NSW real estate: Ever heard of a hexadome house? One of the rare find homes is on the market in Newcastle

A quirky house believed to be the only one of its kind in Newcastle has hit the market in Warabrook.

The multi-level hexadome home at 8 Melaleuca Place is listed with Spillane Property’s Donna Spillane and Patrick Skinner.

The dome-shaped house is reminiscent of the design of Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, engineer and futurist who developed the geometrical housing concept.

The property has been tightly held by its owners who purchased the home in 1993 for $161,000.

“We had renovated a couple of traditional, older-style properties and when the original owners put the house on the market we were intrigued by its uniqueness,” the owner said.

“It appeared to be a fun and interesting place for us and our young family to live, and we still think that today.”

According to the owner, the home was built for a local timber company to highlight its internal and external timber products.

One of the home’s many unique features is a large timber “web”.

“We had an open house inspection on the weekend and someone said the last time they saw one of these properties was the home they lived in in Santa Barbara in America,” Mr Skinner said.

“It is a very quirky home.

“The floorplan surprises people when they walk inside because they haven’t seen anything like it.”

Set on a 620-square metre block, the hexadome design allows for high ceilings on the entry level and the house has ornate timber detailing and timber features.

The shape of the home creates interesting angles throughout including the bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen.

“Our favourite features of the house are the quirky angles and shapes and the beautiful timberwork,” the owner said.

“The large timber “spiderweb” in the main living room is fabulous.

“We also enjoy the openness and flexibility of the various living spaces, which can be styled in a variety of ways.”

The lower level has a spacious open-plan living, dining and kitchen area, including a walk-in pantry.

The upper level is a parents’ retreat with a master bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and large en-suite bathroom.

The main floor has two bedrooms with built-in wardrobes, the main bathroom, a living room, a second sitting room and an office area leading to the outdoor deck.

Established gardens surround the home.

“We have done several renovations and updates to the house including both bathrooms featuring bespoke cabinetry and hand-painted tiles,” the owner said.

“We have also enclosed the ground floor level and added a large kitchen, dining and family space.

“It’s a great place to entertain family and friends, either inside, on the deck or in the well-established garden.”

The property is open for inspection on August 1 from 5pm to 5.30pm and August 3 from 2pm to 2.30pm.

It is set to go to auction at 3pm on August 24, however, a price guide is yet to be determined.

The median sale price of a house in Warabrook is $908,000, according to CoreLogic.

A rare real estate find

Hexadome homes are a rarity in Australia.

CoreLogic records show only a handful of the dome-shaped houses have sold across Australia in the past decade.

The most recent sale of a hexadome house was in the South Australia suburb of Eden Hills in 2021.

Set on 1224 square metres, the stylish four-bedroom, three-bathroom property had vaulted ceilings and an open-plan layout.

The listing described the home as promoting efficient air circulation five times stronger than a regular-shaped house.

The property fetched $740,000.

In 2020, a fixer-upper hexadome house in Two Rocks in Western Australia was described on its listing as “one of a kind for the area and “something completely different”.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house, with a spiral staircase leading up to a mezzanine floor area, sold for the bargain price of $150,000.

The design is built from large triangles fitted together into hexagons to create a self-supporting structure with spacious open-plan living areas.

Australian company, Glencor, manufactured the hexadome as an alternative kit home.

This story was originally published on view.com.au