18 Dominion Road, Mount Martha, Vic 3934

Ross Bakker has a reputation for perfectionism. He's spent 30 years building for clients through Bakka Constructions, but this time, no client was there to rein him in. He built this house for his own family and made almost everything by hand.

When a cabinetmaker's workshop closed, Ross bought its container of rare, furniture-grade West African Danta at auction and hand-laminated it into the rafters and stair treads. Architect and furniture maker Adam Markowitz turned the rest into joinery, cladding and lighting, down to a copper-sleeved stair rail.

Markowitz calls it the Handmade House. Its mid-century H plan separates living from sleeping, and centres around a warm courtyard and a cool, native-planted one. The living zone sits upstairs for the northern light and Port Phillip Bay views, directly above a covered alfresco deck with an open fireplace. The main suite looks west to Port Phillip Bay.

Ross hand-tamped the rammed earth too. Between that and the home's orientation, the family has never needed air conditioning – it's truly a solar-passive build.

Downstairs, two bedrooms and a second living space lock off with separate entry. Out the back there's a studio office and a private gate to South Beach and the tennis club.

Nobody builds like this for someone else.

The Build
Internal: 272 sqm (29.28 squares)
External: 157 sqm (16.90 squares)
Built: 2017
Builder: Bakka Constructions
Architect: Adam Markowitz
Zoning: General Residential Zone (GRZ)
Roof: Steel
Exterior: Hillview rammed earth; cedar; slimline brick
Foundation: Concrete slab
Heating: Gas fireplaces; Electric panels
Benchtops: Dekton; 5mm stainless steel
Joinery: Hand-laminated solid Danta
Flooring: Polished concrete; American oak
Ceilings: Lime-washed ply
Walls: Danta timber; rammed earth

The Points of Interest
Mount Martha Tennis Club: 170m
South Beach: 300m
Mount Martha Village: 370m
South Beach Café: 400m
Mount Martha Primary School: 800m
Balcombe Grammar School: 4km
The Briars: 4km

The Numbers
Council rates: $5,500 per annum
Settlement: 30 - 180 days
Deposit: 5% - 20%