Former farmer’s incredible mid-century home renovation

From the green pastures of rural New South Wales farmland to a mid-century modern abode in the nation’s capital, this realtor’s place of residence is as vastly different as his former career.

Former sheep and cattle farmer Anthony McCormack, who is now one of Canberra’s leading property agents, has seen his career go from strength to strength since making the leap to city life.

Mr McCormack set up home in the Weston Creek suburb of Fisher in 2009, after he and his wife Nik fell in love with not only the architecture of a mid-century Pettit & Sevitt four-bedroom, four-bathroom home, but its quiet location , views and elevations.

Anthony invited realestate.com.au into his own home as part of the Agent Abodes series, which goes beyond the front doors of some of the property’s biggest performers.

An extensive renovation followed where the entire house was transformed, with a new kitchen and two new bathrooms, while a laundry, study and family room featured in the home’s extension.

“Everything was touched in terms of skirting, architraves, doors – all that kind of thing,” Mr McCormack said. “So it was pretty much a new build.”

The home is a far cry from Mr McCormack’s former life in the small town of Crookwell, which is located about 40km west of Goulburn.

“I was originally a farmer – I was a farmer longer than I have been a real estate agent,” he said.

“My wife and I got sick of drought, and we bought a business in Canberra to supplement our income that went very pear-shaped, so we ended up selling the farm and ending up selling that business to be right. Real estate was the thing I went onto.

“We just made a decision to stay in Canberra and it’s a fantastic spot to bring a family up.”

Located less than 10 minutes from his Woden-based agency Hayman Partners, Mr McCormack said his home was geographically very central.

“The road system is so good that I can come to work four different ways and it’s the same every time – it’s probably seven or eight minutes,” he said.

While the attention to detail and a minimalistic yet modern design is evident at every turn, taking center stage in the house is the extensive alfresco area.

“I really think it’s not an overly big home, but it’s a lovely home in terms of the feeling of ‘you are home, you are comfortable’.

“One of the really nice things about our house is that the whole side of it there can be pretty much open to the landscaping. We made a very clear decision that we wanted to see the pool pretty much from a variety of areas from the house. The landscape has come into play and matured.”

After almost a decade of working in real estate, Mr. McCormack said the skills he learned as a farmer put him in good stead for the property game.

“Working in sales, you have to be pretty thick-skinned, and I think that the farm taught me that,” he said.

“There’s definitely a bit of resilience built in. The harder you work, the better rewards you get.”