What we love most: That modern architecture can still feel like a home.
Architects: Baenziger Coles
Location: Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Photography: Ross Bird (Ross Bird Photography)
Builder: Nick Heyward – Heyward Constructions (Barwon Heads)
The owners of this home in Victoria’s Point Lonsdale may not have known it at the time, but when they decided to upsize their current home, it was the beginning of a 10-year journey.
“The [home grew] out of a need for the owners to expand the sleeping accommodation, living, and kitchen facilities of their existing coastal holiday retreat as it became clear the children and parents both needed more space,” explains Principal Baenziger Coles, Tony Baenziger.
The first idea was to alter and extend the existing structure, but the owners soon realised this wouldn’t give them the result they were after.
Next they decided to find another larger house in the same area, but with a lack of properties on the market to meet their budget, they eventually decided to knock down the house and build on the plot.
The result is a beautiful home, in a location that brings with it memories of the time the family has spent there together.
“The way the house is arranged suits the lifestyle and the way the owners go about their activities perfectly,” Tony says, “from the custom board racks within the garage, to the outdoor shower, to the equipment wash down area, the ‘back door entry’ to the internal shower with integrated timber seat and wetsuit drying rail to the kitchen layout – with generous galley and food preparation area – and the large internal dining area that connects seamlessly to the external barbeque and meals area.”
A simple colour and materials palette allows the home to act as a blank canvass for the owners’ belonging, collectables and artwork, while maintaining a clear architectural and interior direction.
“The spotted gum shiplap timber cladding used on the outside has been brought into the interiors for the ceiling lining in the living room, for the stair blade wall, the construction of the large internal sliding doors and to surround the bath enclosure providing a sense of warmth and a connection to the external architectural treatment.
“The building has been carefully crafted and meticulously detailed in a somewhat controlled fashion, there is still plenty of opportunity for the owners to personalise the spaces which gives the home its soul.”
We love that, despite a quite modern aesthetic, this home gathers together the history of a family, helping them to curate their environment.
“The whole design is about the wide-ranging coastal activities that Point Lonsdale is so blessed with and the continual socialising with family and friends that brings the owners to the home weekend after weekend.”
Baenziger Coles
baenzigercoles.com.au
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