Green Days A parkland setting and coastal-inspired design produced a best-of-both-worlds Sydney home.

In Sydney, a thoughtful coastal-inspired design has delivered an elegant family home among the treetops.

For the owners of this Sydney home, an active family of five, living in a leafy pocket between the city and the beach provides a wonderful place from which to enjoy the great outdoors. Their home – a new four-bedroom Hamptons-inspired abode – has also become a favourite spot for gatherings of family and friends, large and small. Built on an elevated block with beautiful treetop and district views, the home is designed to make the most of its spectacular location, says architect Walter Barda.

The front door opens to a grand entry foyer with a guestroom and powder room to the left and mudroom and laundry to the right. Straight ahead and a few steps down is the great roomstyle open-plan kitchen/dining/living area, which opens to an outdoor living zone and pool area. “Since the site is elevated over a rear lane, we created a lower-ground level for the garage and installed a swimming pool on top,” says Walter. “This creates the impression of a waterfront, giving the home a resort feel.” Borrowed views of nearby trees add to the sense of space and enhance the relaxed holiday home ambience.

The first floor contains the family’s bedrooms, family bathroom and second living area, which is mostly used by the children. As well as the garage, the lower-ground level contains a multi-use

space designed to evolve from a games room to a media room and, eventually, to a parents’ retreat.

The layout delivers on the owners’ wish for rooms that can be adapted as the children grow and their needs change, says Walter. The result is a layout made up of a series of dynamic spaces that encourage movement yet allow for lingering, and which are suited to different times of the day and different seasons throughout the year.

“The idea for the ground-floor communal space comes from the concept of the ‘great room’, anchored by the kitchen at one end and the living zone at the other,” he says. The main dining area separates the two; a smaller dining table in a bay window by the kitchen is used for more intimate gatherings.

“It can sometimes be quite daunting to work out the right proportions for such a large open-plan space,” says Lily Cumberland, a senior interior designer at Coco Republic, who joined the project team at the commencement of the build. “Zoning the great room helps maintain the sense of openness, while providing ample seating for when it’s just the family at home and when they’re entertaining.”

Discovering the clients’ love of the colour green, Lily introduced different shades throughout, picked out from the shades in

KITCHEN The walls and ceiling are lined with Easycraft V-J lining panels, painted Dulux Whisper White, delivering the coastal feel the homeowners were after. Cabinet hardware, In-Teria. Benchtops and splashback in Bianco Carrara Select C marble. European oak flooring, Signorino (throughout). Ovens and cooktop, Wolf. For similar barstools, try Temple & Webster.

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KITCHEN/DINING Montara round dining table and Miami dining chairs (this page) and Casa Mia ‘Ava S’ dining chairs in City Velvet (opposite), all Coco Republic. Arteriors ‘Ziggy’ pendant light (this page) and ‘Jarrod’ pendant lights (opposite), all Boyd Blue. Global rectangular dining table, MCM House. Coast rug (under dining table), Bayliss.

LIVING Beginning with a canvas of blond timber and white, Lily layered textural linen and sisal pieces for warmth then added pops of celadon, forest green and jade for visual interest. Longbeach sofa, Michael chairs, and Pipa cocktail tables, all Coco Republic. Rug, Bayliss.