Hamptons Residence, Cottesloe.

The brief was unusual in its restraint. A growing family — two parents, three children, a Labrador — wanted a Hamptons home that wasn't loud about it. Weatherboard, picket fence, white balustrade, but cut to a Perth coastal climate and detailed for forty years of school runs, sand-trodden floors and Sunday lunches that spill onto the verandah.

We worked closely with the family for six months on plan and orientation. The house faces a north aspect with deep eaves, a 5.4-metre verandah depth on the western elevation, and louvres tuned to the prevailing afternoon sea breeze. Inside, the kitchen and living anchor a single open volume; the upper floor is private, with the master suite cantilevered above the entry colonnade.

Joinery is in painted American oak, with European white marble on the kitchen island and a single piece of locally quarried Donnybrook stone for the fireplace surround. Floors are wide-plank French oak finished with a hardwax oil. Every fixture is electric. The home runs entirely off the PV array on the rear roof plane, with a 13.5 kWh battery offsetting the evening peak.