Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Heartfelt Home Among the Gum Trees
An architect helped his parents' dreams come true by building them a forever home connected to its valley views
When architect Richard Cole designed this house, he had the distinct advantage of knowing the habits and routines of its future occupants inside-out – this was the home his parents were to live in during their retirement years. “The house acts as a container for possessions accumulated over their lifetime,” Cole says. “There is a place for a whisky bottle, a kitchen nook where busy schedules can be organised, a deck where dusk can be savoured; the house is both sanctuary and gallery.”
The house was built over an escarpment in a densely urbanised heritage conservation area in Waverton, on Sydney’s lower North Shore. Using natural materials and textures to achieve warmth, the home was designed with beauty in mind – both in the design itself and the connection the owners feel to the Angophora trees surrounding it.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Tina and Terry Cole
Size: 591sqm (site size); 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
Location: Waverton, Sydney, NSW
That’s interesting: The owners had long wanted their architect son to design them a home
The house was built over an escarpment in a densely urbanised heritage conservation area in Waverton, on Sydney’s lower North Shore. Using natural materials and textures to achieve warmth, the home was designed with beauty in mind – both in the design itself and the connection the owners feel to the Angophora trees surrounding it.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Tina and Terry Cole
Size: 591sqm (site size); 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
Location: Waverton, Sydney, NSW
That’s interesting: The owners had long wanted their architect son to design them a home
From the street, the owners and their guests walk through a tranquil courtyard with a linear pond and stone wall.
The front door opens to a light-filled open space beneath the sculptural canopy roof and views over the valley.
East Sofa: Fanuli Furniture; Jesse Haiku lounge chairs: Fanuli Furniture
East Sofa: Fanuli Furniture; Jesse Haiku lounge chairs: Fanuli Furniture
The house is fully accessible and designed for Cole’s parents to “age in place.”
His parents, Terry and Tina, are conservative by nature, but they were willing to take a leap of faith with the design of the house they think of as the last one they’ll live in. Needless to say, they’re glad they did.
They had always wanted their son to design them a home. The brief was for him to design a home that was luxurious but not too huge, and one that allowed them to feel connected to the ground, trees and birds.
“This house was designed with a lot of thought and a whole lot of love,” Tina says. “We love it.”
A dramatic steel and glass lift, seen here, takes the owners to the garage on the street below.
His parents, Terry and Tina, are conservative by nature, but they were willing to take a leap of faith with the design of the house they think of as the last one they’ll live in. Needless to say, they’re glad they did.
They had always wanted their son to design them a home. The brief was for him to design a home that was luxurious but not too huge, and one that allowed them to feel connected to the ground, trees and birds.
“This house was designed with a lot of thought and a whole lot of love,” Tina says. “We love it.”
A dramatic steel and glass lift, seen here, takes the owners to the garage on the street below.
“A sheltering timber-lined roof opens to the north, falls in response to the slope of the land and captures framed views of the trees,” Richard says. “The unexpected escarpment is retained, raw and open to the rooms of the lower ground floor.”
Two platforms launch into the space of the valley, extending from the anchoring escarpment.
A fireplace brings warmth and ambience to the dining room and living area on either side, and presents a backdrop for one of Terry and Tina’s collected works of art.
The Tasmanian blackwood table was designed by the architect. “It responds specifically to the space it occupies,” Richard says.
Takahashi Asako dining chairs: Mark Tuckey
The Tasmanian blackwood table was designed by the architect. “It responds specifically to the space it occupies,” Richard says.
Takahashi Asako dining chairs: Mark Tuckey
The Artek breakfast table and chairs are the same treasured design the owners had purchased in the 1960s, thanks to the resurgence in popularity and subsequent availability of Mid-century Modern furnishings.
High Stool 64 by Artek
High Stool 64 by Artek
Minimalist in form but far from cold, this house manages to be contemporary but still relaxed and comfortable.
On the ground floor, the living and dining areas make the most of the view, as does the master bedroom, which is complete with a spacious dressing area and ensuite.
The study, bathroom, cellar and bedroom on the lower ground floor fit snugly against the rockface which, in some places, is visible inside the home.
The curved island benchtop echoes the home’s external lines as you enter (see next image).
