Behind the listing: The owner who bought a 1970s cottage in Red Hill based on a 'good feeling'

• Owner: Michelle Brereton, who owns a food import business
• Address: 245 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill, Victoria
• Type of house: One-of-a-kind lifestyle property on six hectares of parkland

$6,250,000-$6,750,000

245 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill VIC 3937

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Michelle Brereton and her then-husband had almost given up on finding the Mornington Peninsula weekender of their dreams back in 2005 when a real estate agent mentioned his cousin had a place in Red Hill that had passed in at auction the previous year. Would they be interested in having a look?

The 1970s brick cottage sat surrounded by almost six hectares of heavily treed woodland, featuring mostly European varieties – magnificent elms, oaks and firs, as well as a dense, overgrown, pine plantation that had at one stage been a money-making venture. 

“It was a really wet, pouring day and he drove us around the property in his four-wheel drive,” Brereton says. “I just fell in love with it and knew it could be something really amazing. It was a feeling more than anything; I get like that with properties.”

Over the next few years, the family began transforming the place during weekend visits from Melbourne when not committed to school sport. Part of the land was cleared to accommodate living needs and recreation, and for garden beds. In return, more than 1000 trees of varying species were planted across the property to retain the sense of privacy that the couple had fallen for during their first visit. 

“Nothing here is very manicured,” Brereton says. “There are different areas that you can wander through to get to different parts of the garden. You can’t see it all at once. That’s the beauty of it; you have to wander around.” 

The original cottage was extended and renovated to include three bedrooms, a bathroom and living zone, dubbed “the sleeping wing” by Brereton. This sits adjacent to – almost touching – the impressive family house that shares the cleared site. 

This second building has a main bedroom with an open fireplace and free-standing bath, a second bedroom (also with its own bath), a study and an enormous living, dining and kitchen zone, which includes a huge sunken concrete bar that conjures carefree tropical holidays and has hosted many a memorable party.

“Every single person who walks into the house says, ‘Oh my God’,” Brereton says. “I think it’s because of the height and the scale. It sort of takes your breath away.”

Constructed largely of concrete, the vast living areas have ceilings made from corrugated iron sheets, which Brereton says she left out in the rain to enhance their rusty appearance. 

“Every time my mother comes here, she says, ‘You need to put a ceiling in!’ She doesn’t understand the rust, but I just love rust,” Brereton laughs. 

Running alongside the rusty tin are enormous trusses that were made on site from timber that was salvaged from Port Melbourne’s 1854 Station Pier and had to be craned into position.

Creating a simple and earthy structure was important to Brereton, who says the garden and the trees are the “true heroes” of her property, which is why she also rendered both buildings to allow them to nestle discretely within their natural surrounds.

“The windows are huge, and I don’t have any curtains or blinds in the main living areas because I just love being able to look out at the ever-changing gardens,” she says. “It’s like a living artwork.

“It is multidimensional because there is layer upon layer of trees, and I love that feeling that they were here long before I came on earth, and they will be here long after I leave.” 

But it’s not only the garden and the building’s grand scale that catch the eye of visitors. Brereton has created a home that has been inspired by her extensive travels, blending the textures, colours and designs of the many places she has visited and loved.

Coloured glass pendant lights twinkle next to industrial metal shades. A beautiful emerald-green AGA stove sits alongside woven red rugs. Painted canvases hang opposite retro signage while coloured umbrellas (remnants of a Bollywood-themed party) seemingly float above the cocktail-making gadgets in the bar.  

“I work on the theory that you must surround yourself with things that you love and are full of wonderful memories,” Brereton explains. “Don’t keep things locked away for ‘best’. Don’t be precious about spills and cracks and aged-worn surfaces. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it does!”

This eclectic space has nurtured a relationship where her adult children “come and go like boomerangs” – retreating here frequently for solace or with friends for gatherings and fun. 

“We have this one area [in the garden] where we hold a bocce tournament every November, which has become very competitive over the years,” she says, laughing. 

“My kids actually said, ‘Can we put a clause in the sale contract that we can come back every year to do our bocce tournament’? I think I’ll now have to build another one at my next place; it’s become a must-have.”

A sense of space and an affinity with the trees are other must-haves for Brereton’s future property hunt. Having been immersed in nature for the better part of 20 years, she couldn’t stand to be away from it. 

“I just need to find the right space and land,” she says. “Not just a paddock, but a few trees and a bit of soul to start me off.” The thought makes her sentimental.

“At bocce a few years ago, one of my son’s friends said to another friend, ‘Do you realise, it won’t be too long before we’re the older ones here and our kids will be playing this bocce tournament’, and I loved to hear that, that sense of ownership and community. This is a safe place, a good place, a place to always return to.”