Close to home

These homeowners were lucky enough to own a double block of land in a coveted Merewether location with enough space for the modern, light-filled home of their dreams.

Paul and Sandra bought their double block of land in Merewether a quarter of a century ago. Half of it was taken up by their new family home, the other half by a tennis court. With separate titles, they always knew they had the flexibility to sell part of the land or to maybe, one day, build their dream home from scratch.

“Over the years, we had many offers from people who wanted to buy the vacant block. It would have been easy to do, and we thought about it for a long time,” Paul shares.

The idea of building a new home started to take hold during a renovation project with architect Stephen Coon from Mark Lawler Architects.

Stephen explains, “we worked with Sandra and Paul on a reno of their then family home in 2007. Over the following years, they enquired with me a couple of times about plans for a new home and 15 years after that initial reno, they decided to go ahead.

“It was quite a unique opportunity to have a property that comprises a vacant block of land within a built-up suburb.”

“We really loved Stephen’s work,” Paul elaborates.

“So we finally decided to take the plunge and asked him to design a new home for us.

“Our three children are now all at uni or in high school and we had somewhat outgrown our old house.

“We wanted a low maintenance home. It was to be functional and practical, with clean lines. Making the most of the northern aspect was also important to us.”

Stephen’s design opens up the living and outdoor areas to the warm rays of the winter sun and includes all the mod cons you would expect.

“We had an extensive consultation period to ensure we achieved the right outcomes for the owners,” he explains. “Through that collaborative process, their initial perception of what they required evolved and changed as we explored the basis for those requirements.

“Sandra and Paul didn’t want a conspicuous, “look-at-me” home. Rather it was to blend in with the streetscape. The façade with its mix of brick and weatherboarding and the roof form were purposely designed with a typical residential aesthetic.

Read more about this stunning home in our Summer Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.

Story by Cornelia Schulze, photography by Murray McKean