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Stickybeak of the Week: A Home for Community, Family and Fishing
See a warm and inviting coastal home designed for spending days by the water surrounded by family and neighbours
The owners of this coastal abode, a couple nearing retirement, wanted a comfortable family home connected to the surrounding environment. The Queensland couple had been long-time sugar cane famers in the area, and purchased the former single-storey brick-and-tile house after establishing close ties to the seaside community and the bay. To create a family home with a sense of warmth and familiarity, they engaged Justin Humphrey Architect, and can now be found most weekends fishing from the jetty, checking crab pots, and enjoying visits from their children and grandchildren.
“This is a small fishing community where everyone knows everyone, so it was important to establish a design that respected the setting,” says Justin Humphrey. “Through material and scale the house sits comfortably among its eclectic coastal neighbours. It appears warm and inviting to the locals who walk their dogs along the public beachfront easement, and its transparent facade encourages engagement between the owners and neighbours.”
“This is a small fishing community where everyone knows everyone, so it was important to establish a design that respected the setting,” says Justin Humphrey. “Through material and scale the house sits comfortably among its eclectic coastal neighbours. It appears warm and inviting to the locals who walk their dogs along the public beachfront easement, and its transparent facade encourages engagement between the owners and neighbours.”
The site has a north-easterly aspect with breathtaking views across southern Moreton Bay towards North Stradbroke Island. Two palm trees frame the view with the jetty and shoreline in front.
With a two-storey neighbouring home to the north, the design required a delicate balance of maintaining privacy and opening up to the northern sun. It also needed to provide connection to the water while offering protection from the gusty south-easterly sea breezes. “An intimate knowledge of local climate and weather patterns is important when designing for the waterfront,” says Humphrey.
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With a two-storey neighbouring home to the north, the design required a delicate balance of maintaining privacy and opening up to the northern sun. It also needed to provide connection to the water while offering protection from the gusty south-easterly sea breezes. “An intimate knowledge of local climate and weather patterns is important when designing for the waterfront,” says Humphrey.
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The architect reconfigured the floor plan and created a new double-height indoor/outdoor living space to take advantage of the aspect and views. The upper storey projects further on the northern side to maintain privacy.
The existing garage, three bedrooms and rumpus room towards the rear of the house are now bypassed by a pathway with a trellised screen, leading to a new formal entrance on the southern side.
“This entry creates a more rational path to the public areas of the house, while the form of the screen acts to graft the new works onto the existing building,” says Humphrey. “It also allows glimpses of the view, before people are led into the main space where the full view of the sea is revealed.”
“This entry creates a more rational path to the public areas of the house, while the form of the screen acts to graft the new works onto the existing building,” says Humphrey. “It also allows glimpses of the view, before people are led into the main space where the full view of the sea is revealed.”
The front of the house has a new kitchen, living and dining area as well as a new master bedroom, ensuite and powder room downstairs. A parents’ retreat or guest bedroom is upstairs, and a laundry and drying deck was added on the northern side.
Existing brickwork was rendered and painted a dark earthy colour to ground the house and contrast with the white weatherboard addition.
Existing brickwork was rendered and painted a dark earthy colour to ground the house and contrast with the white weatherboard addition.
The design plays with the idea of ‘volumes within volumes’. The upstairs retreat, which can also be used as a guest bedroom, is housed within a volume clad in spotted gum, which cantilevers over the outside area. “It provides a nice focal point for the eastern facade and helps balance out the negative space of the double-height void,” says Humphrey.
The spotted-gum cladding is protected by an outer skin of painted fibre-cement cladding for durability and less maintenance. “Maintenance is always a critical consideration when designing on the beachfront, especially for clients planning to retire,” says Humphrey.
Scyon Linea weatherboards: James Hardie; Australian spotted-gum shiplap cladding
The spotted-gum cladding is protected by an outer skin of painted fibre-cement cladding for durability and less maintenance. “Maintenance is always a critical consideration when designing on the beachfront, especially for clients planning to retire,” says Humphrey.
Scyon Linea weatherboards: James Hardie; Australian spotted-gum shiplap cladding
The living area is housed within a double-height volume. The interior spotted gum-cladding, which defines the upper floor, provides a warm backdrop and draws the eye towards the view.
“The north-eastern orientation brings an amazing amount of natural light and breeze deep into the house. It really does create a big reveal or wow-moment when visitors walk in from the more spatially compressed entry,” says Humphrey.
The open casement shutters provide a visual connection between the floors and can be closed for privacy when the upstairs retreat is being used as a guest bedroom.
