Sixties Sunseeker
The clever adaptation of a beachside home on the NSW Central Coast.
Memories of childhood summers spent by the coast can exert a strong emotional pull once you have your own family, as architect Angus Crowe discovered. Nine years ago, when he and wife Val, parents of Ellie, now 16, and Oscar, 14, decided to relocate from Far North Queensland to NSW, Angus knew just the spot for their new home – the Central Coast holiday hub of MacMasters Beach.
“As a child I lived in Molong, out west, and my family would come here and rent a little fibro shack,” says Angus. “Val and I spend a lot of time at the beach and our lives revolve around the surf club, so having a nice sunny home was important.” They soon found a north-facing house for sale at MacMasters, close to the beach and, coincidentally, just across the road from the shack. It was an architect-designed project home known as the ‘Beachcomber’, which was popular in the 1960s. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, with a self-contained apartment downstairs, all in need of an update.
The family bought in 2009 and immediately re-roofed the house, adding much-needed insulation. Angus and Val found it hard to agree on the brief, so the renovation took longer to plan than anticipated. “At one stage it got to a point where we couldn’t talk about the project,” Angus says, laughing. “But eventually we had to do something because the deck was falling down.”
Two years ago they built a new steel-framed deck, bolted to the original timber-framed house, to double their entertaining space. The couple also shifted the entry from the side to the front, and enclosed a smaller deck on the western side to create a ‘snug’ for English-born Val.
As in the original plan, all of the family home is on the upper level, other than the laundry and an office for Angus’ architectural practice, True North Architects (located downstairs in the new section, directly below the snug). The apartment is mostly used by family and friends.
The kitchen’s functionality was improved by installing new cupboards and joinery that extends to the ceiling. Pocket doors on some of the cupboards – including a dedicated spot for chargers, phones and other everyday items – are kept open most of the time, but can be quickly closed before guests arrive. The shared family bathroom also underwent a few changes to make it more liveable. “I opted for two vanities and an extra toilet alongside the bathroom, using solid-core doors and acoustic seals for privacy,” says Angus.
The insulation had made a huge difference to the indoor temperature in winter, so only a small firebox was required. “We knew we’d have to open the windows if we got a larger one,” says Angus. “This space is so easy to heat because the ceilings aren’t high and it gets so much winter sun.”
Although the rooms are modest in size, there is plenty of storage throughout, especially in the new snug where larger items are concealed inside a day bed with a hinged lid. “This house is a good demonstration of how you can live in a well-designed small space,” says Angus. “My clients ask me to make things bigger, but one of the hardest parts of my job is to manage costs. A simple way to achieve that is to restrict the size but be clever about the quality of spaces.”
By moving to the scene of his childhood beach holidays, Angus has provided his lucky family with a holiday home all year round.