Embracing the Unexpected — Garage House by Shareen Joel Design

With Garage House on the Mornington Peninsula, Shareen Joel Design has created a simple, flexible space that combines living and vehicle storage in a completely unexpected way.

When a block of land came up next to an established beach house on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the house’s owners didn’t hesitate to acquire it, thinking they would build a garage and pool on the block as an addendum to their current property. But interior architect Shareen Joel of Shareen Joel Design came up with an out-of-the-box alternative: a simply executed pavilion that would be part garage, part living space, part entertaining annexe. The resultant Garage House challenges what a home should be, using its main function – the storage of vehicles – as inspiration. While it’s independent from the main home, there are connections (including a pool and paved courtyard in between) that align both properties yet allow them to feel as though they are their own entities.

Shareen ensured the comforts of a modern home were paramount, creating a restful space that allows for easy interaction with the landscape.

Garage House may be underpinned by practicality, but Shareen ensured the comforts of a modern home were paramount, creating a restful space that allows for easy interaction with the landscape. Throughout, familiar elements of the garage typology – including garage doors – are interwoven with those more familiar within the residential setting. The space consists of an open-plan living area with kitchenette, a studio/entertaining space that also doubles as the garage and a bedroom with ensuite. The floorplan is not only functional but flexible, allowing furniture, lighting and objects to be moved to accommodate small or large groups.

The mostly minimal interior is created through a base of monochromatic finishes and, together with terracotta tiles that run from inside to out, there is a robustness to the space that befits its multiple functionality. Furnishings are simple and considered, and include a B&B Italia Tufty-Time sofa and Eero Saarinen Tulip dining table. The fully openable walls and tilting garage doors foster cross-ventilation and a deep connection between indoors and outdoors, and flood the spaces with light.

Through her curious approach and honed detailing, Shareen Joel has created a lasting and responsive home/garage structure, a perfect accompaniment to the main home but a compact and interesting dwelling in its own right.