ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING BY HUMPHREY HOMES
HOME SIZE: 450.8 SQM
BLOCK SIZE: 408 SQM
At Humphrey Homes, we get Cottesloe. We’re based here, we build and design here, and our team are avid beach goers. So, when our clients came to us requesting a Cottesloe take on a contemporary urban beach house, we were in our element.
Our in-house Architect, Helen Marchesani, responded to the clients’ brief with a relaxed, welcoming home that maximises northern light, while offering protection from the harsh coastal conditions.
The home is designed to balance public and private spaces. Helen explains, “The architecture engages with both the street and the front and rear garden. It is intentionally ‘transparent’ to create a visual connectivity with the neighbourhood.”
She adds, “The owners didn’t want to be shut off from their community. They wanted to be able to sit on the front porch, or in the dining room, and greet their neighbours on the way to and from the beach, and in the evening retire to the quiet seclusion of the north-facing courtyard at the rear.”
To achieve this, the main living areas are at the front of the home on the ground floor. Deep eaves keep out the afternoon sun. An alfresco and courtyard garden provide a protected outdoor living area, safely away from strong south westerlies. The master suite anchors the rear of the home.
A spacious light-filled studio on the upper floor is also designed to engage with the street. As it faces west, louvres allow it to be shut off from the sun or create privacy when needed.
Two bedrooms and a bathroom complete the upper level and provide plenty of accommodation for visiting family and friends.
To maximise the compact 408 sqm site, garaging and storage is housed in an undercroft.
In total, the home encompasses 450 sqm over three levels, serviced by a lift.
Owner/Director Dean Humphrey said every Humphrey Homes design is bespoke and addresses the way the owner likes to live: “This welcoming home reflects the owners’ passion for community, creativity and living by the coast.”
