A Considered Reconnecting – Coastal Home by K.P.D.O.

The transformation of an existing rural abode, Coastal Home is the result of a stripping back of the superfluous and reconnection of the building to its site. K.P.D.O. drew on the endearing outdoor spaces as inspiration, focusing on key vistas and natural flows of movement between inside and out.

Nestled into the seaside enclave of Portsea, Coastal Home is located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, a rural area within hours of Melbourne that is a popular escape for city dwellers. The original home was adopted as a dilapidated cream-brick structure in need of revitalisation and repurposing, which did not connect to its context and instead was reminiscent of a mid-suburban family home. Stripping the structure back to its core elements, K.P.D.O. was able to conceive a new contemporary vision for the home that also connected with its owners and a sense of place.

Stripping the structure back to its core elements, K.P.D.O. was able to conceive a new contemporary vision for the home that also connected with its owners and a sense of place.

The original gravitating pull of the site for its owners was the abundant and established surrounding garden, pool and tennis court. The home itself then needed to respond accordingly, while representing how the spaces would be used. Their connection to the natural became the most obvious conduit. The existing flat profile roof was raised to add a grander sense of scale and proportion, and the existing expressed drainage and amenity was concealed behind a dedicated parapet structure. All other openings were replaced with full-scale and full-height versions of their previous selves, with large glazed openings creating open apertures and expanding a sense of immersion within the natural.

An overall toning down of the materials palette injects a more timeless and enduring feel to each of the spaces and creates an ideal non-competing foundation from which to layer in elements of the owner’s personality. Collected and new pieces are then introduced throughout, bringing together storied pieces with the new and creating a novel and encasing sense of comfort, drawing from the owner’s own narrative. A celebration of nature is felt throughout, both in the muted timber floor rolled out underfoot and in the connection beyond the building envelope, acting as a reminder of the home’s location.

An overall toning down of the materials palette injects a more timeless and enduring feel to each of the spaces and creates an ideal non-competing foundation from which to layer in elements of the owner’s personality.

Through encouraging natural light inward, Coastal Home is illuminated and openly connected to its site through purposefully measured interventions. Through a process of stripping back to the elemental, K.P.D.O. have created a befittingly calm place to unwind.