For Debbie and Grahame, a couple with grown children who no longer live at home, turning this vacant piece of land into a home that spoke of contemporary living and cool, collected beachside calm, was exactly what they needed for the next stage in their lives.
The couple wanted to downsize, moving from their inner-Sydney pad to a beachside spot of contemporary living on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast where they could embrace a seachange and find comfort in an easy, breezy lifestyle.
The home includes three bedrooms — a master suite and two visitor bedrooms — two and a half bathrooms, a home office, double garage, open-plan kitchen/dining/living, an alfresco space and a separate media room. There is also a medium-sized pool that wraps around the living area.
Designed by Aboda Design Group and built by Fauna Homes, the residence is bright and airy, meeting its brief for a mid-century modern design paired with an informal beachside aesthetic. “We achieved this by creating dramatic, generous spaces but ones that were not too large or dominating,” explains Lee Foster, Director, Aboda Design Group. “We opted for a design that is light and bright, a design that is low-maintenance, and one that is aesthetically cooled with concrete, yet warmed with timber flooring and features, such as screening and custom cabinetry.”
As the site is privy to northern orientation, which means optimal sun exposure, the designers maximised the amount of natural light flowing into the home by using glass often, and with exceptional finesse. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors allow light to flood the home, with glass louvre windows a feature in the dining area and bathrooms.
Of course, a home that welcomes in an abundance of light is in danger of letting the heat in, too. “To counteract this, louvre windows manage natural breezes, especially the airflow over the cool water of the pool,” says Lee. “We also elevated the home to enhance cross-flow ventilation.”
While the back of the property is a very private space, the street-facing front isn’t. To remedy this and create a degree of privacy, a timber-slatted screen was built. This sits alongside the garage with its striking raked form.
The site presented challenges as well as opportunities — it sits in a flood-prone location and has narrow street frontage. To cope with the latter, Aboda Design Group cleverly positioned the home’s entry to the side of the property, eschewing traditional front access.
Once inside the home, an efficient floor plan gives space between the visitors’ bedrooms and bathrooms and the master suite. Given the homeowners’ grown children have children of their own, it was important that privacy was created to make visits stress-free. Managing this across
the floor plan’s single storey was a great achievement.
Having worked with the team at Fauna Homes for close to 10 years, Aboda Design Group has established a very strong working relationship. Says Lee, “Like all great projects, the outcome is a three-way partnership dependent on bold clients who put their faith in professional and experienced design and building companies.”
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