A serene forest retreat in the small town of Tooborac

A New Chapter in Tooborac

For ex-Melburnians Adam Brady and Liam Ayres, the decision to move to the small town of Tooborac in central Victoria has been a transformative one. The couple has found a sense of peace and stability that they had long been missing from their fast-paced city lives. “It’s like a big exhale,” says Adam, 44. “It’s so calming and grounding – moving here has made us such homebodies.”

Six years ago, the pair decided to slow down and embrace a more relaxed lifestyle. They are now deeply embedded in their local community, with Adam running the Heathcote General Trader, a shop filled with handpicked home goods in the nearby town of Heathcote. Liam, on the other hand, works a corporate job that allows him to split his week between his home office, Melbourne, and Bendigo.

The initial draw to Heathcote was rooted in family ties. “Liam has family history up here,” explains Adam. “His family immigrated to the area from Ireland in the ’50s.” Liam, 41, who teaches Irish dancing on the weekends, adds: “There’s actually an Ayres Street in Heathcote that’s named after the family.”

Beyond the family connection, it was the natural beauty of the region that truly captured the couple's hearts. They eventually settled on five hectares just south of Heathcote in Tooborac, on the traditional lands of the Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people. “As soon as we drove up the hill on this property, we saw exactly where we wanted to put the house – overlooking the beautiful ranges behind,” recalls Adam. “We just stood there and said, ‘This is ours’.”

Building a Home in Challenging Times

Once the location was decided, the real work began. The couple started building their dream home in 2020, just as the pandemic was taking hold. Living in the city while the house was under construction proved to be a significant challenge. “We never got to walk through the house while it was being built, so we didn’t know what it was going to be, really,” explains Adam.

When restrictions eased, the couple would pack their tent and stay onsite on weekends. However, making decisions based on photos from the builders meant the final product felt a little off. “As soon as we moved here, we decided to change it,” says Adam. “Our style changed from the moment we got here because we changed as people.”

Embracing a Natural Aesthetic

Shedding their ‘city style’ meant embracing earthier colours and textures that better reflected their new surroundings. “Originally, the house was all-white on the inside, but we realised that wasn’t for us,” says Adam. “We thought, ‘Let’s make it a bit darker and cosier, and let’s bring in nature more.’”

The couple’s new design features neutral and green tones, aged timber, and indoor plants. “We wanted to make sure we have all those exterior elements inside the house,” explains Liam. “We’re both very much nature people, so we wanted to make it like a continuous space.”

Practical elements such as hardwood flooring and natural finishes make the modest 140-square-metre home well-suited to the mud, mess, and movement of country life.

A Garden That Reflects Their Lifestyle

The perfect complement to their carefully designed home is the couple’s extensive garden, which plays a significant role in their daily lives. “We actually started some of the garden work before the house was finished,” says Liam. “We were so excited to start… and it’s certainly ever-changing.”

Despite battling local wildlife and unpredictable weather, both find tending to their vegetables, native plants, and flowers to be a source of joy. “It’s our unwind time at the end of the day,” says Adam. “We’ll sit in the kitchen garden with a glass of wine and do a bit of weeding, potter around with the dog [Finbar, an 11-year-old papillon-cross], pick some food, and chat about the day.”

Looking Ahead

With no plans to alter their home or garden, Adam and Liam are content for their country idyll to evolve naturally. “It will just be a gentle evolution. We’re not trying to add too much to the list – we just want to enjoy living and slowing down,” says Adam. “But we are looking forward to seeing what the garden looks like in 10 years’ time when all the trees grow and everything establishes itself.”

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