Alex McCabe, founder of design brand Kip & Co., had a full-circle moment when she returned to her mother’s Mornington Peninsula vineyard. With rolling hills stretched toward the ocean at the 12-acre lot, Alex decided to purchase the property from her parents to build the ideal weekend getaway house.

Sentimentality is coupled with nature’s finest resources at the Kip & Co. house which is predominantly made up of materials that ground the space in the local landscape. Alex wanted to give the place a sense of historical significance – wood beams reclaimed from an old rail bridge and oxidised rusted metal-coloured panels line this breathtaking building.

Unlike her St. Kilda home, Alex wanted the earthy escape to take inspiration from its surroundings. Take the bright red-hued palette that threads its way through the home – the same colour of the neighbouring property’s rich, fertile soil.

It’s clear the sum of this cosy coastal home’s parts have originated from Alex’s many international travels, where she purchased interior design items or had them shipped from local suppliers abroad. The handmade dining stools were shipped from Bali and coupled with colourful Kip & Co. cushions that coordinate cleverly with the poured ombré-toned concrete kitchen island. The centrepiece of the room? An exquisite marble inlaid table, which Alex discovered at a local marble shop in Jaipur and had custom-made. And one cannot overlook another statement across the room – the rounded white-brick bench that runs the length of a picturesque window overlooking the dreamy green landscape outside.

The bathroom designs possess that same distinct earthiness - one is tiled with terracotta and the other in glazed zellige using tones of soft rose. Perhaps the perfect complementing feature to the tiling is the stylish Nood Co basin in blush pink, which is a poignant standout of each bathroom.

Architect: Michael McManus Architects

Photographer: Caitlin Mills Photography; Nikole Ramsay

Styling: Annie Portelli; Amber Lenette