The Design Files: Inside Fleur Glenn's tree house-inspired home

Who: Fleur Glenn

What: A magical inner-city tree house

Where: Clifton Hill, Melbourne

Fleur Glenn has lived on this Clifton Hill block for the past 30 years, in multiple dwellings. Two years ago, she subdivided the block to build her impressive tree house-inspired home.

“I moved into the new house in August 2018, and it feels so luxurious and wonderful,” she says.

The design of this idiosyncratic home developed in an appropriately unconventional way, as Glenn sought out her daughter’s friend Murray Barker as the architect for the project.

Glenn says she had met Barker socially, and “knew he was a brave architect and I looked at a few things he had done. I liked his aesthetic and his calm, attentive manner”. Importantly, she knew he would be responsive to her ideas, and she wouldn’t “feel pushed into a house design that really wasn’t me”.

The project brief was for a tree house. Barker says: “Fleur had her own interesting ideas for the type of home she wanted to build.”

As his first solo architectural project, Barker says he was “initially daunted by the task of taking on a full new build, but Fleur’s trust gave me confidence”.

He advocated a varied spatial plan, that respected Glenn’s desire for a modest size, but introduced variety to the compact footprint. The clean and considered lines of the building offer sites of retreat, as well as zones for sharing with family and friends.

Glenn enthuses, “I could go on and on about the things I love about this house.” Particularly special elements include the bookcase-lined staircase, sitting among the branches in the tree house study, the little seat by the front door to take off shoes, and the upstairs bathroom where Glenn can lie back and watch the clouds roll by.

In the mornings, after waking up and taking the newspaper and a cup of coffee back to bed before work, Glenn says “I feel like I am in a luxury hotel”.

The success of the project can be attributed to the generosity and integrity of all parties involved. Glenn’s final endorsement of Barker and Hamish White from Sanctum Homes is emphatic – “they became friends. I miss them now they are gone, and I wish I could build something new with them again. I think we made a good team.” Teamwork truly does make the dream work.

How to down-size

Downsizing shouldn’t be a compromise. It can be an opportunity to rethink what “home” represents, and even purpose-design a home for the very first time.

• According to architect Murray Barker, flexibility and future-adaptability is key. Relinquish rooms you seldom use, but be sure to allow for visitors and guests.
• Reducing the size of your home doesn’t mean compromising on amenity. Qualities like light, ventilation and connections to the outdoors are vitally important.
• Join the Kondo-craze and cull personal belongings before the move.
• In most cases, a downsized home is a “forever” home. So, don’t worry about adding value and invest in personalising the space.