It’s not every day a builder gets to build “the ultimate man cave”, but that was the owner’s clear instruction. In fact, he went further: this house had to be the opposite of a French country-style family home. Plans were drawn up and construction began on the 292sqm house inspired by warehouses, and with edgy design and raw materials. The brief was met to a tee — there’s nothing subtle about the unequivocally male vibe. This holiday home looking over the lake and out to the mountains has its own distinct aesthetic. Salvaged fittings, car paraphernalia, industrial bric-a-brac, a dart board, pool table, metal octopus... you get the picture. A coloured steel roof, aluminium joinery and weathered steel cladding was ideal for the exterior look, and a concrete block basement was the only option for storing toys. The basement was built on the site, while the rest of the house, made of prefabricated pods, was craned in. A weathered steel staircase, chequer-plate tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors, steel-cage wardrobes, plytimber walls in the bunk room, and steel sliding doors all add to the rich industrial tapestry, and are softened by natural timber. Swathes of decking provide plenty of space for that most masculine of cooking styles — barbecuing.