Coastal Sanctuary

The Brief

What the client wanted.

The brief was a large, contemporary coastal-style home for a striking Palm Beach site. A residence that lived comfortably across multiple levels while making the most of its elevated aspect. It needed generous, flexible living: multiple living spaces, a full kitchen, several bathrooms and bedrooms, balconies to draw in the outlook, and a garage worked into the fall of the land.

Beyond the built form, the client wanted the outside to be every bit as considered as the inside, extensive landscaping that turned a difficult slope into usable, beautiful garden, tied together as one seamless project.

The Challenge

Why it wasn’t straightforward.

The site did not give anything away easily. A steep coastal block meant extensive excavation and a series of engineered retaining walls, each with meticulous drainage, before a single garden bed could be shaped. Getting the levels, the structure and the water management right was the groundwork that everything else: the terraces, the planting, the journey through the home — depended on.

What We Did

The approach.

Working as one team across design, construction and landscape, we built the home into the slope rather than fighting it:

• Engineered retaining walls and meticulous drainage to terrace the site into a series of garden beds
• A multi-level home with balconies and integrated garage set into the natural fall of the land
• Bespoke detailing throughout — timber batten doors and ceilings, a gas fireplace, standing-seam cladding, and an outdoor bath on the upper master-bedroom deck
• Contrasting exterior finishes across the levels: sandstone retaining walls, quartzite stone cladding, weatherboard and standing-seam Colorbond
• Hardwood spotted gum stairs and landings creating a journey up through each floor, among a mix of tropical and native planting, with LED strip and spotlight garden lighting for function and feature after dark

The Result

The finished home.

The finished home reads as a single, cohesive coastal residence — architecture, structure and garden resolved together. The terraced beds and spotted gum stairs make a genuine experience of moving through the levels, the bespoke interior details give it warmth and character, and the integrated lighting keeps the whole site usable and beautiful at any hour.