Joinery: Hammercraft Joinery; Calacatta marble benchtop: Granite & Marble Works; cabinet finish in satin polyurethane in ‘Natural White’: Dulux
Joinery: Hammercraft Joinery; Calacatta marble benchtop: Granite & Marble Works; cabinet finish in satin polyurethane in ‘Natural White’: Dulux
Rather than opting for the usual concertina glass doors, Cole chose to surround the living areas with insulated timber. Moveable walls transform the space from warm and enclosing to open and unimpeded. The windows in the timber walls also serve to frame views of the valley when closed.
“The house is a testament to the wonderful craftsmen who built it,” Richard says. The sliding timber windows and screens, pivot doors, timber ceiling and cladding and joinery were all handcrafted elements that were custom made for this house. “The design called for minimal tolerances [margin for error], which required a high level of skill and cooperation between trades,” Richard says.
“The house is a testament to the wonderful craftsmen who built it,” Richard says. The sliding timber windows and screens, pivot doors, timber ceiling and cladding and joinery were all handcrafted elements that were custom made for this house. “The design called for minimal tolerances [margin for error], which required a high level of skill and cooperation between trades,” Richard says.
Beauty was unashamedly the object of the design, which Richard says is “meticulously crafted” and “carefully composed.”
The warm tones of the tallowwood decking create a seamless connection between inside and out. “The strength, durability, rich tones, natural textures and other unique properties of Australian hardwoods have been exemplified in this project,” he says.
The warm tones of the tallowwood decking create a seamless connection between inside and out. “The strength, durability, rich tones, natural textures and other unique properties of Australian hardwoods have been exemplified in this project,” he says.
The master bedroom offers sweeping views of the trees and valley at every turn, with recessed lighting for a streamlined look that takes nothing away from the natural beauty of the timber cladding and ceiling. The 130mm-wide tallowwood flooring is finished in Synteko ‘Natural’.
“We designed both levels to feel solid at the back, to feel part cave-like against the slope and to open to the views to the south and west,” Richard says.
Magnetically operated internal louvred blinds in the bedrooms enable privacy and sleep-ins as needed.
“We designed both levels to feel solid at the back, to feel part cave-like against the slope and to open to the views to the south and west,” Richard says.
Magnetically operated internal louvred blinds in the bedrooms enable privacy and sleep-ins as needed.
The ensuite continues the timber theme but marble mosaic tiles help the space feel light and airy. The entrance to the shower and ensuite itself are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair should the need arise in the future.
Bluestone tiles: Belmondo Tiles;
Carrara marble vanity top: Granite & Marble Works; cabinets: tallowwood timber veneer; marble mosaic wall tiles: Belmondo Tiles; toilet: Rogerseller
Carrara marble vanity top: Granite & Marble Works; cabinets: tallowwood timber veneer; marble mosaic wall tiles: Belmondo Tiles; toilet: Rogerseller
The stairs lead down to the lower ground floor. Behind a pivot door hides a cellar and glimpse of the sandstone rockface behind.
The lift, the entrance to which can be seen on the left, will make it possible for Richard’s parents to use the whole house into their old age.
The front door, seen here at the top of the stairs, is a custom 40mm-thick panelled solid timber tallowwood with vertical glass infills.
The study is a peaceful room, tucked away from the more public areas of the home, but has the same finely crafted timber joinery.
Eames lounge and ottoman: Herman Miller; Aaron chair: Living Edge
Eames lounge and ottoman: Herman Miller; Aaron chair: Living Edge
In the guest bathroom downstairs, it took some convincing to get Tina and Terry to agree to an exposed rock wall, which they feared would get wet. Fortunately, Richard had adequate drainage installed to prevent any dampness.
A-125 bath: ACS
A-125 bath: ACS
When you’re thinking where to spend your retirement years, who better to ask to help you create it than your own son? Architect Richard Cole has made the most of the steep site and leafy surrounds with a “bold sculptural gesture that is primarily site driven.”
“A sheltering timber lined roof opens to the north, falls in response to the slope of the land and captures framed views of adjacent Angophora trees,” he says.
Angophora costata, also known as Sydney red gum, with their smooth pink bark and twisted limbs are eucalypts endemic to the south-east coast of Australia. Angophora derives from Greek words ‘angos’, meaning ‘vessel’, and ‘phero’, meaning ‘to bear or carry’, in reference to the fruit.
Cole thinks of a house as also being a vessel, one that contains the lives of its inhabitants. “The nature of that vessel contributes to how the inhabitants experience their day to day existence, and how they are placed in the world,” he says. In this case, the inhabitants are the parents of the architect and the vessel is crafted to accommodate their particular way of being.