The presentation was made at the Industry Outlook Breakfast by National President Ross Lang, in the presence of a big crowd and special guests including past HIA Victorian Presidents and the Premier The Hon Daniel Andrews.

Ross stated that the single greatest honour that can be conferred on a member of HIA is election to the status of life member . A means by which HIA recognises to a select few, in a very public way the exceptional contribution made by an individual to the Housing Industry.

Ron has been a member of the HIA since the early 1980s and has been personally involved with HIA Committees for more than 30 years. Ron was the inaugural Chair of the Planning, Environment and Development Committee and the HIA’s first national GreenSmart Leader.

A recipient of the Centenary medal for service to building, design and construction through ecological sustainability and has presented papers on low energy housing and marketing at national and international conferences and exhibitions.

Photo HIA Managing Director – Shane Goodwin, Victorian President – Robert Griek, Ron Englehart- Englehart Homes, National President – Ross Lang

By Alison Barclay

Fast facts

• Luxurious three-storey house on two hectares
• Pool & floodlit tennis court
• Putting greens and landscaped and natural bush gardens
• Formal and casual living and dining areas; rumpus room with bar
• Corian kitchen with St George appliances; study
• Six bedrooms, the main with spa en suite
• Four-car garage
• Walk to Yarra Valley parklands and riding school
• 16 kilometres from the city

Deep eaves, wide terraces and a north-east orientation allow the house to be energy-efficient without trying too hard.

Bedrooms are zoned to suit multi-generational households and long-term guests. It is these enduring qualities that today’s families seem to prize above glamour.

“It’s so peaceful,” says the current owner, who feeds visiting kookaburras by hand.

“I meditate and do yoga, and the peace and beauty are what I am going to miss.”

However, there’s lots of luxe de luxe too. The property has a pool, terrace and barbecue kitchen, a tennis court, and three putting greens set into a sprawling slope of natural bush.

The landscaped grounds are classic Templestowe, with topiary shrubs mimicking the granite boulders next to them. Formal living and dining rooms are complemented by the sunbathed family and meals areas, and by a rumpus room with a bar.

On the ground floor are the main and two more bedrooms, while downstairs a living room plus two bedrooms and a bathroom make a spacious apartment for grandparents or guests. On the first floor are the third living room and sixth bedroom.

The owners have preserved Green Gables much as the Engleharts left it – palest olive with Axminster carpet, ruched blinds and lavishly swagged curtains.

The driveway inclines down to a porte-cochere, with natural music from a terracotta waterfall.

Left of the foyer is the office, snug in red and blue Axminster with a walk-in cupboard.

The carpeted main bedroom forms a box bay window that juts onto the rear terrace, with a view into gum trees.
Double doors lead to the white en suite, which has shell-shaped basins, a glass shower and a spa with gold jets.

In the ground floor’s midsection are the communal areas, the more casual of which have sliding doors to the wide, sandstone-paved balcony above the pool.
The living room, looking like a jewel casket in Axminster, has a gas open fireplace. Slightly more knockabout is the family room in steel-blue carpet with an open fireplace.

The tiled kitchen has ivory Corianbenchtops, St George conventional and steam ovens and gas cooktop and a Jenn-Air grill. The walk-in pantry has a sink.

Completing this floor are the rumpus room and its crimson laminate bar, two bedrooms, the laundry and the main bathroom, with shower and corner bath.
The lower ground floor opens to the pool terrace. The barbecue kitchen has a bar, a TV point and two showers.

Read full article 35 years of being the best 

This article first appeared in The Weekly Review 8 April 2015

View the PDF Englehart Homes – Narrow Block Builders

Article as featured in the Weekly Review 11.6.2014

Read full article Narrow Block Builder Weekly Review June 2014

This article first appeared in The Weekly Review 18 June 2014

Background

Melbourne-based Englehart Homes strives to set the highest standards for custom and luxury homebuilders in Victoria, Australia. Founded more than 33 years ago, the company has enjoyed a series of successes that include awards for the HIA Professional Builder of the Year, MBA Master Builder of the Year, Best National Display Home, Best Custom Home and Best Luxury Home.
Recently, their ‘La Provence’ show home has won the MBAV 2012 Best Display Home over $700,000, the HIA Best Display Home over $1 million, Best Display Home Overall, Herald Sun Home Magazine Readers Choice Award, Best New Kitchen over $40,001 and Best Bathroom in Display.

