Sydney-based architect Luke Moloney (and once an ever-so-hilarious contributor to these pages) has designed a coastal home in Sydney’s East for his brother and family. The project entailed adding a simple upper storey to a humble beach bungalow, answering the brief for a cost-effective home that prioritised sustainability, comfort, and making the most of the natural setting. Set opposite a busy walking track and heavily overlooked by its neighbours, a key design challenge was making the space feel light, airy and open to the sun and ocean, while providing privacy for the occupants.

The resulting house is smaller than planning regulations permitted. If built to permissible limits, some neighbours would have lost their daylight and others their sea views. Moloney feels this comes through in the final design and makes the house stand out within its context, while at the same time lending a wallflower charm.

“The owners tell me that they’ve been stopped by neighbours and thanked for the difference the house makes on the street. This pleases me to no end! It was deliberately designed to be a good neighbour,” says Moloney.

The original cottage was reconfigured to house bedrooms and bathrooms at ground level, while above the added storey contains living, dining, and kitchen spaces. Mindful of cost, the materials chosen were simple yet robust enough to withstand the coastal weather. The pitched roof carries through into the living spaces, making them feel at once airy and cozy.

Large sliding doors to the east frame the view to the ocean, while a cutout in the balcony eave follows the line of the horizon so that when seated, more of the coastal view is revealed while maintaining privacy from the apartments next door. Screens over skylights filter the light and create patterns that skim the walls.

Finishes and fixtures by Arent&Pyke introduced a little luxury to the otherwise spare design, such as sandy terrazzo in the bathrooms that echo the beach setting. A vast grey-green slab of Pacific marble features on the kitchen benchtop, paired with warm walnut joinery on the island bench that brings a textural richness to the living space. A mirrored splashback in the kitchen amplifies space, daylight, and the presence of the ocean in the house.

The garage features a fun zig-zagged roof, a design decision based purely on playful aesthetics. “It’s meant to be like a little set of seaside bathing pavilions – essentially the site is tiny and the garage would always be in full view. So we tizzed it up a bit to make it worth looking at,” explains Moloney.

With both architect and clients being environmentally conscious, the house is white to better reflect heat. Solar heat gain is managed by performance glass on large east and west-facing windows, which are shaded by deep overhanging eaves on the first floor and external blinds on the ground floor. Louvred windows on the ground floor draw in cool air, in tandem with operable skylights that flush hot air from the house. Rainwater is harvested in tanks under the front deck, and the long north-facing roof is studded with photovoltaic cells.

Moloney also reflects on a pleasant surprise, realized when night falls on the house. “It’s a total accident, but at night when the curtains are drawn, you can see the moon rising through the big triangle windows. As ever, the most delightful parts of a project are the ones you didn’t plan.“

[Images courtesy of Luke Moloney. Photography by Tom Ferguson.]