High up a stringy bark tree, in the middle of a Wollombi paddock, is seven-year-old Elrod Vella's birdhouse, built for him by his father, Rodé Vella.
"If it wasn't for Elrod there wouldn't be a birdhouse," his mother, Stephanie Vella says.
Elrod wanted a place to have sleepovers with no bugs. He wanted an elevator to get to the top, but that was a bit of a stretch.
The family moved from Sydney to the country in 2017 to pursue a less busy, more creative lifestyle.
Rodé is a sculptor and an "ideas man". His background is carpentry design, and he works on everything from property development to food trucks to restaurant fit-outs.
Stephanie is the assistant curator of Sculptures in the Vineyard, currently in its 19th year. She's also co-coordinating the Laguna Arts Show, the fund-raiser for Elrod's School.
She owns and operates the Roadhouse Gallery as well, which sells a variety of artworks, sculptures, accessories and more from the region and around Australia.
The couple have loved living in Wollombi and the tree change certainly suits their lifestyle.
Of all the trees on their property, they picked the stringy bark for the birdhouse because it was the only hardwood tree around which could handle a structure.
Elrod is colour blind. They asked him to pick the colours he really liked for the birdhouse. He picked gold, orange, blue and black. Stephanie helped with the paint, and they painted everything except the back of the house which protrudes over the embankment down to the creek.
"No-one's brave enough to paint the back," Rodé says.
He built the platform first and then he built everything else. Nothing was pre-made. He built a nice outdoor deck with views of the small lake nearby. There's enough space for two to enjoy a wine or a coffee.
Inside the little space is a heater, refrigerator, TV/DVD player and pull-out sofa bed. There are plenty of space-saving tactics. The dining table can be folded down. The kitchen vanity is custom made to hold the fridge and a couple of drawers, DVDs, plates and cups. It also comes with running water and a composting loo.
There's no shower, but it's not designed for long-term stays. It's meant to be like camping in a tree, and they can't think of anything else they might need.
Rodé wanted to have it ready for Elrod's fifth birthday but it wasn't ready until his seventh. It became habitable earlier this year.
"It's one of the hardest things I've ever built; I've built quite few things," he says.
Locals are curious about their birdhouse, which is easy to understand with its spiral staircase, unique build and beautiful location.
It's really peaceful and pretty.
Stephanie Vella
Stephanie loves the spiral staircase rather than a ladder. She felt it was a safer option and she wouldn't have to watch the kids climbing up and down it constantly. A community member donated it to them in three pieces, and they did a bit of work and brought it together.
For Rodé, the design, the style and aesthetic were equally important. The structure is all steel and aluminium with beams on each end. The main support on the back of the birdhouse is car springs, so it can go back and forth and side to side.
Rodé did the wielding construction. He and his friend were harnessed to the tree while they did the cladding
They were strategic about the two big branches being out on the deck rather than the inside; the tree is on the outside and the house wraps around it and moves with it. The house doesn't restrict the tree from growing.
Visitors love the birdhouse.
"It has the best orientation. It gets flooded with the morning sun. We watch the fog lift and move to the millpond; it's really peaceful and pretty," Stephanie says.
Stephanie and Rodé are loving their new life in the country taking on their new creative endeavours, and things are looking pretty good for Elrod too.
