In a palm forest in Noosa’s subtropical hinterlands, a family home snugly nestles into its landscape. Even the house’s name, Australis, is a response to the Livistona australis (cabbage palm trees) on the site.
This degree of attention to connection was central to the brief that the homeowners – a couple with young children – gave to Sealand Architects. The family wanted a place to connect with friends, relatives and nature.
Nostalgic materials like Javanese teak and blackbutt timber have been paired with geometric shapes for a soft yet contemporary feel.
Image:
David Chatfield
To fulfil the brief, the practice drew on tradition. The home’s exterior profile responds to the gable roofs characteristic of the area’s late 19th- and early 20th-century Queenslanders. Its layout was inspired by the farmhouse typology typical of the rural area, where cascading pavilions separate spaces by function and fit the house to the contours of the site.
“We have an affection for traditional Queensland architecture and were interested in designing a house that responded to the local climate and lifestyle,” architect David Teeland said.
That responsive approach is evident in the home’s interior. Beneath the gabled timber roof, the main pavilion’s large central areas – kitchen, dining, living – flow together in a spacious open floor plan. The gardens and natural landscape are invited in through large glazed sliding doors.
It’s easy to imagine friends and family connecting here. Designer Clo Studios infused the interior with a palette of warm neutrals from the surrounding landscape; nostalgic materials like Javanese teak and blackbutt timber have been paired with geometric shapes for a soft yet contemporary feel. Stools sit side-by-side at the kitchen island bench, sofa cushions wait in inviting piles, and clear sightlines seem ready-made for waving loved ones closer.
The interior palette of local hardwood, stone, concrete and plaster “provides a lovely feeling of warmth” yet is sturdy and easy to clean.
Image:
David Chatfield
When it’s time to recharge, occupants and guests can retreat to the smaller, more intimate pavilions at either end of the main volume. These bookending structures contain the bedrooms. Not only does this design support the clients’ current desires for connection and privacy, it also pre-emptively accommodates the future needs of their growing family.
This far-sighted approach was intentional and quite literally shaped the floor plan: “When the children are young, the family can sleep in adjoining rooms. As the children get older, they can move to the other end of the house,” Teeland said.
Sealand Architects further equipped the home for the sometimes messy realities of family life with carefully chosen materials. The interior palette of local hardwood, stone, concrete and plaster “provides a lovely feeling of warmth,” the architects said, yet is sturdy and easy to clean. Outside, metal roof sheeting joins local stone and hardwood in a characterful, bushfire-resistant exterior: a fitting way to protect this house, which is part of its landscape in nature and in name.
