An Idyllic Family Home On The Mornington Peninsula

The home of interior designer Billy Innes and her children Olly (15), Charlie (12), and Mimi (10). Painting on right wall by Patrick Mung Mung. Dining table made from a vintage Chinese window shutter. Antique chairs passed down from Billy’s childhood home. Collection of soft sculptures from Yarrenyty Arltere Artists and Tjanpi Desert Weavers. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Dulux Natural White serves as the backdrop for the neutral and earthy interiors. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Billy with Frankie, the family’s staffy. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The Cheminées Philippe fireplace was one of the first things Billy chose for the house. Collection of soft sculptures from Yarrenyty Arltere Artists and Tjanpi Desert Weavers. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Large windows frame garden outlooks throughout the home. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The bathroom flood with natural light. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The bedroom features a mix of textural linens and African basket ware. Photos – Marnie Hawson.

The main bedroom opens directly to the outdoors. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The contemporary house adopts a barn-like structure characterised by natural materials and surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens. Bespoke powder-coated outdoor bath and shower by Unearthed Garden. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Bespoke powder-coated outdoor bath and shower by Unearthed Garden Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Wood Stacker by Unearthed Garden.Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Barbecue area designed by Kate Patterson Landscape Architecture and constructed by Real Earth Developments. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The property is on an acre-large block. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Weathered, soft-grey silvertop ash clads the home. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The homer adopts two separate barn style pods. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

‘I have spent many hours planning, creating and building the garden,’ says Billy. ‘The garden gives us all a huge amount of pleasure.’ Photos – Marnie Hawson.

Pool area designed by Kate Patterson Landscape Architecture and constructed by Real Earth Developments. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Plants in the garden include, agave, coastal rosemary, olive trees, purple verbena bonariensis, white valerian and sweet bursaria. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

The pool is framed by concrete walls that form a natural planter, filled with blue chalksticks, euphorbias, echium, clipped westringia balls, perennials and frothy grasses. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Steel planter by Unearthed Garden. Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Wood Stacker by Unearthed Garden.Photo – Marnie Hawson.

Interior designer Billy Innes always hoped to return to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, near her childhood home in Merricks. ‘I wanted to give my children a similar upbringing; fresh air, open spaces, the beaches and away from the city,’ she says.

It was her parents who discovered the perfect site – an acre block in Flinders, within walking distance of the local kindergarten, town and of course the beach. ‘We instantly fell in love with the size of the block and its location on a dead end dirt road with a cricket oval over the road,’ Billy says.

After outgrowing the original house on the site, Billy began designing her dream family home, with her father Micheal Innes, a semi-retired architect, and construction by Bernie Everett Building. The home was to be open, coastal, and relaxed, filled with lots of wonderful natural light and lovely outlooks to the garden from every room.

‘I was super lucky to work on the design of the house with my father. He has done a wonderful job capturing the natural light and bringing the outside in,’ says Billy.

This contemporary structure features two separate barn-style pods clad in weathered silvertop ash. Dulux Natural White serves as the backdrop for the neutral and earthy interiors, layered with Indigenous art and handmade ceramic pieces.

The surrounding gardens including the pool and barbecue area designed by Kate Patterson Landscape Architecture and constructed by Real Earth Developments are just as impressive as those indoors. `We were lucky enough to inherit some gorgeous old fruit trees and a lot of space to create a gorgeous garden, complete with a swimming pool and in-ground trampoline for my family and friends to enjoy,’ says Billy.

A bespoke powder-coated outdoor bath and shower by Unearthed Garden adds further impact, alongside their striking steel planters and wood stackers dotted around the property.

Billy treasures the easy, relaxed feel of her home, and delights in hearing the sounds of her children Olly (15), Charlie (12), and Mimi (10) playing in the surrounding garden. ‘I feel very blessed to be living in a coastal/country town, close to the beaches where we can swim, walk, bike ride, surf’ she says. Now that really is living the dream!