Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Compact Beach House With Room to Grow
A recently retired couple set out to transform their small shack into a stylish beach house for the extended family
This modern beach house near Melbourne, Australia is a far cry from its previous life as a tiny, dilapidated clapboard. Recently retired academics, Beryl and Alan, wanted to spend more time at their regular retreat at Barwon Heads, but as their family grew — three grown-up children and grandchildren — they required more room to sleep up to three families over the summer. The renovation essentially doubles the floor area, providing a new bedroom pavilion, linked to the main house via a wood deck. “It evokes memories of our own childhood beach holidays,” says Auhaus architect Kate Fitzpatrick.
“The brief for the project was simply to provide more room in the most economical way,” she says.
The specific requirements were for an additional bedroom and a second bathroom, but due to the state and size of the original cottage, the scope of renovation needed to provide a lot more. “We were lucky that our clients were very trusting and gave us free rein in terms of how best to meet the brief,” adds Fitzpatrick.
The solution for Auhaus was to create a second pavilion for guests: ‘the pod’ as it’s now called by the owners. The deck area linking the two pavilions has become the family’s main gathering space.
The specific requirements were for an additional bedroom and a second bathroom, but due to the state and size of the original cottage, the scope of renovation needed to provide a lot more. “We were lucky that our clients were very trusting and gave us free rein in terms of how best to meet the brief,” adds Fitzpatrick.
The solution for Auhaus was to create a second pavilion for guests: ‘the pod’ as it’s now called by the owners. The deck area linking the two pavilions has become the family’s main gathering space.
Of the existing house, the floor structure, the chimney stack, some of the walls and the entirety of the two back bedrooms were retained. In fact, it’s only the leaning tree and brick chimney stack that pokes out beyond the line of the house on the right that helps you see where the new sits with the original.
AFTER: The original clapboard cottage is now unrecognisable as the main house pavilion (pictured on the left), which was slightly elongated and renovated to provide a new kitchen, bathroom, and living and dining areas, while also retaining two existing bedrooms. “After we painted the whole outside of the house white, the new and old blended in pretty seamlessly,” says Fitzpatrick.
The site levels were manipulated with mounded landscaping, bringing the ground level up to the height of the deck and drawing the front garden into the living zone. The site has a number of mature trees that influenced the layout. The two gabled pavilions are nestled among the existing twisted tea trees, creating a semi-enclosed deck area and a leafy, indigenous outlook for the living areas.
The site levels were manipulated with mounded landscaping, bringing the ground level up to the height of the deck and drawing the front garden into the living zone. The site has a number of mature trees that influenced the layout. The two gabled pavilions are nestled among the existing twisted tea trees, creating a semi-enclosed deck area and a leafy, indigenous outlook for the living areas.
The original house lacked a defined entry; the new design embraces the arrival to the front door, with a double height porch recessed into the building.
The new facade exaggerates the original pitched roof and opens up the interiors with cathedral ceilings to increase the sense of space in the small footprint.
The new facade exaggerates the original pitched roof and opens up the interiors with cathedral ceilings to increase the sense of space in the small footprint.
“We bedded the colour scheme with white to increase the sense of space and brighten the rooms, helping to bounce light around the room,” says Fitzpatrick.
“Although we initially considered using colour, we were wary of making the spaces feel too enclosed so we instead opted for a palette of black, white and timber.”
Cabinets in blackbutt veneer and black laminate
“Although we initially considered using colour, we were wary of making the spaces feel too enclosed so we instead opted for a palette of black, white and timber.”
Cabinets in blackbutt veneer and black laminate
The kitchen benchtop and the floors are recycled hardwood. The white pressed metal wall in the living room and the houndstooth kitchen splashback “add layers of texture without dominating the space,” says Fitzpatrick
The old-school pattern on the splashback harks back to the vintage of the original 1950s shack.
Nook sofa and leather armchair: Jardan; custom-made coffee table: made by Auhaus for the project from leftover floorboards and the base of a plan filing cabinet, painted black; splashback in houndstooth glass mosaic tiles: Bisazza
The old-school pattern on the splashback harks back to the vintage of the original 1950s shack.
