Barwon Dunes House
Rising from sand and sea, Barwon Dunes House is what happens when light, nature and horizon converge.
Barwon Heads possesses a raw, elemental beauty that sets it apart from other manicured coastal destinations. Here, weathered dunes rise from the shoreline, salt-laden breeze waltzes through open homes and the ocean commands attention with its changing hues – untamed yet restorative. What began in 2021 as a response to hybrid work-living arrangements led the family to collaborate with Eliza Blair, principal of her eponymous studio, to envision a different way of living, one in which the tenets of durability and flexibility would define the brief for a primary residence housing a family of five.
“Generous glazing and strategic openings draw sunlight deep into the interior, allowing the mood inside to shift throughout the day while maintaining a strong relationship to the garden and the sky.”
The home’s architecture is composed as a dialogue between visual weight and apparent lightness. The solid rammed-earth base establishes a sense of permanence, while the curved upper-level timber screen lends the composition a dynamic presence, championing views, solar shading and privacy. Inside, the 427-square-metre, five-bedroom dwelling draws its character from the orchestration of light, material warmth and thoughtful zoning.
“Generous glazing and strategic openings draw sunlight deep into the interior, allowing the mood inside to shift throughout the day while maintaining a strong relationship to the garden and the sky,” Blair says. The home’s palette bears an almost geological affinity, with shades of brown expressed across a spectrum – in Blackbutt timber cladding, rammed-earth walls, limestone paving, travertine stone and robust metal finishes. Selected for their longevity, the materials play muse at the Barwon Dunes House. “These materials weather gracefully in coastal environments. Inside, custom joinery and layered furnishings add softness without excess.”
The lofty double-height living space, framed beneath the sculptural steel bridge spanning the void, is among the studio’s most-loved vignettes – a play on scale and the fleeting trajectory of light across rammed-earth walls. Nestled between the kitchen, terrace and garden, the dining area serves as a nucleus for informal gatherings, its expanse bathed in filtered light. This glow carries over to the kitchen, its canvas of travertine, timber joinery and stainless steel binding inside to the landscape.
“During construction, the rammed-earth walls became an unexpected focal point. Their colour and texture changed depending on the weather and light conditions. We tested several colours and samples, and in the end, the client selected a tone that most closely resembled the colouring of her golden retriever,” Blair says. Within the resting spaces, the pared-back palette of hues remains omnipresent, favouring tactility over ornament. In the ensuite, warm timber tones and textured olive Japanese tiles introduce colour while reinforcing the connection to the coastal scenery.
“During construction, the rammed earth walls became an unexpected focal point. Their colour and texture changed depending on the weather and light conditions.”
Barwon Dunes House was envisioned with longevity in mind. The abode reads as a contemporary interpretation of coastal living shaped by light, texture and the rhythms of everyday life. In doing so, the studio created a home that doesn’t merely shelter life, but absorbs it – deepening with every return and season.
