Hume House by Justin Humphrey Architects

On the southern tip of Moreton Bay, Justin Humphrey Architects has created a home where the ocean views are only half the appeal. Here, structure and landscape are held in equal esteem.

Built on a coastal point, Hume House by Justin Humphrey Architects strikes a fine balance between grandeur and privacy. Conceived as a place of retreat, the home occupies its site with quiet confidence, almost acting as a marker to vessels heading out to sea. From within, uninterrupted views of expansive, ever-shifting ocean contrast with the considered calm of the interiors. Anchored by a central courtyard at heart of the home, the relationship between landscape and home is established from the moment of arrival.

Tucked discreetly down the side of the garage, the entry is marked by a deliberately modest shade structure – an understated threshold that begins to evoke the kind of hideaways and hidden spaces that one sought as a child.

This interplay between public and private plays out from the very first encounter with the home. Tucked discreetly down the side of the garage, the entry is marked by a deliberately modest shade structure – an understated threshold that begins to evoke the kind of hideaways and hidden spaces that one sought as a child. Through the entrance, visitors make their way along a protected edge of the central courtyard, through the “green heart” of the home. All roads lead back to this courtyard, reinforcing the home as a hidden oasis in the middle of the noise, hidden from view.

As one journeys into the home, the relationship and connection between land and sea becomes increasingly more tangible. The private entrance, a timber-lined passage, stretches into the home and beyond, reminiscent of a jetty reaching into the bay, tethering the home to the coastal landscape. Making their way into the main living space of the home, visitors are greeted first and foremost with the view. Large wall-to-ceiling glass doors open onto an external terrace, blurring the lines between exterior and interior. It’s from here that the home breathes – the open terrace allowing the northerly breeze to move through the home, reinforcing the exchange between structure and environment.

Assisted with bright, soft accents of pastel in select moments, these darker tones create a surprisingly gentle and cosy feeling within the house.

The boundary between the large, modest kitchen and the terrace seems to blur. With the glass doors completely open, it’s as though one space is an extension of the other. At the heart of the room is the central bench table, a raft in the middle of the space that provides a casual yet communal space to gather.

In contrast to its coastal surrounds, the home’s interior palette embraces tonal depth. Rich, dark hues define the kitchen and surrounding spaces, absorbing the intense sunlight making its way inside. Assisted with bright, soft accents of pastel in select moments, these darker tones create a surprisingly gentle and cosy feeling within the house.

Accessible via the grand sculptural staircase that rises triumphantly from the main living space, the upper level is where the structural form of the house begins to reveal itself. A series of sloping, sweeping curves helps to guide visitors through the space while echoing the ebb and flow of waves. The interiors in this section of the home are intentionally restrained, allowing the focus to rest on the home’s true centrepiece: uninterrupted ocean views.

The curved flow of the house offers a constantly shifting visual experience – from any vantage point, a new perspective emerges. Justin Humphrey Architects has created a home that responds to its remarkable setting, one that both embraces solitude and spectacle.

Architecture by Justin Humphrey Architects. Build by CMR Constructions. Stone Flooring by Eco Outdoor.