Downsizing your home can often be a hard decision, but here at Newenham we see it as a chance to focus on getting out of the house and into the great outdoors more. While our ethos is all about spacious design and larger blocks, we see a home downsize as a great way to maximise on yard space giving you room to enjoy the natural beauty of this lovely piece of the Hills.
This is precisely what Tini and Helen Van Kasteren are doing, downsizing from a very large 1600 square metre block to their new 738 square metre block at Newenham, with the hopes of making the most of the natural surrounds.
“I’m at retiring age now and I thought it might be better for us to scale down a bit,” Tini says. “1600 square metres is a little bit big to maintain these days, so we thought we’d get something a little smaller.”
With their current home based in Burke Urban’s previous Mount Barker project – Waterford, Tini and Helen are excited to be working with Burke Urban again at Newenham, this time creating a smaller living space to suit their changing lifestyle.
“Waterford is really lovely, but the blocks are a little large for us now,” Tini says. “We looked around Mount Barker and we found that Newenham was the best place for us. We did look at other places, but always came back to Newenham because the access to the freeway is a bit better and there’s such a nice environment there, and we trust Burke Urban to deliver a fabulous place to live.”
The environment and surrounds are exactly why Tini and Helen have chosen Newenham for the next phase of their lives, hoping to have more time to enjoy the beautiful, natural surroundings. “Once it’s all developed here, it should be lovely. We both really like it. It’s early stages at the moment, but it will be really nice.”
With a passion for dogs and enjoying their home environment, the couple are excited to make the most of their new home ground.
“We don’t go out an awful lot, and we’re into dogs, too. We’ve got a golden retriever – Sophie – and we hope to get another soon. The block we’ve got has a reserve at the back and we’ll take the dogs walking in the nearby reserves as well. They’re going to have a walking trail from here to Laratinga wetlands, too, which will be really nice.”
Another change for the couple will be upgrading their home design to incorporate more modern features, with their current Waterford home a little more heritage in feel. “It’s going to be a little modern house, but with a raised portico, stonework and alfresco area overlooking the reserve out the back.”
The portico and stonework maintain the historic Hills feel of the home, creating a seamless blend of modern design and convenience, and historic charm – Newenham’s specialty. “They really do everything they can to help make everyone’s homes look their best, which is something we really like”.
Tini and Helen are working with Dechellis to build their dream home. While they’ve not worked with Dechellis before, the builder himself is coincidentally the same they used for their Waterford home 14 years ago. “We kept our builder’s details and rang him up, so he’s doing our home again. It’s amazing. There’s a few Dechellis homes at Newenham.”
A painter and decorator by trade, Tini will be completing a lot of the work himself. “I’ll be doing my own painting and lots of other work like the stormwater, retaining walls, fences and sheds – all that sort of thing.”
Along with Newenham’s design guidance, their home is set to last through an enjoyable future retirement together. “We hope to stay here as long as possible. We’re just looking forward to seeing it all developed and walking around with our dog.”
If you’d like to know more about joining our ever-growing community or securing your future at Newenham, simply call our Sales Team on 0429 107 497 or visit the Sales & Information Centre, open 7 days from 12 – 5pm at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker.
We look forward to welcoming you to Newenham soon.
