An edgy yet serene seaside sanctuary by Studio McGilp.
Built on the edge of the Southern Ocean, Wave House is a beachside abode originally constructed in the 1980s. Graceful yet unconventional, the home was built on a budget using modest materials such as corrugated iron, weatherboards, timber and metal. With intersecting curvilinear rooflines, curved internal ceilings and exaggerated geometric highlight windows, Wave House had a sound structure, but a heavily outdated, chaotic interior.
The new owners enlisted Studio McGilp to complete a renovation that honoured the existing architectural forms, while transforming the interior to create a feeling of refined, understated elegance with the sense of freedom that occurs when you leave the city behind. “We wished to respect the original lines, with the curves of the roof swinging both left to right, and right to left, like the movement of the sea,” says Alisha McGilp, director and principal interior designer of Studio McGilp. “We also celebrated the quirky accents such as the small highlight windows, and retained the iron balustrade, improving its sharpness by painting it black.”
Studio McGilp entirely reimagined the floor plan, removing internal walls to re-orientate the kitchen and meals areas, as well as redesigning the layout of both bathrooms. “We drew inspiration from both the sea which is visible from the front of the home, the beautiful she-oak trees in the garden, and the Otway ranges which are seen from the back door,” Alisha shares.
The careful, honest use of materials — including pure wool carpet, stainless steel, timber and hand-formed ceramic tiles — was key to the success of this project. A restrained palette of low chroma hues is repeated throughout the home to provide a restful yet dynamic aesthetic, a strategy that allowed the elegant lines of the home to shine. “Rather than integrating strong and directional patterns, we opted for movement within materials and their applied surfaces to provide contrasts, such as reflective versus tactile values. The interplay of light enables surfaces to be illuminated when the sun reflects off them,” Alisha explains. “We considered both warm and comfortable responses and juxtaposed these with sleek and lustrous finishes.”
The muted colour palette is punctuated by strong statements of colour. Woven pure-wool loop pile carpet in a colour reminiscent of a stormy sea is relieved by the warmth of bleached timber flooring mimicking driftwood found on the beach. Textured, matt-finish wallpapers in restful colours are used in combination with lustrous ceramic tiles and colourful terrazzo flooring.
In the kitchen, a custom-designed island bench marks the heart of the home. The Studio McGilp design references the curved roof lines and creates a sense of free and easy movement around it. Constructed from environmentally conscious silica-free Corian in a deep inky blue, with inherent curvilinear forms, the island bench waterfalls at one end to meet the floor and is cantilevered on the opposing side.
The benchtop features concealed under-bench lighting for a warm, gentle illumination experience, while a bespoke, handmade Blackwood pendant adds natural warmth, juxtaposed by the ceiling-mounted lustrous Qasair rangehoods. “Re-orientating the kitchen enhanced the views, with the ability to look one way and see the forest, and in the other direction, straight to the sea,” says Alisha. “It is the best of both worlds, and the clients were delighted that we were able to create views to both landscapes that were previously obscured behind internal walls.”
Carefully weighted joinery solidifies a minimal aesthetic inside the kitchen. The living room side of the kitchen features Tasmanian oak fluted timber cladding stained in a natural finish. The opposing side offers large and functional storage space with purposely designed streamlined sharknose cabinetry.
Ceiling and wall junctions inside the home were often not an easy 90 degrees, and windows angled from top to bottom in places, so conventional installation methods of window furnishings and fixtures had to be considered carefully. The bamboo roller blind window furnishings made by Studio McGilp are one of a kind, a nod to the quintessential “beach house” vernacular. Hand-loomed Japanese reeds were custom coloured, with 100 individually woven reeds creating just one metre of fabric. These blinds provide privacy from the street below, but allow vision to the beach and sky outside. They are fully automated and integrated into the structural environment by use of custom-made painted timber pelmets which span the entire living area to conceal all mechanisms and hardware.
Behind these blinds, heavy-hitting block-out cellular blinds provide exceptional heat and noise reduction. All blinds are operated on battery motors so that they can be used when the power is out, which happens frequently in the seaside town.
Evocative of a relaxing beach stroll, the terrazzo floors found in both of the home’s bathrooms create cohesion and feature colours you would find if you scooped up a handful of sand, rock and shells from the beach. “One bathroom represents the sea, with blue hues, and the other represents the forest landscape through the use of she-oak inspired green,” Alisha notes. “The master ensuite was formed by moving existing doors and hallway to create a series of interconnecting spaces. Entering via a generous open area with a concealed cavity slider, we designed a wall-to- wall suspended Corian basin.” Downstairs, a redundant external door and mud room were removed to provide a larger footprint for the main bathroom. A frosted glass full-length window was added, enabling private and restful bathing rituals.
Wave House is a conversational home, full of surprises and delights. “It has an inherent calmness,” Alisha concludes. “We stripped back the layers of the past owners to reveal the simplicity and beauty of the original design. With views to the wild ocean and surrounding forest, the design response was to make the interior sing within these natural boundaries of beauty and serenity. The house sits comfortably in its surroundings, and the interior evokes a feeling of relaxed luxury, warmth and comfort.”
Details
House: Wave House
Location: Apollo Bay, Vic
Interior Architect/ Designer: Studio McGilp
Builder: Dave Merry
Interior Designer: Studio McGilp
For more information
Image credit: Nicole Reed