Designed with subtropical family living at the fore, the home takes full advantage of its expansive site, with spacious internal and external living opening onto a private courtyard and generous backyard. The home incorporates traditional materials, texture and detail in an unmistakably contemporary manner resulting in an aesthetic richness that sits comfortably within the character of the street. Our role, in collaboration with our long-term friends at Happy Haus and the private developer client, was to design a brief and then a home that represented a “no compromise” approach to subtropical living. From the outset, this project represented a beautiful opportunity for us to seek to contribute to an understanding of “luxury” that is deeply grounded in the concept of “home” as social infrastructure - the backdrop and foundation for a high quality life. To us, this meant creating a home that embraces subtropical living, embedding itself in the landscape and providing deep consideration to flow - between inside and out, between the interior spaces and at the finer scale of joinery and fit out design. This site benefits from an ideal solar aspect, ensuring access to warming sunlight in winter and deep shade in summer, meaning the home is low impact and comfortable without air conditioning throughout the year. Established jacaranda and macadamia trees on the site hint at the long history of the property and will provide a wonderful character to the garden, which we loved collaborating on with the talented crew at Green Care Project. The interior of the home connects strongly to its expansive, natural setting, framing views within the site. Planters envelope key locations and create lush indoor and outdoor living spaces that interface beautifully with the natural environment and the neighbourhood beyond. Select use of natural materials such as stone, concrete and timber brings a sense of timeless grounding and imbues the home with quality that makes it feel at home in its setting. This home has recently sold and construction is set to start late 2023 - we can’t wait to share how it unfolds.