Sexy Black Cladding

The builders from Vic Restorations in Castlemaine have been cracking along at a furious pace after the Easter break. Although they specialise in renovating the period homes that make up the majority of the town, they are also experienced builders of modern houses. We travelled up this weekend to see the first sections of the black cladding in place. The product is a steel sheeting called Colourbond and is in their darkest shade called Monument.

Now some people have wondered about the wisdom of using black, especially considering the extreme heat in summer. Luckily, the angle of the sun will mean that the sides of the building will have limited direct sun during the hottest part of the day. It is more important to have a lighter coloured roof, so we have opted for shale grey. A couple of people have thought it will be too dark and depressing. We simply do not agree.

Think about it. Almost every woman will tell you that one's wardrobe staple is the little black dress. Think of how that dress makes you feel; sophisticated, simply stylish, well-dressed and sexy. This is how we feel about the cladding of the house. It will be sleek and stylish and it will nestle into the landscape calmly without making too grand a statement. (Jamie has his doubts about this paragraph because he does not want give the impression that he cross-dresses. For the record, it's a no!)

It is broken up by the Australian white cypress grid work. In some ways, this is reminiscent of Japanese furniture with the contrast of heavier and lighter elements. At the moment, the grid work is a natural timber shade, but we will leave this untreated so it will soften and silver over time. It will blend with the trunks of the eucalypt trees and complement the cladding.

The view from the south shows that the house is becoming less conspicuous, even though it is still quite obviously there. It is important to us to blend with the environment.
I wondered if the kangaroos may have avoided the property because of the building. I was pleased to find plenty of fresh scats on the ground yesterday, so it seems that they are still very much at home.

Another notable development is the installation of the three skylights. They are crucial to vent hot air from the laundry and bathrooms as there are only south facing windows in these rooms. They are double glazed to avoid excessive transfer of the outside temperature. These particular models are supposed to be a smart design that close themselves if it starts to rain. Hmmm, I am not sure we will trust this until we have seen it work!