Coastal and Beach House Designs

At Destination living our architects love designing coastal homes as they provide flexibility in design that most suburban environments don’t.

How do Destination Living’s architects design our coastal homes?

Determine budget upfront.

Without this our architects and you as the client have no basis from which to work. Traditionally architects design and specify a coastal home and then cost it at the end of the process, this is why you often hear stories about architects creating a coastal home design which then ends up being way over budget. Our costing methodologies begin before you put pen to paper and then continue throughout the design process to ensure that you are in control of your budget.

Understand what size home and inclusions your budget allows for, including a coastal allowance

Designing an architectural home is one thing, but designing a home to accommodate for the rapid weather and sea water is another. There are a long list of items that need to be taken into account when designing and building a close to seawater to prevent “Salt Deterioration”, for example almost all of the steel items need to be high quality galvanised, stainless steel or powder coated to prevent rust and corrosion, especially structural steel. Other items that can impact a build near the beach is footings, mortar, roof tiles and awnings to name a few, so even if you are planning to build up to 5 kilometres away from the beach then the chances are you will still be impacted by the seawater.

Detailed client brief

Extensive questions are asked to pry out of you all of the major and minor things about how you and your family like to live in your space, your aesthetic likes and dislikes, the look and feel you want, any habits & hobbies that may affect your beach home design. It ensures our architects and interior designers have a good understanding of who they are creating a home for.

Are there views? How do we capitalize on the views?

This is also handled earlier in the process as the views can impact budget, build and design methodologies especially if the site is on a slope. With our Sandringham project (pictured below) the focus was on maximizing the sweeping bayside and city views so our architect elevated the home by a metre (whilst remaining within the height restrictions), moved the living and meals area upstairs surrounding them with a large wraparound balcony with frameless bifold doors. A long window sits as a kitchen splash back so when cooking you get peninsula views. Heaters were installed into the roof of the balcony and a glazed windbreak designed in at the BBQ so our clients can enjoy the views year round inside and outside.

Detailed design process for coastal homes

This includes architectural and interior design, it is where the look and feel becomes increasingly tangible.
The detailed design phase can seem overwhelming as there is so much content, but our process is mindful not to overwhelm our clients and staged so that it flows seamlessly with clients working hand in hand with their dedicated architect and interior designer.
The beauty of Coastal & beach homes is that they vary widely in look and feel; from our Beaumaris townhouses with their picture book windows to Sandringham’ s ultra-modern architecture and interiors, through to the use of concrete, exposed steel and materials that change & fade like the landscape as seen in our flinders project.

Where do we design our coastal homes

Destination Living’s work spans most Victorian coastal regions as pictured below, in the disciplines of architecture, interior design and build. The services we provide range from concept to completion of build through to individual design services.

You can read about Destination Living in more detail on our about us page, view our gallery of homes or contact us to discuss your beach home project.