About This Project

When asked to describe the style of his home our architect client had this to say …

“I just call it contemporary … but behind that, my thinking is a bit esoteric. I like the ideas of “Essentialism” reducing to what is necessary, but it is not minimalism, which is exclusive and can be too purist and alienating. Essentialism is more inclusive, because things like joy, delight and nostalgia can be seen as essential to wellbeing. Of course, this is all tempered in this project by the pragmatic realism of budget.”

Nestled on a 953sqm block in the trendy enclave of Pacific Palms this contemporary coastal beauty has a sense of authenticity and integrity.

Unique in its design this home is a formed C, shaped around an internal courtyard, Lexicon white “Linea” weatherboards, oversized timber fascia and a sweeping skillion roof in shale grey is reminiscent of mid-century beach houses. One of the unique design features, was the size of the fascia and barge board to allow the eaves and the internal ceiling to be at the same level and conceal the LVL roof framing. This required additional frame to support the eaves and over size fascia and barges.

Clean lines elegantly combined with paired back coastal beach plantings, gravels, and natural timber highlights, really set the scene as you enter through their custom-made hardwood gate into the first of our clients’ private Alfresco spaces an internal courtyard, serene in its dappled shade.

On entering, the modern masculine feel of this home is quite striking, square set ceilings, windows, door frames and skirting boards, combined with 9 foot and raked ceilings at interesting angles. Extensive use of louvres, most with solid anodised aluminium blades and fixed panel windows, connect the inhabitants to both the front private courtyard and the extensive rear green space and pool area. The external treatment of the windows to the Linea cladding was achieved by using a reversed aluminium angle as the stop mould to the Linea cladding to create a very minimal external window reveal. This achieves the clients desired look and created a very neat detail.

Burnished concrete floors lend a leathery texture to a muted modern palette of Dulux Lexicon quarter strength and green slate. Many design elements in this home were chosen with a mind for quality and practicality. The joinery has been selected with a mix of finishes and texture, from the Laminex ultimate matte range to the 12mm Dekton benches, and premium appliances to finish off the space. The large span of the floating shelf coupled with the large rangehood cover created a challenge for the joiners to install and get this perfectly aligned with the splashback window below.

One of our favourite elements is the Cheminees Philippe fireplace adorning a custom formed concrete hearth, set in front of the monotoned Brickworks Nickel blocks with matching mortar. The block feature wall and striped back woodfire sets the scene for the media room that overlooks the two outdoor spaces, sunny in the day on one side, shaded on the other and at night a cosy fireside.

Minimal use of downlights throughout, and thoughtfully curated use of mood and task lighting are just some of subtle designdetails. These highlight the simplicity of the finishes and feature elements.

Tiles to the ceiling in the bathrooms create a stylish space simply by running the floor tiles up selected walls as the feature tile. As does the windows to tile detail. Rather than tile the window reveals, which are shallow due the louvre windows, a matching aluminium angle was attached to the windows to allow the tilers to finish up to it. This allowed for a simple elegant look.

A home that took painstaking detail in the design phase, made completing the build a simpler process. This allowed us to ensure our trades achieved the clean lines of this client’s vision. Coupled with the COVID pandemic continuing and the building industry going into overload, there were delays and product shortages that seemed to challenge us at every stage.

This beautiful home is a direct response to climate, place, function, materiality, and structure and much loved by its new owner’s.