Determined to create a home with a heady holiday vibe, Oswald Homes’ senior designer Michal Kurtis put together the perfect space resplendent with notes of Western Australia’s sprawling coastline and a touch of Scandi thrown in for good measure.
Picture: D-Max Photography
The jewel in the crown is a gabled roof spine and high raking ceilings which allow natural light to flood through the open-plan living area.
The north-facing orientation delivers radiant warmth into the home, passively heating the home in winter. NSW blackbutt-lined ceilings were included to add warmth both aesthetic and ambient. Limestone-look tiles were used throughout, with natural textures alongside a neutral colour palette.
Picture: D-Max Photography
“The Odyssea was designed to highlight the connection between the simple forms and function of a beachside cottage and the understated simplicity and elegance of the Scandinavian style which seeks to express the beauty of nature in its raw forms,” Michal says.
“The enclosed verandah detail at the front opens out to replicate the barrel of a rolling wave. It is comforting, nurturing, elemental and vocative of holiday destinations along WA’s South West coast.
Picture: D-Max Photography
“The elevated verandah has been reinvented to connect to the environment and to the street giving a grounded sense of space and place and that feeling of floating on the ocean waves. A place to sit and casually connect with the neighbours and passersby.”
The whole home is raised lightly off the ground to reinforce the sense of floating on water, or as Michal puts it, waiting for the next wave. Wherever possible, materials have been used to express their natural raw form colour and texture.
Textured feature walls echo coastal rock formations, timber panelling brings to mind driftwood found at the water’s edge, and the light metal roof and render are an interpretation of the texture and brightness of warm silica sand.
At the grassroots level though, the home design is simple with a strong emphasis on adaptable living spaces carefully created to allow every space to be used without affecting the amenity of those in the next room.
Picture: D-Max Photography
“Rooms and space remain relevant in various reincarnations as the family grows and the dynamic changes over time,” Michal says.
The home is energy efficient and all created within a budget that is realistic for the average Australian family, he says.
Riding the wave of the demand for intergenerational living, it has been designed to cater for the option of adult children remaining at home or grandparents moving in. Each of the four bedrooms is paired with an ensuite complete with brushed nickel tapware and wall-hung vanities.
Micro cement was used on the walls in the ensuite and powder room to provide a seamless finish on the walls, adding to the sense of luxury.
Interior designer and project manager team leader Kestryn Chaloner says she designed the interiors with the aim of facilitating relaxation. She wanted it to have an easygoing coastal “down south” vibe but also to be unique from a typical coastal home.
Luxurious furnishings and a natural gas fire heater, which is a centrepiece to the home, are all included in a bid to make the home feel cosy and comfortable.
