Dugout Luxury: Tour White Cliffs' Stunning Underground 'White House'

In Short

• Underground Oasis: The hand-dug 'White House' in White Cliffs is a unique example of sustainable outback living, using handcrafted history and recycled materials to stay cool in 45°C+ heat.
• Art and Engineering: The home, shared by Lindsay White and artist Cree Marshall, features a striking round kitchen, massive timber centerpiece, and curved walls to create privacy without doors while ensuring fresh air circulation.
• Open Doors: Unlike its namesake in Washington, the White Cliffs White House is open to the public twice daily (11 am and 2 pm) for tours showcasing its unique luxury, from light wells to an enormous movie screen.

The White House at White Cliffs might share its name with the imposing home of the US President, but the vibe couldn’t be any more different.

I’ve been to Washington and squinted to peer through the security fencing to spy the American landmark from afar, but at the White Cliffs White House the door is opened for you by mine host Lindsay White.

White the US lock you up for attempting to get into their White House, in White Cliffs, thousands of visitors have crossed the threshold, into one of the most unique and beautiful homes I have seen.

It is a testament to a handcrafted history of living below ground, recycling materials and working with the environment instead of against it.

I joined other visitors to the tiny outback town for the daily tour of Lindsay’s home, which he shares with artist Cree Marshall. Cree was off with the local art group that day I visited, but her striking artworks speak for themselves.

We entered at ground level, into the living area of the home, featuring a distinctive round kitchen and massive hunk of timber tree trunk, that is the centrepiece of the room.

Cree’s artworks dot the walls and surfaces, which are either walls of glass overlooking the lunar landscape of the town, or cool, rendered earthen walls.

When Lindsay began his tour, the well-worn banter rolled from him in waves, as he explained the process of turning a hill on the opal fields into his home.

As we travelled through the hand-dug hallways he explained the artworks and creations, while also explaining the engineering that keeps fresh air recycling.

In order to keep the underground space well-ventilated there are no doors – privacy is created by curved walls that hide beds and toilets.

Far from feeling cave-like of dark, the white washed walls reflect sunlight from overhead light wells, while protecting Lindsay and Cree from outside temperatures that scorch the land in the summer. In White Cliffs temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius from November to February.

The home is luxurious but not outrageous, in that it has everything a modern home needs – en suite bathrooms, walk in robes, guest rooms, comfortable nooks that invite you to curl up with a book, and a huge movie screen that descends from the ceiling.

And it is all handcrafted. The walls have been shaped by pick and shovel, then painted, and the floors have been levelled by Lindsay and tiled by Cree.

It defies a style definition expect to say it is the home of an accomplished artist and a dugout builder of the highest reputation.

We toured the studio where Cree creates and climbed a spiral staircase that leads to a glass tower, with views out across the town and opal fields.

We looked in on the entertainment area, which was under construction when I visited. Lindsay has big plans for the large inground jacuzzi, which includes much more of Cree’s mosaics. I decided then and there that I would check out the progress on my next visit, because I will be back.

The home is the fifth White Cliffs dugout built by Lindsay, an ex-shearer, turned opal miner. And while the home of the US President is strictly invite only, Cree and Lindsay throw their doors open to visitors twice daily at 11am and 2pm.