Windows Estate

As Windows Estate’s name suggests, the petite eco cabin aims to help reconnect guests with nature – and it starts with a semi-bushland setting with vistas of vines and towering gums. The sparsely appointed cabin reiterates the mantra of less being more – it’s equipped with everything you need for a self-contained stay, but wi-fi and TV are conspicuously absent. This isn’t the place for a Netflix binge.

There are more than enough details throughout the cabin to distract those interested in art, design and green thinking. A soaring waterfall window above the bed lets guests sleep under the stars and wake up to views of soaring gum trees. Instead of air conditioning, the cabin’s passive solar design keeps things cool (the orientation capitalises on existing trees for afternoon shade, and louvred windows channel afternoon sea breezes into the space). Indoor and outdoor window seats encourage lounging. And fresh flowers; sustainably themed books (pickling, low-waste living, cabin-design porn); and a rotating cast of avian visitors like wood ducks, ring-neck parrots, wrens and red-tailed black cockatoos reinforce the back-to-nature ethos.

Using local products and materials was a major part of the eco-oriented brief. The furniture – a cosy day bed in front of the Australian-made fireplace, and an outdoor setting for two – has been custom-built by Vasse-based furnituremakers Timber Grooves with jarrah from co-owner Jo Davies’s father’s Busselton farm. The crockery has all been sourced from local ceramicists, and the en suite bathroom is stocked with toiletries from Vasse Virgin. Even the brass taps and hand-blown lights were made in Australia.