bacame a well-known public figure. Parts of the present homestead and stables date from Harris’ time. The homestead is typical of vernacular Australian design with its hipped roof and encircling verandahs. Its walls of locally hewn stone are a notable feature.”

http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/search/nattrust_result_detail/69837

This isn't a guilt trip. I'm not here to lecture.But I do think we've been sold a version of the good life that's making...
21/05/2026

This isn't a guilt trip. I'm not here to lecture.

But I do think we've been sold a version of the good life that's making us time-poor, energy-poor, and further from the people we love... while we scroll Pinterest for tap inspiration in rooms we barely use.

Smaller homes, when well designed, are the ones people actually want to live in. The ones that are bright, connected, affordable to run, and surrounded by an actual garden.

That's not less. That's more.

Save this one for the next time someone tells you you'll regret not going bigger. 🔖







Sources: ABS, US Census Bureau, IPCC/World Green Building Council. House size comparisons exclude garages where data allows. Methodology varies by country.

20/05/2026

How awesome to see the Upper Murray and Snowy Valleys as the focus for this season’s and to be able to feature in its pages! 🏔️ 👀 📖

Thanks for the gorgeous shots .by.mitch

.bis

This home served its family well during the phase of three small children, but facing the future of three teenagers and ...
19/05/2026

This home served its family well during the phase of three small children, but facing the future of three teenagers and likely young adults still living at home calls for some strategy!

These clients have been ticking away at all the right moves; upgrading to efficient appliances and retrofitting insulation - but the time has come for a bigger intervention.

This renovation meets the most common family extension brief: an extra bathroom, bedroom, and flexible room.

The existing home already has great bones and orientation, and the clients have worked hard on the steep landscaping to the north rear yard. So unusually, we're actually popping out to the south here, to make use of an existing underutilised roofed and paved outdoor zone.

This project has involved staging consideration and early builder collaboration with Edward Robert Builders

This concept shows one version of the extension. We workshopped a few variations with the client in the second stage and look forward to revealing the final design.

17/05/2026

Polished concrete. Our riverstone aggregate medium/full cut has come up gorgeously by 👏

Concrete cut depth and aggregate is pretty personal and we’ve done all versions from beautifully raw and simple burnished slabs, to lighter ‘salt and pepper’ grinds through to full cuts more like this.

A few concrete tips:
1. On a tighter budget? Consider a burnish finish but have contingency for a light grind over it if you don’t like how it turns out.
2. Three guarantees in life: death, taxes and concrete cracks. Simpler shape homes like our rectangle have less risk of cracking and control/sawcut joints in cut-out/in shapes can limit cracking… but you should always expect at least a tiny bit of superficial cracking somewhere.
3. Don’t overthink the finish. Leaf imprint? Irregular patch? You really won’t notice when the rest of the house is built and furnished. In fact, I love the ‘natural’ feel of variations or the storytelling about the time the cockatoos picked concrete day to shred the tree above (true story!)
4. It’s tough but not bomb proof. You will need to jump on acidic spills (vinegar, dog wee) ASAP.

Thanks to local Harry’s Concreting and Baxters.
Builder:
Structural engineers:

The classic farmhouse typology is iconic, but it comes with real solar passive challenges. Deep wrap-around verandahs, a...
16/05/2026

The classic farmhouse typology is iconic, but it comes with real solar passive challenges. Deep wrap-around verandahs, a desire for bright spaces, and the need to perform across cold winters don’t automatically play nicely together.

For Renee and her family in Ardlethan NSW, we had the chance to start from scratch and create a new home rooted in the farmhouse tradition, optimised with building science, and designed to serve generations.

7.8 NatHERS stars. Draftproofed. Accessible. Climate-adapted.

And in her first summer at 46 degrees: “We are living the dream.”

🫶 Comment FARMHOUSE for our Sanctuary Magazine article on Functional Farmhouses, including the Ardlethan floorplan and the floorplan of our own home, The Cooee House.

Beautifully built by and perfectly captured by

Featured in

14/05/2026

Architect’s House Blog:

I’ve been following the work of for years (their Instagram has excellent examples of various concrete finishes!) so it feels especially exciting to have them polishing our own slab today!

We popped in to view some samples and argue amongst ourselves about desired finish (I like light grind, husband likes full cut) 😝. The opportunity to have local river stone was a very last minute thing, and something I didn’t think was important to me but gosh, I think I’m a convert (plus the full cut isn’t so dominating) 😍

Thanks to for pursuing this option for us!

13/05/2026

Popped over to today for a chat with for the Lysaght Awards productions. 🙌

She’s ageing so beautifully! The timber is softening, the garden is growing, and Nick and Amber are constantly levelling up their hosting game!

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