Studio Manifold & Simone Haag Transform a Yarra Valley Farmhouse with Mid-Century Soul.

Set among the grapevine-covered hills of Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Gruyere Farm is a renovation that gets it oh-so-right. Studio Manifold and Simone Haag have transformed a 1986 John Pizzey-designed residence into a home that honours its mid-century bones while working for life today.

The property sprawls across almost 100 acres of bushland, vineyards, and grazing cattle. The design team approached the project with sensitivity to both the site’s history and its architectural lineage—echoes of Alistair Knox, Glenn Murcutt, Harry Seidler, and John Wardle are evident throughout.

The work started with the basics: double-glazed windows, upgraded doors, and panel heating that make the place comfortable without messing with its character.

Daylesford Longhouse Residence & Working Farm by Partners Hill.

A study in inclusion, Daylesford Longhouse consolidates a boutique farm, garden kitchen, cooking school, reception venue and home within a single 110m linear shed.

Material choices ground the project in place. Recycled and end-grain timbers, terrazzo, ceramic tiles, and raw brass create surfaces built to last. The colour palette—soft fallow, warm fawn, and earthy terra verte—pulls straight from the valley landscape. Slate floors and wideboard timber walls keep the original warmth intact, while expansive glazing floods spaces with natural light.

The sunken lounge is a highlight—a classic mid-century move that drops you into the landscape through smart material changes and level shifts. The guest wing, tacked on in the 90s, got completely rebuilt to flow seamlessly with the older parts of the house.

Greyleigh: A Colourful 200-Acre Farmstay in Kiama by Duet.

About two hours from Sydney, just as the rolling hills and endless ocean drown out the din of the city, is a 200-acre farm once known for its dairy. Today, Greyleigh Kiama is far better known for its colour than its cattle.

Simone Haag’s decorative layer brings in a thoughtful mix of vintage and contemporary pieces: a reupholstered Eames chair, Cassina Cab dining chairs, sculptural works by Bieëmele, and Lana Launay’s Modular Launay lamp sit alongside ceramics by Scott Elk and custom pieces from Studio Manifold. Each choice speaks to the family’s well-travelled life and their connection to the working farm.

The project tackles real challenges—all that glazing, the sunken lounge’s quirks—with smart, practical solutions that keep the home’s spirit intact. It’s a renovation that respects what came before while making the place work for today.

Gruyere Farm shows what’s possible when you pair careful material choices, spatial awareness, and good taste: a home that feels grounded in the Yarra Valley landscape and quietly refined in its details.

Chess Moves: A 70s-Inspired Family Home Transformation in Byron Bay.

This family home takes on new dimensions with its Rubik’s cube of textures, tones and interventions. The original identity of the house exists somewhere between the exposed red brick walls, heavy timber beams and the all too familiar tropical backdrop.

[Images courtesy of Studio Manifold. Photography by Traianos Pakioufakis.]