10 Incredible Architect-Designed Homes We Saw In 2023
Architecture
A Serene And Spectacular Multi-Generational Beach House
It’s hard to find words bigger than ‘spectacular’ or ‘serene’ to describe the true magic of Somers Beach House by Wellard Architects.
Built onto a steep beachfront site on the South Eastern side of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, the home was designed as a couple’s private retreat that could also accommodate other generations of their family over the holidays.
The steel and timber-lined build perfectly frames uninterrupted water views, while a 1950s boat shed has been transformed into a treasured extension of the main home, ‘hovering’ calmly on the dunes of Somers Beach.
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This Melbourne Home (Literally) Embraces The Garden In Its Clever Redesign
While many modern-day renovations are about enhancing the home’s connection to the outdoors, this Melbourne family home goes one step further.
Sonelo Architects have reimagined the Fairfield cottage with a clever extension at the rear, complete with a garden wall that serves as a ‘portal’ between the home and the backyard.
The updated living spaces are harmonious, with original period house and the new Peachy Green-designed gardens — featuring a verdant green palette, both inside and out!
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A Spectacular Brazilian Modernism-Inspired Pittwater Home
The design of M House is both ‘bunker-like’ and embracing of its incredible position overlooking Pittwater in Clareville, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
These seemingly at odds principles have been achieved in the design by Rama Architects that draws on Brazilian modernism to balance hard materials (concrete and stone) with the softness of light and lush landscaping.
Nature is encouraged to envelop the structure — blurring the line between outside and in — while providing the family residents with privacy and tranquility.
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How A New Zealand Architect Built His Home For $150,000 (With No Construction Experience!)
Architect William Samuels designs houses for a living, but he found himself priced out of the traditional New Zealand housing market.
Instead, William and his partner Hannah D’Arcy looked at alternative paths to home ownership. They decided to design and build their own house for NZD$150,000 (about AUD$140,000), and located it on leased land in Nelson, New Zealand.
Despite having no construction experience, the couple slowly but surely built their relocatable and expandable 42 square metres house, on budget, over 18 months.
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A Melbourne Architecture Power Couple’s Magic Family Home
Monique and Scott Woodward, directors of Wowowa Architecture, design playful, colour-loving, ‘yummy’ homes for their clients, and their own family home is no exception.
The couple purchased this Northcote, Melbourne property in 2016 as a dilapidated California bungalow, and recently applied their signature magic touch on a major transformation. The vision — to create the cosiest, comfiest, ‘happiest space ever.’
Drenched in magenta tones, this home is a warm nostalgic hug that embodies what Wowowa is all about.
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A Delightfully Kooky, Mid-Century Inspired Melbourne Home
Gloss House is equal parts futuristic and retro; energising and relaxing; kooky and sophisticated.
Designed by Studio Doherty and Enth Degree Architects, the new house in Doncaster East, Melbourne combines modernist influences with playful materials, instead of commonly requested natural stone—think a bright blue spiral staircase, a fully tiled kitchen and bathroom; and an underground pool window!
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This Breathtaking Modern Farmhouse Brings The Outdoors In
The story behind Merricks Farmhouse spans more than five years, with two architecture practices working on the project, from opposite sides of the world.
The newly built house on the lush, 50-acre property in the Mornington Peninsula is a collaboration between South African architect Michael Lumby and Brisbane-based practice Nielsen Jenkins.
Designed as a modern interpretation of the traditional Australian farmhouse, the residence heroes the surrounding landscape at every opportunity, perfectly framing enchanting views over vineyards and out towards the bay.
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This Carefully Restored ‘Bush Modernist’ Home Is A ’70s Dream
Located in Melbourne’s north-east under a canopy of eucalyptus trees, Monty Sibbel is the family home of the couple behind Nüüd Studio.
The ‘bush modernist’ house was handbuilt by the famous Sibbel Builders in the ’70s. But by the time architect Brad Mitchell and interior designer Kerli Valk bought it four years ago, many of its original features were hidden under layers of paint, or lost to years of disrepair.
In their hands, the humble home has been restored with careful renovations that have revived its natural character, with native timbers and an improved connection to the outdoors.
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This Mosman Home Embraces Nature With An Architectural ‘Garden Room’
House for BEES by Downie North is an architectural addition for a Mosman home designed to make the most of its unusually deep backyard, complete with a native beehive.
The architects observed how the family enjoyed outdoor living and sought to replicate that with a ‘garden room’, reminiscent of a picnic rug laid under a protective canopy.
Using angled rooflines, reclaimed materials and passive design principles, the new living area harness Sydney’s natural harbour-side breezes, allowing the owners to enjoy the garden all year round.
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How An Architect Built This Breezy Home For $260,000
When architect Joshua Duncan set out to build a home in a suburban development 10 minutes outside of Busselton, Western Australia, he wanted to make it a point of difference from its neighbours.
With a budget of $260,000, Joshua’s aim was to showcase an alternative to the traditional layout of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house, that was both well-designed and ‘financially accessible’.
Using simple materials like external metal cladding and plywood walls, Vasse House is breezy and adaptable, and enveloped by a sprawling native garden!
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