The stylish, charming older couple were former clients when they invited me to design the major alterations and additions to their long dreamed about house on the coast. Some of the bigger issues for consideration were: respect for and retention of the existing heritage cottage; planning for the future to allow the now-extended two storey house to function on one level should accessibility become an issue; ability to close down portions of the house when the many friends and family weren’t visiting; flexible internal and external entertaining spaces; access to the superb ocean views.

The original timber framed cottage, located in a heritage precinct

Extensions underway to the rear of the cottage

Sympathetically renovated front facade

The rear facade of the extended timber coast house

A series of systems were incorporated to address the sustainability of the house:

• North facing facade for passive solar access.
• Passive ventilation stack to the lower floor laundry/store.
• Cross flow ventilation – assisted by the breezeway.
• Thermal mass – concrete floor slabs.
• Compartmentalisation of the house – close off major portions of the house dependant on occupant levels.
• 2,000 litre water storage.
• Extensive use of timber cladding/lining and windows – recyclable material.
• Re-use of existing storage sheds.

Internal breezeway viewed from the north facing deck

Attention was paid to future use of the building through:

• Accessible gradients from the lower level garage to the upper floor level.
• Installation of plumbing to a large cupboard on the upper floor to cater for fitout as a laundry.

The two storey additions to the timber cottage

Kitchen and living areas with ocean views.

To gain a clearer picture of just how much the cottage evolved through the transformation process, you can read a blog created previously.