Suffolk House by DFJ Architects

Situated between beach and national park at the southern end of Byron Bay, Suffolk House is a robust family home shaped by the suburb’s bushfire controls and extreme coastal conditions.

Comprising major alterations and additions to an existing beach house, this project inspired DFJ Architects to foster unique connections to the natural landscape, balanced by a sense of warmth and refuge. The homeowners sought separate guest accommodation and a fully appointed home office – “difficult problems to solve on a constrained site,” reflects Dominic Finlay-Jones, director of DFJ Architects. Working with the existing home on site, the design team conceived the residence in two parts: a single-storey living pavilion flanked by a private garden to the south and a sun-drenched pool and deck to the north, with a new, double-storey addition offering views across Arakwal National Park.

Suffolk House sensitively honours the character of the land and its former dwelling.

Suffolk House sensitively honours the character of the land and its former dwelling. Main living spaces occupy the original home’s footprint and repurpose the site, while the addition’s strategic positioning minimises impact to the low-density streetscape, ensuring the architecture sits comfortably in its context. Committed to preserving the mature trees, DFJ Architects notched the home’s northern deck around an established Tuckeroo tree, its glossy-leafed canopy offering ephemeral, dappled light – a respite from the summer sun.

Internally, the home’s planning thoughtfully captures sightlines to the garden and parklands. “Bedrooms run along the site’s western edge to face east towards the back garden,” describes Finlay-Jones, with the guest quarters strategically positioned to facilitate independent access from the north. Above, the main bedroom suite offers “a private and quiet retreat, enjoying natural ventilation from the coastal breeze and uninterrupted views across the national park”– a captivating setting for the homeowners to escape to at day’s end.

Suffolk House’s natural connections are reaffirmed by its restrained palette of robust materials.

Suffolk House’s natural connections are reaffirmed by its restrained palette of robust materials. Externally, brick and fibre cement address the site’s stringent bushfire codes and harsh coastal conditions, echoing the suburb’s beachside vernacular. The building’s spotted gum accents lend warmth and texture, drawn through the interior with spotted gum timber doors, windows, ceilings and built-in joinery to deliver “a consistent, high-quality and natural finish,” says Finlay-Jones. The timber’s richness is tempered by white bagged brickwork, concrete and rammed earth features, grounded by a resilient, exposed aggregate topping slab. “The material palette was deliberately selected to be raw and low maintenance, with rich, natural tones and surfaces creating a robust, practical and warm family beach house.”

Working intensively with the homeowners from concept to completion, DFJ Architects has crafted an approachable and refined response to the brief, elevated by the practice’s sensitive approach to place. While Finlay-Jones notes that “a lot has been packed into the compact site,” Suffolk House’s thoughtful planning affords a feeling of generosity and repose – a fitting expression of DFJ Architects’ equal dedication to the natural and built environments.

Architecture and interior design by DFJ Architects. Build by Skyline Projects. Landscape design by Studio Rewild.