Wendy and Brendan, like many other clients came to us with myriad of ideas for alterations and additions to their home, but they couldn't resolve how these ideas could be realised as their new home. We tried to bring all these dreams to reality, and we believe that collectively we have created something quite unique.

The house began as a traditional two room Queenlander style house with wrap around verandahs. By the time they purchased their home the verandahs were enclosed and a lean-to bathroom and laundry had been added. Clearly something had to be done to make this a workable home.

Wendy really loved the character of the original building and it became part of our brief that the alterations should retain and enhance this character. Brendan also wanted to preserve the old house, but wanted to adapt it to make it environmentally sustainable by using Radcon timbers, and other environmentally friendly building materials, at one stage installing a composting toilet was considered, but implementation was still beyond the relevant authorities.

The first step we took was to remove the lean-to buildings, which were quite unsightly. Brendan, a surfer and a Sydney boy, wanted to focus the house on the magnificent view of the sea, and Wendy, a Melbourne girl wanted to appreciate the garden, so it was our task to design a house that does both! The house gradually evolved, the new additions engulfing the old creating a symbiotic relationship between the two. Existing verandahs were widened and opened out so that they became pleasant and useable rooms in their own right. Then another layer of verandahs were added, facing out to the sea. The front of the house was opened out to the garden, and a pergola wraps around the yard, connecting the garden to the house. Utility elements such as a bathing tower, a kitchen turret and a gabled entry, jut out of the basic structure in reference to traditional embellishments of the Queenslander, creating small surprises as you wander round the house.

On reflection the house has become a combination of Wendy and Brendan's different outlooks on life.

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