Inside The Somers Beach House, Australia
As Spring begins to bloom here in the UK, the SATORI & SCOUT team are always in admiration for those destinations with more consistently warm weathers all-year round. Match that with appreciating good architecture and spaces, aside from all our own travels and visits, we're sometimes in one mind to simply emigrate.
One such destination that springs to mind - puin intended - is of course Australia, and here we've a multi-generational modern beach house that inhabits its coastal bush setting in harmony with the natural elements.
Australian Modern Beach House Of Dreams
Titled Somers Beach House, this modern home residence occupies a prominent beach fronted property overlooking Westernport Bay with expansive views to Phillip Island and beyond to Bass Strait. The house sits on the steepest section of the site, with two generous levels acting independently of one another. It is designed as an inter-generational holiday house, with a focus on the upper level of the home being comfortable when occupied only by a retired couple.
The house programme is organised around an expressed structural steel grid which anchors the building and ties it back into the site. It is clad entirely in timber, with bi-folding timber screens adding a dynamic element to the facade, enabling the house to open up when fully occupied and to close down when not in use.
The upper level of the house contains the main bedroom and living zones, with materiality emanating the surrounding landscape, through the soft greens and silvers of the cabinetry, together with timber cladding. Connected by a covered external staircase, the level below contains a series of bedrooms with private balconies and ensuites and a second living area for visiting family and guests.
Natural Tones x Warming Modern Home
Entering on foot from the road affords a clear view straight over the building and to the views beyond, siting the building in the landscape as a singular object. A discreet entry bridge with timber battens leads to the front door.
Continuing the journey, a covered breezeway links both levels and provides access to the rear garden and beach, allowing guests to experience the surrounding landscape as they descend. Arriving at the beach, a striking timber-clad boat shed hovers among the dunes and acts as an extension of the main dwelling.
Australia, please? An Australian beach house, yes please.