… A series of terrace levels provide beachside living for a family home

The View House reimagines beach house design for families through a unique architectural design and interiors that accommodate a large home on a relatively small and narrow block.

Approaching the house from the street, you are welcomed by a series of terraced steps leading up to a solid stone arch and a crisp white deck structure floating above, both gazing outwards towards the ocean. A series of ribbed structures lead you down the side of the house and guide you towards the main entry door, punctuated by tiny moments along the landscaped avenue. The material palette is pale, evoking the bleached colours of the sun-baked beaches enjoyed in Cottesloe. Through the entry door, you are greeted by warmer timber tones, which clad the ceilings and cabinetry in a move to bring a cave-like quality to the space. From this point, you are beckoned to ocean views on your left, or drawn towards the backyard garden to your right. Within the home, a series of tiered floor levels describe the main family spaces, which descends down into a terrace backyard and further again into bedrooms for the children. The backyard acts as the middle ground for a play area for the children as it provides good visual access from the main family spaces. Here, the garden nestles with a lap pool that hugs the home in one corner. The terrace steps provide a grand sense of transition through the garden, while also doubling in its function to provide casual seating for informal family gatherings.

Descending further down from the terrace are the separate children bedrooms, supporting the children’s growing need for privacy as they become older. Views from each bedroom are deliberately framed and either face the ocean, or inwardly to pensive courtyards.

Making the house as wide as possible to accommodate its functions provided a challenge to gain north light over the overshadowing of neighbouring properties. This was addressed by implementing tall windows that recess further into the ceiling to gain extra height and hence solar gain.

Our residential architects employed other design strategies such as a low solid balustrade with a top glass insert were effective in blocking out the foreground of neighbouring properties, while still maintaining the view out to the ocean when entertaining outside on the balcony. Within the decks, a series of perforated mesh screens complimented the requirements of solar control with requirements for privacy. Apertures punched through the deck canopies provide an added layer of spatial movement, with solid structure, voids and perforated infill mesh screens continually altering the shadows cast on the decks. Natural stone encapsulates the interiors of the main suite to further the idea of the cave-like quality of the family room, creating an intimate compressed space for reading or enjoying the view.