Raw spotted-gum engineered timber floorboards; Australian spotted-gum timber cladding
“The north-eastern orientation brings an amazing amount of natural light and breeze deep into the house. It really does create a big reveal or wow-moment when visitors walk in from the more spatially compressed entry,” says Humphrey.
The open casement shutters provide a visual connection between the floors and can be closed for privacy when the upstairs retreat is being used as a guest bedroom.
Raw spotted-gum engineered timber floorboards; Australian spotted-gum timber cladding
The kitchen is robust, functional and central to the house to cater for the extended family. Handmade glazed tiles on the splashback have a mottled finish and turquoise colour that complements the water of Moreton Bay.
Neolith Calacatta benchtops: CDK Stone; Ravine Char Oak joinery: Polytec; Mystery Teal oxide-tile splashback: Fifth Element Handmade Tiles
Neolith Calacatta benchtops: CDK Stone; Ravine Char Oak joinery: Polytec; Mystery Teal oxide-tile splashback: Fifth Element Handmade Tiles
The theme of ‘volumes within volumes’ continues in the kitchen, which is enclosed by an angular grey-painted volume. The wall down the entrance hall is painted in a warm grey and emerges into the living space as a volume from which the kitchen is ‘cut out’.
The area is further defined by an angled bulkhead and a matching junction on the floor between the tiled kitchen and timber flooring in the living area and hallway. Both extend to the northern wall, which has matching grey joinery and dark appliances, completing the sense of an enclosed volume.
The area is further defined by an angled bulkhead and a matching junction on the floor between the tiled kitchen and timber flooring in the living area and hallway. Both extend to the northern wall, which has matching grey joinery and dark appliances, completing the sense of an enclosed volume.
The dining area sits beneath the double-height void within the living space and is adjacent to a long window for northeast sea views. External casement shutters allow for northern light while affording privacy from the neighbouring house.
Mykonos pendant shade and light: Ahoy Trader
Mykonos pendant shade and light: Ahoy Trader
An angled wall of joinery with oversize timber handles conceals a hidden study. “The location allows connection to regular life in the house while bills are paid and work is completed,” says Humphrey.
The outdoor area is orientated to the bay while enjoying protection from prevailing sea breezes. The design allows for a sense of openness and intimacy. The double-height volume feels vast and celebrates the geometry of the roofline while allowing sunlight to flood the living spaces. However, the lower-cranked facade beam visually reduces the scale and helps to add a sense of intimacy while framing the view across the bay.
“It adds a touch of drama and makes it feel more like an outside room rather than an unconsidered external deck,” says Humphrey.
“It adds a touch of drama and makes it feel more like an outside room rather than an unconsidered external deck,” says Humphrey.
A lift and stairs provide access to the upstairs retreat, and timber battens enclosing the lower stairs play on the idea of creating another volume.
“The white-painted batten screening, combined with riser detailing, gives the effect of stepping through a floating portal or frame when entering the stair,” says Humphrey. “It creates another moment of fun in the house and adds a layer of consideration to a well-used threshold.”
The screening also provides a layer of privacy between the living area and adjacent entrance to the master bedroom.
“The white-painted batten screening, combined with riser detailing, gives the effect of stepping through a floating portal or frame when entering the stair,” says Humphrey. “It creates another moment of fun in the house and adds a layer of consideration to a well-used threshold.”
The screening also provides a layer of privacy between the living area and adjacent entrance to the master bedroom.
The owners love to entertain and the upstairs retreat provides an area for after-dinner drinks overlooking the bay, as well as a visual connection to the downstairs living spaces. “It’s a great spot to watch the kids on the beach or have a drink watching boats at sunset,” says Humphrey.
Your turn
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Keen to see more great design? Don’t miss this Houzz Tour: Making Family Memories at a Holiday House Getaway
Your turn
What’s your favourite element of this design? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Keen to see more great design? Don’t miss this Houzz Tour: Making Family Memories at a Holiday House Getaway
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple nearing retirement
Location: North of the Gold Coast, Queensland
Size: 360 square metres with four bedrooms and three bathrooms
Architect and interior designer: Justin Humphrey Architect
Builder: Lindon Homes
The existing house had been largely untouched since the 1980s and seemed to be designed with little consideration for the site. “The client wanted to create a comfortable home to spend their retirement, connected to the sea and surrounded by family and friends. They have a growing number of young grandchildren, so it was critical that the renovation provided enough space to host extended family while being able to watch kids explore the shoreline,” says Humphrey.
‘Connection’ formed the key theme for the design of the house. Connection to the water and environment; to family; to internal and external spaces; and to the unpretentious coastal neighbours.