Nook sofa and leather armchair: Jardan; custom-made coffee table: made by Auhaus for the project from leftover floorboards and the base of a plan filing cabinet, painted black; splashback in houndstooth glass mosaic tiles: Bisazza
Blackbutt flooring and joinery benchtops are enhanced with highlights of copper, burnt orange and olive that reflect the rich colours of the surrounding native landscape.
Benchtops in solid blackbutt; vintage copper pendants: sourced from Denmark
Benchtops in solid blackbutt; vintage copper pendants: sourced from Denmark
Auhaus selected all products for the project, down to the fixtures and furniture. Beryl and Alan were happy to give the architects, Kate and Ben (Benjamin Stibbard from Auhaus), the freedom to choose and they were delighted with the result, especially as it all came in on time and on budget.
Abey sink: Barazza; Mizu mixer tap: Reece
Abey sink: Barazza; Mizu mixer tap: Reece
“Working with a small footprint, we were very aware that the house could easily become cluttered if we tried to do too much,” says Fitzpatrick.
“To keep the spaces feeling bright and uncluttered, we kept the formal geometry strong and clean.”
They sourced many vintage pieces, “to create the feeling of a seasoned holiday home,” Fitzpatrick adds.
Occasional chairs: Vintage Parker, re-covered in ‘Cloth’ fabric; striped jute rug: World Weave
“To keep the spaces feeling bright and uncluttered, we kept the formal geometry strong and clean.”
They sourced many vintage pieces, “to create the feeling of a seasoned holiday home,” Fitzpatrick adds.
Occasional chairs: Vintage Parker, re-covered in ‘Cloth’ fabric; striped jute rug: World Weave
The black and white theme continues in the bathrooms through to the tiling and cabinetry.
“There is a continuity of materials used throughout the house,” says Fitzpatrick. “Creating a clean and cohesive aesthetic.”
Custom-made vanity with blackbutt benchtop and surround, white laminate cupboards; Geo basin: Caroma; Scala mixer tap: Reece; pendant light: Mud Australia; tiles: Signorino Tile Gallery
“There is a continuity of materials used throughout the house,” says Fitzpatrick. “Creating a clean and cohesive aesthetic.”
Custom-made vanity with blackbutt benchtop and surround, white laminate cupboards; Geo basin: Caroma; Scala mixer tap: Reece; pendant light: Mud Australia; tiles: Signorino Tile Gallery
The bathroom in the guest pavillion features a custom-made vanity with blackbutt benchtop, waterfall and surround, and black laminate cupboards.
Porcher Cygnet toilet, and Kado freestanding bath: Reece; tiles: Signorino Tile Gallery
Porcher Cygnet toilet, and Kado freestanding bath: Reece; tiles: Signorino Tile Gallery
“The design celebrates the tradition of the humble Australian beach house, reflecting traditional vernacular through form and materiality,” says Fitzpatrick.
“The strong geometry of the two pavilions counterpoints the twisting ti-trees, which appear to grow from the foundations.”
The colour scheme is carried through to the exterior of the house. The cladding material on the main pavilion is painted plywood sheet cladding, with highlights of oiled hardwood lining boards. The guest pavilion is clad in black Colorbond sheet on three sides, with black stained plywood cladding on the front face.
“All material choices were based around economy as well as function and aesthetic,” says Fitzpatrick.
“All material choices were based around economy as well as function and aesthetic,” says Fitzpatrick.
The architects are pleased to have delivered a project that has transformed how the owners use the house and increased the liveability for the extended family – including young children and babies. “It is a simple renovation that eschews any bells and whistles but delivers on all the things that matter,” says Fitzpatrick.
According to Fitzpatrick, with such a lovely, open and light beach house to escape to, the homeowners describe leaving their Edwardian-style home in Melbourne to be like “leaving the dark side” behind.
Location: Barwon Heads, Victoria
Size: 155sqm total internal floor area, 30sqm deck; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living areas
That’s interesting: The original worker’s cottage was transported from the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a hydroelectric and irrigation complex in Southeast Australia, many years ago
“At 155sqm, the renovated house consciously bucks the trend of oversized housing yet comfortably accommodates three families,” says Fitzpatrick.