The Clovelly 157 by Hallmark Homes - A Compact Home That Feels Great

The Clovelly 157 by Hallmark Homes is proof that you don't need 30+ squares to make a home feel special. At 163sqm , this is a compact design that punches so far above its weight it probably needs its own boxing licence.

Walking through this display, the word that keeps coming back is "clever." Hallmark have squeezed genuine functionality, real style, and a surprising amount of storage into a floorplan that, on paper, has no business feeling this good. It's small, yes. But it never feels small. And that's a hard trick to pull off.

Design & Floorplan

The layout here is all about making every square metre earn its keep, and almost every one of them does.

All three bedrooms are positioned toward the front of the home, which frees up the entire rear for the open-plan kitchen, living, and dining zone. And when I say open plan, I mean open plan. This space doesn't just connect the kitchen and living area, it totally opens up to the entire rest of the house. It's a bold move in a smaller footprint, but it works because the proportions are right and the ceiling height carries it.

Speaking of which, the raked ceiling in this zone is doing serious work. In a home this size, standard ceiling heights can start to close things in. The rake takes that away completely. If there's room in your budget for this upgrade, it's absolutely worth considering. It elevates the whole feel of the home from "nice and compact" to "genuinely impressive."

The kitchen itself feels super luxe, partly thanks to the upgrades on display, but that doesn't change the fact that the underlying layout is well thought out. There's proper flow through the kitchen with enough clearance for someone to walk behind while you're cooking. That sounds like a small thing until you've lived in a kitchen where it doesn't happen, and then it becomes everything.

Storage throughout the home is genuinely impressive for a plan this size. There's a proper entryway storage and mud area near the front, which is the kind of practical touch that bigger homes sometimes forget. The amount of cupboard and linen space is well positioned around the bedrooms, and nothing feels like an afterthought.

The laundry deserves a mention on its own. It feels quite luxurious, with plenty of bench space and enough room to actually work in. For a small family, this is more than adequate.

The master bedroom is a comfortable size with a beautifully finished ensuite. Everything in there looks and feels premium. The one thing the master doesn't have is a walk-in robe. For some people that's a dealbreaker. My fiancée would have words. But with a well-designed built-in robe and a home this size, it's a trade-off that plenty of buyers will be comfortable making.

Style & Finishes

The styling in this display is genuinely beautiful. The palette is current, the finishes feel considered, and the overall look sits right in line with where design trends are at the moment.

That said, a lot of the wow factor here is coming from upgrades. The kitchen, the raked ceiling, the laundry finishes. These are all things that elevate the display well beyond what a base spec Clovelly 157 would look like. So it's worth going in with your eyes open and having a conversation with Hallmark about what's included and what's not, because the upgrade bill can creep up in a hurry.

The good news is the bones of the plan are sound. Even with more modest selections, the layout, the flow, and the proportions will still work. You just might not get that same magazine-cover moment.

Display Experience

Walking the Clovelly 157 is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. You walk in expecting a compact home and you walk out wondering how they fit all of that in there.

The raked ceiling is the first thing that hits you. It changes the energy of the whole living zone, making it feel open and airy rather than tight and boxy. The kitchen, living, and dining space flows well and the connection out to the alfresco is natural, even if the indoor dining is so close to the outdoor dining that you could practically pass the salad across without standing up. In practice, you'd probably use that outdoor zone as your barbecue area and not bother with a second dining setup. But that's more of a styling observation than a design flaw.

The entryway storage and mud area is a small detail that makes a big impression. It's says "we actually thought about what it's like to walk in the door after school drop-off with bags, shoes, and half a week's worth of stuff."

The one reality check is the outdoor space. With a floorplan that's been maximised to fit this much functionality into 163sqm, there's not a lot of grass left over. That's the trade-off you make when you're getting this much house on a smaller lot. Depending on your block size, that might not be an issue at all, but it's worth thinking about if backyard space matters to you.

Verdict

The Clovelly 157 by Hallmark Homes is a clever, well-executed compact home. The raked ceiling, the kitchen layout, the storage, and the overall flow all punch above the weight class. It's got everything a small family needs without feeling like anything's been sacrificed just to save space.

The upgrades on display do a lot of heavy lifting, and the lack of a WIR in the master will bother some buyers. But if you're building on a smaller lot and want a home that feels considered, functional, and genuinely stylish, the Clovelly 157 is certainly worth considering.