The Englehart brand is synonymous with custom quality, luxury homes, value for money and exceptional customer service. Englehart aim to be the leaders in design, innovation, building quality and service. In order to demonstrate the quality and workmanship that goes into its homes – and to help capture the imagination of prospective customers – Englehart Homes uses completed projects as show homes. While floorplans are tailored to the exact customer requirements, the display properties demonstrate the latest innovations and design features that can be designed into a home.

Typically, a show home will be used for a number of years to demonstrate Englehart’s capabilities before being sold. A good example is six-star-rated ‘La Provence’ in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn North.

The challenge

The design brief for La Provence was to capture the grandeur of a provincial French chateau, with details that include bespoke wrought-iron cresting, French-Oak parquetry floors, a striking spiral staircase and a leadlight dome, created from 1200 pieces of coloured glass.

Given the target market sector, it was also important to incorporate the luxury, ease-of-use and automation of an integrated control platform to complement the overall feel of the house. Enhanced Media Link owner and Integration Consultant, Keith Saunders, strongly recommended a Philips Dynalite lighting control solution.

The main criteria for the lighting and lighting control design was for a state-of-the-art, energy-saving system that allows integration of the blinds, security, HVAC and AV systems.

It was essential for the control system to support a number of preset scenes and lighting moods, while being simple enough to facilitate intuitive operation.

While La Provence is functioning as a show home, the predominant requirement is to be able to turn all the lights on or off at the press of a single button, to aid the sales staff with viewings. The control platform needed the flexibility to facilitate complete reprogramming when the house is subsequently sold to meet the specific demands of the eventual owners.

The solution

Throughout the house, a number of chandeliers deliver a sense of understated opulence, while most lighting is provided through dimmable LED luminaires and Philips Dynalite leading-edge controllers.

Additional relay and multipurpose controllers have been used for exhaust fans, garden lighting, blinds and secondary non-dimming lighting circuits in utility areas.

Revolution DR2P user interfaces comprise single- and dual column black borosilicate glass switchplates, each featuring silver-engraved buttons with blue LED backlights. Some of the panels are engraved with Chinese characters.

Dynalite produces a control platform that is as capable and flexible as anything else currently on the market, while providing a solution that is far more robust than most. Dynalite’s design features – such
as engraved light switches – were important to complement the character of such a prestige home.

The finished system works effortlessly well and perfectly complements the style and ambience of La Provence, without becoming the overriding focus and detracting from the house design. With La Provence, the Dynalite system provides an automation solution that delivers absolute system control in a way that is intuitive while being subtle and unobtrusive.

Englehart Homes has already received considerable interest in the Dynalite control systems and – with several quotes currently in progress – the future partnership between Englehart Homes, Enhanced Media Link and Philips Dynalite looks assured.

Benefits

Dynalite produces a control platform that is as capable and flexible as anything else currently on the market, while providing a solution that is far more robust than most. Dynalite’s design features – such as engraved light switches – were important to complement the character of such a prestige home.

The finished system works effortlessly well and perfectly complements the style and ambience of La Provence, without becoming the overriding focus and detracting from the house design. With La Provence, the Dynalite system provides an automation solution that delivers absolute system control in a way that is intuitive while being subtle and unobtrusive.

Englehart Homes has already received considerable interest in the Dynalite control systems and – with several quotes currently in progress – the future partnership between Englehart Homes, Enhanced Media Link and Philips Dynalite looks assured.

Build an award winning kitchen in your custom home
Speak to Englehart Homes today 03 9810 2800

Build an award winning kitchen in your custom home

Speak to Englehart Homes today 03 9810 2800

Read full article The Saville Balwyn North Weekly Review

This article first appeared in The Weekly Review 13 March 2013