Off-grid home in Callignee, featured on Grand Designs Australia, hits the market for $1.4m-$1.495m

• Owners: Linda Vydra and Josh O’Meara
• The property: Off-grid house surrounded by nature
• Address: 645 Callignee South Road, Callignee, Victoria
• Price guide: $1.4 million-$1.495 million
• Expressions of interest: Close 5pm, May 8
• Agent: Keith Williams Real Estate, Jake Gardam 0412 594 439

Linda Vydra and Josh O’Meara were holidaying with friends at the spectacular eco-friendly property Callignee II in Victoria’s Gippsland region, when they noticed it was up for sale.

“We always loved the place, so it was just a coincidence that our friend was looking it up at the time we were there,” O’Meara says.

“[Linda and I] were just looking at each other like, ‘Oh no, we’re in trouble now.’”

The pair, who already owned a couple of properties listed on Airbnb, decided the off-grid home, once featured on Grand Designs Australia, would be a perfect addition.

Two years ago, they began operating the property as short-stay accommodation, and it is booked out for much of the year through sites like Airbnb and Riparide.

“It’s just enormously unique,” says O’Meara, who studied architecture. “I don’t think there’s anything like it in Australia, probably or even the world.”

With expansive windows blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor living, the house draws on rustic Corten steel and Australian timbers, including chunky recycled wood from Melbourne’s Princes Pier.

There are playful features like a swing bridge to the carport, a rooftop garden and an outdoor shower, and more practical highlights such as huge water tanks, hydronic slab heating and an upgraded solar system.

But the real highlight is a magnesium pool visible from the living room through a spectacular window, allowing you to sit by the fire while watching your loved ones glide by underwater.

Real estate agent Jake Gardam from Keith Williams Real Estate says the listing is an absolute standout in the area.

“Apart from the other time it sold [in 2017], nothing like it has ever come to market,” he says.

“I think just the sheer design of the exterior, when you first pull up the driveway, it just kind of hits you. It feels like you’re just entering your own little paradise.”

However, it’s also a standout for another reason.

Former owner and builder Chris Clarke drew on a remarkable amount of resilience to create the two-bedroom property, after his first effort, Callignee I, was destroyed by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires less than a week after he’d completed it.

Thankfully, some features survived the devastating fires and were able to be salvaged, including steel, industrial sleepers and window frames.

O’Meara says there are still signs of the fire: “The bottom stairs are a little bit charred.”

Callignee II had to meet much tighter bushfire codes, introduced after the Black Saturday fires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2000 homes.

Trees that were close to the fire-resilient property have been removed, and the couple have upgraded other areas, including grading the road into the property.

The pair have also made their mark on the interior of the home, filling it with artwork and a bespoke couch.

“We went through and really designed the space to have beautiful art in different areas of the space. It’s really custom,” Vydra says.

Now with a baby on the way, Vydra and O’Meara are keen to buy a family home.

No doubt it will be hard for the couple to hand over the keys to the two-hectare property where echidnas and wallabies regularly wander by.

“When you visit the property, it takes you on a journey to another place, and it’s really a good escape from your busy life,” Vydra says.

“Hopefully we can visit if [the future owners] decide to Airbnb it.”

Expression of Interest

645 Callignee South Road, Callignee VIC 3844

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